The Waterloo Elm was located just south west of the intersection of the sunken lane and the Genappe–Brussels main road. It was the Duke of Wellington's command post for much of the

Battle of Waterloo The Battle of Waterloo was fought on Sunday 18 June 1815, near Waterloo, Belgium, Waterloo (then in the United Kingdom of the Netherlands, now in Belgium), marking the end of the Napoleonic Wars. The French Imperial Army (1804–1815), Frenc ...

(18 June 1815). The tree was killed by souvenir hunters after the battle. It was felled in 1818 and made into furniture, including a chair, made by Thomas Chippendale, the younger, that was presented to

George IV George IV (George Augustus Frederick; 12 August 1762 – 26 June 1830) was King of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland and King of Hanover from 29 January 1820 until his death in 1830. At the time of his accession to the throne, h ...

and remains in the British Royal Collection. One of the souvenir hunters was Sir

Walter Scott Sir Walter Scott, 1st Baronet (15 August 1771 – 21 September 1832), was a Scottish novelist, poet and historian. Many of his works remain classics of European literature, European and Scottish literature, notably the novels ''Ivanhoe'' (18 ...

. In 1824 for a commission by Scott, Joseph Angell, a London silversmith, incorporated the wood into a silver

quaich A quaich , Archaism, archaically quaigh or quoich, is a special kind of shallow two-handled Drinking#Alcoholic beverages, drinking cup or Bowl (vessel), bowl of a type traditional in Scotland. It derives from the Scottish Gaelic (), meaning ...

. It is engraved with Scott's motto, "Watch Well". Scott's "Waterloo Tree Quaich" was stolen along with other items from

Abbotsford House Abbotsford is a historic country house in the Scottish Borders, near Galashiels, on the south bank of the River Tweed. Now open to the public, it was built as the residence of historical novelist and poet Sir Walter Scott between 1817 and 1825 ...

in 1994. It was discovered in a French free-market and returned to its rightful owners in 2010. The dead tree was purchased by

John George Children John George Children Royal Society, FRS FRSE Fellow of the Linnean Society, FLS Royal Entomological Society, PRES (18 May 1777 – 1 January 1852 in Halstead, Kent) was a British chemist, mineralogist and zoologist. He was a friend of Sir Humph ...

, a Librarian in the British Museum and father of

Anna Atkins Anna Atkins (; 16 March 1799 – 9 June 1871) was an English botanist and photographer. She is often considered the first person to publish a book illustrated with photographic images. Some sources say that she was the first woman to create a ...

, the artist of sketch to the right. He felled the tree and had it shipped to England. Apart from the Waterloo chair in the Royal collection, he had some other items made from the lumber: a minerals cabinet, a small table cabinet, a writing table, a work-table (owned by Anne Atkins), a chair, and a stand with the bark still on it, for a bust of Wellington. Some timber was given to others and they too had pieces made; these included a chair made for the

Duke of Rutland Duke of Rutland is a title in the Peerage of England, named after Rutland, a county in the East Midlands of England. Earldoms named after Rutland have been created three times; the ninth earl of the third creation was made duke in 1703, in whos ...

and a wine cooler in the possession of Wellington College.

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References

* * * * * * {{coord, 50, 40, 48.58, N, 4, 24, 42.08, E, region:BE, display=title Waterloo Battlefield locations Individual elm trees Individual trees in Belgium

See also

Notes

References