The Project Hougoumont appeal by Peter Snow

[cranpon]

il serait grandement temps de restaurer se haut lieu de notre histoire;philippe

[christianbuczko]

Check out "waterloo uncovered" channel if this interests you. They are investigating that site on an industrial scale excavation and finding alot of history.

[MrDidz]

I was amazed when I visited the battlefield not just at how little interest and respect the Belgians have for their own history, but also how little basic marketing savvy some of the Belgian owners had for the historic properties they own. Our guide told us that because the owners are prevented from knocking down these buildings due to their historic content, they instead deliberately neglect them with the intention of allowing them to fall down on their own.

But I was struck for example by the state of La Haie Sainte the farm that defended the centre of the allied line for most of the battle until finally taken by the French. When I visited it was boarded up with ugly sheets of cheap crumbling chip board to prevent anyone gaining access to it, and the gardens and orchard were overgrown and neglected, and it occurred to me that the owner was simply wasting an amazing financial opportunity. Had the idiot just opened the gate and charged £5 each for admission he would have made a fortune. But had he had even an ounce of basic business acumen then turning the courtyard into a small cafe and museum would have reaped in a absolute mass of visitors that would more than have paid for its upkeep and maintenance.

Similar situations were found a Hougoumont, where the sulky owners scowled at us from the windows of the gardiners house and then came out and told us to sod-off, and at Gemioncourt where the gallant Belgian 7th Line held off the French for so long, and we were routed by two ferocious dogs released by its owner on our approach. To my mind this entire area of Belgium should just be handed over to Britain and let us look after the place.