Open House 2024 (2): Burton Mausoleum

 

ST MARY MAGDALEN'S RC CHURCH, 61 NORTH WORPLE WAY, MORTLAKE, SW14 8PR

Open House web site says:

 Grade II* listed mausoleum in the form of a Bedouin tent carved to resemble draping canvas. The mausoleum houses the coffins of Sir Richard and Lady Isabel Burton. The interior is painted with religious imagery and decorated with camel bells, lamps, and dried flowers.

It really does look like an old tent. Helped by the stone's acquiring since 1890 a  covering of grime, lichen and moss. You have to get fairly close before it becomes apparent that the fabric is sandstone and not canvas.

This is the final resting place of Richard Burton. No, not that one. Sir Richard Burton the explorer, writer, scholar, and military officer. The one who translated One Thousand and One Nights, published the Kama Sutra in English, and tried to locate the source of the Nile. That Richard Burton. He travelled extensively in the Middle East and studied the region's culture and religion, controversially (even more so in modern eyes) disguised himself as an Afghan Sheik and performed the Hajj, the sacred pilgrimage to Mecca.  

 

 The mausoleum also contains Lady Isabel Burton, his wife, who designed the structure incorporating Middle Eastern symbolism and that of her own Roman Catholic faith. Why a tent? Burton is recorded as having said to Isabel that when they died, ‘I should like us both to be in a tent, side by side’. And so they are. 

At the rear there is a skylight window, incorporated because Burton was said to be afraid of the dark. I suppose no one was going to tell him that he wouldn't need to worry about that given that he had a bit of a scary reputation. It was originally of stained glass but some nerk put that in during the 60s or 70s when vandalism also resulted in the doorway being sealed shut to protect the interior. The stained glass was replaced by thick clear glass which means that by climbing a short, sturdy vertical ladder fixed into the ground on the east side you can see the interior. The fancier coffin is Richard's, the plainer one Isabel's, and the decor does have a slight 1970s hippy look about it 😀

Habitat and Heritage look after the mausoleum and plans (funded I think they said) are underway to re-open the door to allow better access. Until then according to the link above access to the outside is usually available 0900 to 1500 daily. Although you won't benefit from having the enthusiastic and knowledgeable guides present for Open House. That page also gives a lot more info on both of the Burtons.

It's not somewhere I'd have stumbled upon without the pointer from Open House though and even if I had probably wouldn't have climbed the ladder lest someone shout at me, there being nothing to indicate that it is allowed.

There's more photos in my Open House 2024 Flickr Album