The design of this imposing mausoleum, with its canted corners supported by paired columns, belongs to the group of mausolea whose overall form was derived from that of a building published in A Treatise on Civil Architecture by William Chambers in 1759. Chambers' building had a dome, and a later version of the type, the famous Darnley mausoleum (1784) was crowned with a pyramid, while the Dalziel mausoleum merely has a flat roof, like the Garland mausoleum in Brookwood Cemetery (c.1920). Entrance to the octagonal central chamber is gained via a pair of fine bronze doors surmounted by a broken pediment. The entire building is raised on a substantial terrace, also octagonal on plan, and approached by a long flight of shallow steps. Above the doorway is the inscription "Dalziel of Wooler".
Cecil Henry Perkins
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Grade II (England and Wales)
1928
Davison Alexander, Lord Dalziel of Wooler (1854-1928) was the director of the Pullman Car and International Sleeping Car Companies, and Chairman of the General Motorcab Company. He introduced Pullman carriages to Britain's railways, and founded London's first taxi company. He also had interests in rubber and publishing (being related to the famous engravers of the same name).
The mausoleum is said to have cost £20,000 to build, the site itself cost £8,000. Story has it that two of the eight granite columns were found to be three inches short and had to be re-supplied from the quarry. The mausoleum originallyk stood in a large parcel of land which was surrendered to the Friends of Highgate in 1999 and which has since been used for burials.
Good (2002)
BoE, London 4 (1998) 354;
Felix Barker and John Gay: Highgate Cemetery, Victorian Valhalla (1984), 43;
C Brooks, Mortal Remains (1989) 151;
Hugh Meller; London Cemeteries: an Illustrated Guide and Gazetteer (1985), 156;
Jean Pateman: In Highgate Cemetery (Friends of Highgate Cemetery, 1992);
Lynn F Pearson: Mausoleums (2002), 22.
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Please note: The location information below is approximate - we are in the process of improving the accuracy.
Highgate East Cemetery
Swain's Lane
Highgate
N6 6PJ