Lock of the Gate of Hougoumont

Hougoumont was an important strongpoint on the right flank of the Allied line. It was defended by a mixture of soldiers from Nassau (a German state) and British troops. During the battle the fighting around the farmhouse grew more intense. The North Gate, which had been left open to allow movement of Allied troops in and out of Hougoumont, had to be shut and locked as the French came around the side of farmhouse. However, a unit of French soldiers, led by Sous-Lieutenant Legros, forced their way through the gate into the farmhouse.

The gates had to be closed and the Frenchmen who had got inside needed to be killed. Lieutenant-Colonel Macdonell led three other officers, Lieutenant-Colonel Wyndham and Ensigns Hervy and Gooch, to try and shut the gates. Along with the help of their soldiers from the 2nd Battalion, Coldstream Guards, they managed to close them. They then killed all the French soldiers who had got into the farmhouse, although one popular story says that a drummer boy was spared on account of his youth.

The ferocity of the fighting would affect the soldiers for the rest of their lives. Many went on to suffer from what now be called PTSD (Post Traumatic Stress Disorder). After his experience of closing the gate, Wyndham refused to ever shut a door again, preferring to sit in a draughty room than close the door himself.

The lock now serves as a reminder of the Guards’ heroic defence of such an important position, a moment that helped decide the outcome of the battle.