In the days when West Friesland was actually nothing more than a large and inhospitable forest (more shrubs), the place on which the village we are visiting now is located was located on the western side; hence the name. A wild story goes that as early as 333 there was a 'pagan church' in honor of Wodan, which was later converted into a Christian church. The famous church historian Voets, who was once a chaplain here, still believed that story. Officially, however, we only find indications for the existence of this village in the 12th century as a peat extraction site. If we read 333 as 1333 on the dedication stone of the old village church, everything fits better. In 1414, the Stede Westwoud (consisting of Westwoud, Ooster- and Westerblok and Binnenwijsd) was given city rights. A purely administrative event: there were no walls. Until 1876, the aforementioned 14th century village church stood at the old cemetery 't Laantje. The inhabitants must have behaved quite rough in the past: there was a lot of fighting, even in the church.
Westwoud and Binnenwijsd
The Dutch count favored Westwoud a little over the other locations mentioned. The pastor had to perform a lot of outside services for the count and the villagers did not receive enough attention. That is why they later asked Spanish Philips for a more permanent pastor. That didn't help for long. After the separation of Binnenwijsd, Westwoud became impoverished. The apostolic missionary who cared for Binnenwijsd eventually became the only one who provided pastoral care for the entire community. Afterwards, Westwoud received clergy again who were very faithful to the old doctrine and resisted the reformation that invaded. The villagers also remained obediently Catholic, but the new doctrine came in through the skippers and fishermen from Enkhuizen and Hoorn. The pastor of Binnenwijsd hung his bar on the coat rack and left. However, he was too Roman for his new sheep and so the Protestants went to the 'pagan church' of Westwoud where an ordinary fisherman led the way somewhat clumsily.