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Finds Programme Stories:

Hougoumont: A Brief History

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Finds Programme Stories:

Hougoumont: A Brief History

Château d’Hougoumont served as a key defensive stronghold during the battle, defended against French incursions by British Guardsmen, Hanoverian, and Nassau light troops. Its position slightly forward of the main Allied line on Wellington's far right flank made it the first line of defence, along with the farms at La Haye Sainte and Papelotte.

The first mentions of property at Goumont date back to the 1300s. The land passed through various hands, including the Quarré family, from 1562-1637, when it is likely the château was built. Features of military interest in the area were captured on the Ferraris map of 1777, used in planning the wars against France which stemmed from the Revolution of 1789-94. The farm was involved in the Battle of Mont Saint Jean in 1794 prior to the better known Battle of Waterloo.

Before Waterloo, Hougoumont was a working farm and gardens, managed by tenants who are likely to have lived in buildings adjoining the château. Accounts of soldiers taking pigs for food suggest they were farmed at Hougoumont. We know that sweet chestnuts grew nearby, and the orchard probably contained a variety of nut and fruit trees. There are accounts of cornfields, likely to be grains, and other possible crops include vegetables, grass and clover.

On the morning of the battle, Napoleon launched a vicious early attack on the farm, intending to lure Wellington’s reserves to the right to launch a major assault through the Allied centre. But the French attackers were met with fierce resistance, failing to capture the farm despite managing to force open the North Gate, resulting in a bloody hand-to-hand battle to re-close it.

Waterloo Uncovered has conducted extensive investigations at Hougoumont, including around the famous North Gate, in the gardens and in the area known as the 'Killing Zone', uncovering many new facts about the farm and its defence. Read on to find out more about our discoveries there.

The painting the Defence of the Chateau de Hougoumont by Denis Dighton

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Finds Collection

This collection of objects, assembled and researched by the veteran participants on our Finds Programme as a tool to educate other veterans about the benefits of archaeology for wellbeing, give us an insight into Hougoumont around the time of the battle.

China Fragments

Fragments of a white china plate with a small makers mark on the back

These fragments of a glazed China saucer were found in a rubbish pit dug into the remains of the demolished barn. They remind us that life in Hougoumont carried on after the battle.

Clay Pipe

The bowl of a pipe would have contained the tobacco - this one has signs of burning so has been used. It is likely to be from the 1780s-1820s, and the scraped shiny surface (look for vertical scrape marks) and the decoration round the top show it was a well made pipe.

Mystery Metal Object

This puzzling metal object comes from a rubbish pit at Hougoumont, and is most likely from the 19th century. We have so far struggled to identify it - do you have any idea of what it could have been used for?

Plate Fragment

A grey sherd from a plate, with an intricate blue makers mark on the back

The mark of K&G or Keller and Guerin, the owners of Luneville pottery, was added to the Luneville mark some time after 1812. Could this plate have been used around the time of the battle of Waterloo?

White Glass Bottle

Moulded milk glass bottles like these were used for ointments and salves. This was found in the rubbish pit in the remains of the burned barn. The group found the object tactile and familiar. What does it remind you of?

Stoneware Bottle

This is a whole bottle, in pieces, which can be reconstructed. Similar bottles with marks on them were used for gin, which might indicate what was inside this bottle. It was found in a rubbish pit dug into the remains of the demolished barn.

Brick

A handmade brick. Unlike modern bricks it does not have a frog, an indent for cement, which also reduces the weight. It still has some of the mortar attached and signs of burning, which, along with where it was found, suggests it was part of the barn which burnt down during the battle for Hougoumont.

China Fragments

These fragments of a glazed China saucer were found in a rubbish pit dug into the remains of the demolished barn. They remind us that life in Hougoumont carried on after the battle.

Clay Pipe

The bowl of a pipe would have contained the tobacco - this one has signs of burning so has been used. It is likely to be from the 1780s-1820s, and the scraped shiny surface (look for vertical scrape marks) and the decoration round the top show it was a well made pipe.

Mystery Metal Object

This puzzling metal object comes from a rubbish pit at Hougoumont, and is most likely from the 19th century. We have so far struggled to identify it - do you have any idea of what it could have been used for?

Plate Fragment

The mark of K&G or Keller and Guerin, the owners of Luneville pottery, was added to the Luneville mark some time after 1812. Could this plate have been used around the time of the battle of Waterloo?

White Glass Bottle

Moulded milk glass bottles like these were used for ointments and salves. This was found in the rubbish pit in the remains of the burned barn. The group found the object tactile and familiar. What does it remind you of?

Stoneware Bottle

This is a whole bottle, in pieces, which can be reconstructed. Similar bottles with marks on them were used for gin, which might indicate what was inside this bottle. It was found in a rubbish pit dug into the remains of the demolished barn.

Brick

A handmade brick. Unlike modern bricks it does not have a frog, an indent for cement, which also reduces the weight. It still has some of the mortar attached and signs of burning, which, along with where it was found, suggests it was part of the barn which burnt down during the battle for Hougoumont.

“We chose the brick because it shows what the Château is made of, it’s a really tactile object. We’ve chosen items which show what was in use within Hougoumont at the time. The clay pipe would have been common, maybe part of a soldier’s downtime between battles. They were all tactile to me, I can feel the shape and imagine how they were part of something”

Gary, Finds Programme Participant

“We chose the brick because it shows what the Château is made of, it’s a really tactile object. We’ve chosen items which show what was in use within Hougoumont at the time. The clay pipe would have been common, maybe part of a soldier’s downtime between battles. They were all tactile to me, I can feel the shape and imagine how they were part of something”

Gary, Finds Programme Participant

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Archaeology at Hougoumont

Waterloo Uncovered have been excavating at Hougoumont farm since the charity's inception in 2015. Find out more about our discoveries at this important site.

The Sunken Way

Kitchen Garden

South Wood

South Gate

Great Orchard

Formal Garden

Courtyard

Killing Zone

The painting Closing the Gates at Hougoumont by Robert Gibb

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Closing the North Gate

Wellington once said that “the success of the battle turned upon the closing of the gates at Hougoumont”. Over the course of our five seasons of excavation at Hougoumont, we’ve discovered evidence of the point at which the French came closest to taking this important defensive position – when they forced their way through the North Gate and into the courtyard where they would meet their end.

A close up of a Coldstream Guards button

Here, we’ve discovered a number of Coldstream Guards and Scots Guards buttons by the North gate, lost by the men defending the farm from a French incursion. The closing of the gates is often attributed to the Coldstream Guards alone, but the discovery of Scots Guards buttons reasserts their role in the famous defence of the farm at the time when the French came closest to overwhelming it.

A close up image of a Coldstream Guards button

Here, we’ve discovered a number of Coldstream Guards and Scots Guards buttons by the North gate, lost by the men defending the farm from a French incursion. The closing of the gates is often attributed to the Coldstream Guards alone, but the discovery of Scots Guards buttons reasserts their role in the famous defence of the farm at the time when the French came closest to overwhelming it.

“It doesn’t really get any better than that, for a Coldstream Guard to find a Coldstream Guard button at Hougoumont Farm, next to the gate. It’s kind of a culmination of all the good things that could happen to a Guardsman on a dig like this”

Oliver, Coldstream Guardsman and 2019 Excavation Programme participant

“It doesn’t really get any better than that, for a Coldstream Guard to find a Coldstream Guard button at Hougoumont Farm, next to the gate. It’s kind of a culmination of all the good things that could happen to a Guardsman on a dig like this”

Oliver, Coldstream Guardsman and 2019 Excavation Programme participant

Learn more about the discovery and importance of the buttons with Professor Tony Pollard.

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Watch More

Learn more about Hougoumont with videos and lectures from our expert archaeological team.

Join Archaeological Director Dr Stuart Eve for a virtual tour of Hougoumont farm as it would have appeared at the time of the battle.

Professor Tony Pollard gives an introduction to the events that took place at Hougoumont during the Battle of Waterloo. This is the first of three lectures by Tony on Hougoumont farm.

Watch More

Watch Time Team's Phil Harding discuss our discoveries at the famous North Gate of Hougoumont farm - this is the first of two lectures from Phil on Hougoumont.

Watch More

Join Archaeological Director Dr Stuart Eve for a virtual tour of Hougoumont farm as it would have appeared at the time of the battle.

Professor Tony Pollard gives an introduction to the events that took place at Hougoumont during the Battle of Waterloo. This is the first of three lectures by Tony on Hougoumont farm.

Watch More

Watch Time Team's Phil Harding discuss our discoveries at the famous North Gate of Hougoumont farm - this is the first of two lectures from Phil on Hougoumont.

Watch More

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