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The Mausolea and
Monuments Trust Registered Charity Number: 1106634 70 Cowcross Street, London EC1M 6EJ Tel: 020 7608 1441 [email protected] |
ARTICLES FROM RECENT MMT NEWSLETTERS November 2003 Restoring a
Masterpiece The restoration of the iron gates protecting the door of the Sacheverell-Bateman mausoleum is nearing completion. The work is being carried out under the supervision of our architect, Mark Parsons of Anthony Short and Partners, by Andrew Renwick of Ridgeway Forge. In addition to the repairs to the ironwork itself, the colours of the historic paintwork have been investigated. For this purpose, a paint conservator, Catherine Hassall, took in situ photographs of the gates, cut sections through the paint and analysed the historic layers. This established that the original colour of the ironwork was dark green with a limited amount of gilding. The extent of the re-gilding to be carried out will be agreed with English Heritage. The copper shield was much more elaborately decorated than the ironwork. The only parts of the shield not to receive a layer of initial gilding were the square in the upper left corner and the shield with the hand. The square was painted blue, and the background of the shield with the hand was painted white. The other coloured layers were applied over the gilding; the crescents, central star and the hand were painted red, and the recessed border of the shield black. Mr Morgan-Owen, a local specialist, has also been consulted on the paintwork and, before going ahead with the redecoration of the shield, we will be asking Max Cravens Derby Armorials and other bodies, including the Royal College of Arms, about the precise colours we should use for the heraldry. The final stage of the repair programme is the restoration of the fine stained glass windows by Burlison and Grylls. We are going out to tender on this now and will be putting the work in hand in the spring. With any luck all should be finished in time for a grand opening ceremony in the summer. All our friends will then be invited to celebrate the completion of this project carried out as a tribute to our late foundress, Jill Allibone. Other articles in this newsletter included:
Miserable
Mausoleum 2: Hope Mausoleum Several years ago, in 1997-98, the MMT attempted to highlight the plight of the Hope Mausoleum in the grounds of The Deepdene, near Dorking in Surrey. The Hope Mausoleum, built and consecrated in 1818, is an austere and massive structure with inward sloping walls and a heavy over-sailing pediment (which once bore a bronze 'religious symbol'). It is pierced only by an arched door, closed by an iron or bronze grille, and stood in an enclosure defended by simple ironwork. It was here where Thomas Hope, the celebrated collector and arbiter of taste, was buried in 1831, followed by other members of his family. The last interment was that of the 6th Duke of Newcastle in 1941. In 1954 the mausoleum was permanently sealed up and buried in earth up to the level of the roof. The buried mausoleum and surrounding land was bequeathed to the urban district of Dorking in the will of the 7th Duke of Newcastle in 1960, in order to preserve the land as a public open space. As such it is still owned (freehold) and administered by Mole Valley District Council. Some years ago we went in search of Hope's Mausoleum and found it in the overgrown woods, only its pediment emerging from the earth like some Etruscan tomb. The MMT hoped to persuade Mole Valley to help us excavate the tomb and restore both it and its setting. The Council was initially supportive of the idea, as was the Dorking and District Preservation Society; this group is presently attempting to restore parts of the former gardens of The Deepdene, and have commissioned a Restoration and Management Plan to do so. The Hope Mausoleum is one which is close to the heart of the MMT, and we would dearly love to restore it to its former state. We are now once again looking into the feasibility of its exhumation, restoration, and long term care. Other articles in this newsletter included:
Raikes Mausoleum, East Riding of Yorkshire Robert Raikes (1765-1837) was a Hull banker who lived at Welton Hall. He built the mausoleum for himself and his family in 1818. It is a fine classical building, cylindrical in form, with crisply cut detail. There are some fifty Georgian mausolea in England the majority of which are relatively plain rectangular structures with low-pitched roofs and pediments. The number of those which imitate the more unusual forms of ancient Roman tombs is far smaller. The Raikes mausoleum is one such and, for this reason, of particular interest. In 1972 Pevsner described it as "overlooking a charming dell", but it is now totally surrounded with trees whose roots are undermining the structure. The steps are already at crazy angles and if something is not done soon the rest of the building will begin to fail. Letters have been sent to English Heritage, the Conservation Officer for the East Riding and a member of the Raikes family. [NOTE: In the July 2003 newsletter, we were able to report that the company owning the land has now cut down the trees which were encroaching on the Raikes mausoleum, and that the Georgian Society of East Yorkshire is to prepare a report on its condition. The MMT hopes to have the building upgraded from Grade 2 to 2*.] Other articles in this newsletter included:
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