Ferme de Mont-Saint-Jean

About the museum

The Ferme de Mont-Saint-Jean, in Waterloo, is a listed building with a long history. A charter of 1219 records its donation to the Order of the Hospitallers of Saint John of Jerusalem, the future Order of Malta. From 1654 it was leased to the Boucquéau family, a descendant of whom still owned it in 1815. The present building dates from 1719 and was enclosed on four sides as a square in 1765.

On 15 June 1815 the Duke of Wellington set up his field hospital there. Under the direction of Deputy Inspector Gunning of the Royal Army Medical Corps, some 6,000 soldiers were treated there, which earned the farm the nicknames “English Hospital” and “British Ambulance”. Among the patients were Wellington's aides-de-camp and Prince William of Orange, wounded in the shoulder.

Sold in 1846 to the Claus family, who ran it until 2014, the farm was bought in 2014 by Anthony Martin of the John Martin brewery, and an emergency restoration plan was launched in 2015. Today it houses a micro-brewery producing Waterloo beer, a micro-distillery, a restaurant, a shop, an event hall in the barn and the museum “Le Revers de la Médaille”, devoted to the 1815 hospital, the role of women in the survival of the wounded, the history of battlefield hospitals and the history of the farm itself.

Highlights

• Museum “Le Revers de la Médaille” on the 1815 field hospital
• Work of the surgeons, instruments, weapons and uniforms
• Visit to the micro-brewery and micro-distillery, with tasting
• Brasserie de Waterloo with a terrace on the battlefield
• Listed farm whose present building dates from 1719

Permanent exhibition

• Le Revers de la Médaille : l'Hôpital des Anglais – Permanent exhibition on Wellington's field hospital at the farm from 15 to 18 June 1815, the role of women, the history of battlefield hospitals and the history of the farm.

Admission & discounts

Single museum admission: €5; no other rate is given.

Accessibility

• Wheelchair accessible
• Elevator: no information
• Accessible restroom: no information
• Accessible parking: no information
• Service dogs welcome: no information
• Tactile models & exhibits: no information
• Sign language tours: no information
• Easy-to-read materials: no information
• Audio description: no information

The Walloon Brabant tourism federation lists the site as accessible to people with reduced mobility; the farm's website gives no details. Animals are not admitted to the museum.

Kids & families

• Playground / play area

Play area near the restaurant, from where parents can keep an eye on their children. Animals are not admitted to the museum.

Getting there & parking

By car: exit 26 of the Paris–Brussels motorway; GPS coordinates 50.68561, 4.40992.

Amenities & dining

• Restaurant
• Museum shop

Brasserie de Waterloo (140 seats, terraces of about 500 m² on the battlefield, brunch, 20 draught beers), the “Le Comptoir” shop and an online shop; toilets on site according to the tourism federation.

Events & venue rental

• Spaces for rent

Rooms for hire and public events at the farm (see the Events page).

Plan your visit