"La Haye Sainte - what colour roof tiles??" Topic

As question says, what colour were the La Haye Sainte roof tiles at the time of the Battle of Waterloo?

I have seen models and illustrations with both (slate??) grey tiles and reddish brown tiles. And current photos show both with grey tiles (for the house and barn) and reddish brown tiles (for part of stables).

Whitewashed walls look fairly unanimous so just need to double check the roof tiles.

Thanks very much

James

Consensus view seems to be blue-grey slate, as it's the local material, so why would they have used anything else.

try

link

nd to compare

link

and

link

and then tell me your conclusion

The Airfix box had red:

The contemporary prints seem to be a vote for slate. On speculation was that slate, as the more expensive and prestige material, might have been confined to the farmhouse, but not used for the cowshed…

If it was blue/gray in color, best bet would suggest a local slate material – and you're right, a more expensive option.
A red or terracotta color would suggest the use of a less expensive fired clay tile.
The slate would be seen on prominent buildings, such as churches, or successful/affluent merchant or farmers houses – the clay tile would have been more likely found on stables, barns and homesteads – though not always. Bottom line, if you could afford it, then you'd go for slate – if not, then clay tile.
The least expensive material would probably have been thatch – not sure whether there were any thatched properties on or near the Waterloo battlefield.

Interestingly, a number of the images in VW's first link above, indicate thatched properties – images 5, 11 and 13 seem to show thatch on some cottages and an attached barn structure.

Images 15 and 16 clearly represent LHS – and indicate blue/gray, suggesting slate. But, the detail is off, as the second, upper, row of dormers on the main farmhouse are not shown, the structure attached to the garden wall is shown in image 15, but not represented in image 16, and I'm not sure the masonry wall extended south of the buildings flanking the orchard on the roadside. Image 15 is good, image 16, not so much…..

Thanks guys.

I may go for blue-gray slate tiles for Plancenoit church and the LHS Farmhouse, and for the red brown clay tiles for stable and barn and piggery. That would allow us to blend in with some of the other buildings which we will use for Plancenoit village.

Cheers

James