Description

This list entry was subject to a Minor Amendment on 17/05/2017

22/47/452

ISLEWORTH
ST MARGARET'S ROAD (East side)
THE KILMOREY MAUSOLEUM (INCLUDING ENCLOSURE WALL, RAILINGS AND GATE)

(Formerly listed as: ISLEWORTH, ST MARGARET'S ROAD, THE KILMOREY MAUSOLEUM (INCLUDING ENCLOSURE WALL, RAILINGS AND GATE))

06-OCT-89

II*
Mausoleum and enclosure wall with railings and gates. 1854 by Henry Kendall junior (1805-88) for Francis Needham, second Earl of Kilmorey (1787-1880); brought to present location in 1868.

Mausoleum of pink and grey granite, with bronze door, roof not visible but part-glazed. Enclosure wall of brick, rendered, with stone coping and piers in the form of pink granite obelisks with incised ornament; cast-iron railings (not complete) and gates.

PLAN: The mausoleum, 15 ft square in plan, stands within a walled enclosure, formerly part of the grounds of Gordon House. Octagonal dwarf wall with gateway to east side, in front of door.

EXTERIOR: Egyptian style mausoleum. Battered sides, above plinth, of grey granite; beaded decoration to arrises, door surrounds, cavetto cornice all of pink granite. Panels of lotus flower decoration flank the dooors (blind to three sides, and of granite, functioning to east side and of bronze), which are decorated with stars set within squares. Cornice decorated with winged sun-discs with serpents. Roof part-glazed. Enclosure walls with obelisk-shaped piers, decorated with caducei (snake-entwined rods). Stylised acanthus-enriched cast iron railings partially in situ.

INTERIOR: unusually elaborate mausoleum interior, lined in pink and grey granite. Two lead-lapped coffins lie on a granite shelf running around three sides of the chamber. Opposite the door is a Neoclassical marble relief by Lawrence Macdonald of Rome (1799-1878) depicting a deathbed scene, with an angel pointing heavenwards.

HISTORY: this mausoleum was erected to receive the remains of Priscilla Hoste (1823-1854), mistress of Lord Kilmorey and mother of his son Charles (b.1844). The drawings are signed by Kendall and Pope, architects, of 33 Brunswick Square. Originally erected in Brompton cemetery, the mausoleum was moved first to Woburn Park near Weybridge in c.1862, and thence to its present position in c.1868. A fine example of an Egyptian-style mausoleum, with an unusually good interior, this structure has had a remarkable history of relocation reflecting the affection Lord Kilmorey felt for his mistress, even in death. The mausoleum suffered some damage in the storms of 1987.

SOURCES: A.C.B. Urwin, 'The Second Earl of Kilmorey and his Mausoleum in St Margarets', (Borough of Twickenham Local History Society, paper no. 75, 1997); idem., 'The Story of Gordon, Lacey and St Margaret's Houses' (The Hounslow and District Society, 1974). Original drawings of the mausoleum are in the Public Record Office, ref. WORK 38/146.

Listing NGR: TQ1660974904

External Links

• Historic England Listing
• Kilmorey Mausoleum at Wikipedia
• Wikidata Q15979030

External links are from the relevant listing authority and, where applicable, Wikidata. Wikidata IDs may be related buildings as well as this specific building. If you want to add or update a link, you will need to do so by editing the Wikidata entry.

Recommended Books

• 
  Old House Handbook 2 Books Bundle Collection (Old House Handbook: A Practical Guide to Care and Repair,Old House Eco Handbook: A Practical Guide to Retrofitting for Energy-Efficiency & Sustainability)
• 
  Somerset: North and Bristol: The Buildings of England (Pevsner Architectural Guides) (Pevsner Architectural Guides: Buildings of England)
• 
  Norfolk 1: Norwich and North-East: Norwich and North-east v. 1 (Pevsner Architectural Guides: Buildings of England)
• 
  Churches: An Architectural Guide (Pevsner Architectural Guides: Introductions)
• 
  Department for Communities Listed Historic Buildings of Northern Ireland: Information Guide for the 2nd Survey of Historic Buildings
• 
  Gwent/Monmouthshire (Pevsner Architectural Guides: Buildings of Wales)