This two-storey Gothic Revival mausoleum lies at the base of the steep mound on which the church stands. Though west of the church, it is not aligned with the west door, and there is no easy access down the slope. The building appears to be a double square, of approximately 24 by 12 feet, set east/west, and arranged in three bays. The east face is occupied by a portal with double doors and the west by a trefoil in the gable, filled by a metal grille and, at the lower level, a lancet window to light the burial chamber. Inside, a substantial stone staircase at the west end of the building leads down to the lower floor. There are remains of flanking structures at the east end of the burial chamber, perhaps intended for loculi.
Probably James K Colling
Gothic Revival
Grade II (England and Wales)
1868
Juliana, Countess of Leicester (d.1870) was the first wife of the 2nd Earl of Leicester. In 1869 she had commissioned James K Colling to restore the medieval of church of St Withburga. When she died the following year, having borne the Earl four sons and seven daughters, he is likely to have employed the same architect to build the family mausoleum.
The estate has maintained the mausoleum in good condition, although some glass panes in the lancets are broken and some of the flint facing has fallen away (2004).
BoE: Norfolk 2, (1999), 413;
Burke’s Peerage.
None
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Churchyard of St Withburga
Holkham Park
Holkham
Norfolk
NR23 1AB
England