Rectory of the barn church

After the Peace of Münster in 1648, the Catholic residents of Oirschot were forced to relinquish their churches to the state.

Catholics were only allowed to worship in buildings that were not recognizable from the outside as houses of worship: clandestine churches or barn churches. On the corner to the left of this building stood such a church, built in 1677. The wall at the corner of Spoordonkseweg, Nieuwstraat, and Gasthuisstraat is a partial remnant of this barn church.

The Catholic pastors of the barn church lived in various locations in Oirschot until the mid-18th century. In 1763, Pastor-Dean Petrus van Helmont built a new rectory, at present this building at Nieuwstraat 39. 

Around 1800, the Catholics were allowed to leave their barn church and resumed use of the main church. In 1853, the episcopal hierarchy was restored, and parishes with rectories began functioning again.

That year, the church council exchanged this parsonage for notary De Jong's house at Nieuwstraat 17a, which was closer to the church. The old rectory became a private residence and is a well-preserved example of a manor house in the Kempen tradition.