The Darnley Mausoleum...

The Darnley Mausoleum, as seen looking west...

Just outside Cuxton’s northern parish boundary, over the border in Cobham, lies the Darnley mausoleum. This striking local landmark is an isolated, imposing and eerie structure, built of brick and faced with white Portland stone, and has a long and somewhat chequered history. 

The Darnley coat of arms: "Finem Respice" - Consider The End (i.e. how would you like to be remembered?)

The Earls of Darnley, with connections to Cobham Hall dating back to the 13^th century, were usually buried in Westminster Abbey. By the late 18th century however, their vaults were full. In his will, the 3rd Earl, John Bligh, left instructions for a mausoleum to be built in Cobham Park, Kent, where he and his descendants could be laid to rest in a grand manner.  (His unfortunate grandson Edward, the fifth Earl, has his own modest and sadly unrestored memorial just down the hill from where the mausoleum is now). 

Of the detailed instructions he left in his will, it clearly stated that he wanted a square stone building with a 'prominent pyramid' surrounded by a dry moat.

View looking east, showing the vaulted staircase to the circular chapel on the first floor...

 After the Earl's death, the family commissioned architect James Wyatt to design a mausoleum following the instructions set out in his will. Wyatt exhibited his design at the Royal Academy in 1783, but due to a heavy workload, the mausoleum was built under the supervision of another famous architect, George Dance the Younger. 

The mausoleum was completed in 1786, at a cost of £9000 (over £1.7 million in today's prices) but for reasons that remain unclear (possibly involving a dispute with the Bishop of Rochester) the Darnley Mausoleum was never consecrated and could not be used for burial. 

View looking north-west, with entrance to the ground floor crypt.  Note the representations of sarcophagi on the corners of the roof...

However, shortly after it was completed, Humphrey Repton started to redesign the landscapes around Cobham Hall for the 4th Earl in the 1790s and subsequently over nearly 30 years. As a result, the mausoleum became an important landscape feature, sitting at the highest point of the Darnley estate. 

During the 20th-century the Earls of Darnley struggled to maintain the Cobham estate, with the mausoleum’s declining state highlighted in Country Life magazine 1939.

Moving out of Cobham Hall in the 1950s, the family sold off most of the estate, although the Darnley Mausoleum and surrounding woodland remained in the family’s hands. 

Without a gamekeeper to maintain security around the mausoleum, it became the main attraction for vandals, with graffiti and over 90 wrecked cars littering the site.

Burnt-out cars, early eighties...

After an arson attack in the crypt on 5 November 1980, the floor of the chapel collapsed, and the elegant outer staircase was destroyed. With much of the interior blackened, damaged and destroyed, the future looked bleak for the mausoleum. 

It continued to decline, and schemes proposed included moving it to Shorne Wood Country Park or even to the United States. These came to nothing. In the same period vandalism and joy-riding of stolen cars became endemic in the woods, making it effectively out-of-bounds to mainstream users. 

The 11th Earl of Darnley renewed attempts to find a long-term solution. After a public inquiry, developers were granted permission to convert the mausoleum into a palatial residence, but they went bankrupt before the scheme could be realised. 

In 2001, the Cobham Ashenbank Management Scheme, known as CAMS, was formed as a consortium comprising the National Trust, English Heritage, Cobham Hall, Natural England, Kent County Council and Gravesham Council. 

The plight of the mausoleum was highlighted in the first series of BBC televisions ‘Restoration’ in 2003, which publicised severely neglected buildings of heritage importance. Although not being chosen by the nation as the ‘winner’, CAMS were eventually able to provide the funding for Gravesham Borough Council to buy the mausoleum and the surrounding woodland for £150,000.  

Aftermath of the arson attack, collapsed floor...

CAMS also secured £5m from the Heritage Lottery Fund and later £746,000 from the Office of The Deputy Prime Minister and Union Railways (which built the High Speed One railway) to fund the restoration.  

Fortunately, some original drawings existed and in 1946, James Wraight RIBA had also photographed and made full, measured drawings of the building, which greatly facilitated restoration to its previous state before any vandalism. 

The restored first floor ("piano nobile") with plinth and rose marble columns

In 2010, the Darnley Mausoleum won the ‘Conservation and Craftsmanship’ category in the Kent Design Awards, as well as their ‘Project of the Year’.

 

The restored domed ceiling, as seen from the upper floor...

A condition of the Heritage Lottery Fund was that ownership and maintenance of the property would transfer to the National Trust. In April 2014, the Mausoleum opened its doors to visitors and, staffed by knowledgeable and friendly volunteers, it continues to welcome visitors (usually on the first Sunday of every month during the summer).

Restored chapel window...

Rose marble columns in the chapel...

Spaces for coffins in the ground floor crypt...

Domed ceiling of the crypt...

The crypt, with the central bay that would have housed the remains of the third earl, had the mausoleum been consecrated...

I was able to take advantage of their hospitality today, and if, like me, you are fascinated by local history, then I’d strongly advise you to take a look around when you can. 

References:

1)    The National Trust, Cobham Mausoleum

2)    BritainExpress.com, entry for Cobham mausoleum...

3)     Darnley Mausoleum, Wikipedia