Dartrey Mausoleum

Freestanding red brick mausoleum attributed to James Wyatt, built on a square ground plan having limestone base plinth with tetrastyle pedimented entrance front and bowed central bay to rear.  Round-headed doorway to centre of principal elevation having flanking blind window openings and oculi.  The building originally carried a dome with central oculus however this was replaced in the 19^th century with a shallow pyramidal slate roof – a Zinc clad dome, has been reinstated as part of recent works. 

Exposed brick interior having plastered soffit to dome.  Niche to east wall having Carrera marble sculptural grouping by Joseph Wilton (appointed ‘Sculptor to his Majesty’ by George III in 1764).

The mausoleum originally stood facing Dawson’s Grove, the family seat (now demolished).  It is currently surrounded by dense forest.

Architect

James Wyatt

Style

--

Listing

Protected Structure (Republic of Ireland)

Year built

c.1770

History

Commissioned by Thomas Dawson, 1^st Baron Dartrey in memory of his first wife Lady Anne Fermor, who died in March 1769. The mausoleum is modeled on the pantheon in Rome and is believed to be by James Wyatt – making this Wyatts first commission in Ireland. Curiously, Lady Anne was never laid to rest in the mausoleum but at the nearby St John’s Church and later reinterred in 1798 at Stoke Poges Church, Buckinghamshire.

Dawson later married Philadelphia Hannah Freame, granddaughter of William Penn, founder of Pennsylvania, USA.

Condition

The estate and lands on which the mausoleum stand were solid to the Irish Forestry Commission (Coillte) in 1946 and the structure sadly fell into considerable decay and dereliction. In recent years the Dartrey Heritage Association have undertaken considerable restoration and conservation works with the support of Monaghan County Council, the Heritage Council and the Irish Georgian Society.

Sources

Anon. (2016). A Shining Distinction on Earth . Available: https://theirishaesthete.com/tag/dartrey-mausoleum/. Last accessed 1st Oct 2016.

John Redmill. (2016). The Dartrey Mausoleum [or Dawson Temple]. Available: https://www.igs.ie/conservation/project/the-dartrey-mausoleum-or-dawson-temple-dartrey-co.-monaghan. Last accessed 1st Oct 2016.

Anon. (2016). Lady Anne Dawson Temple Project. Available: http://www.clogherhistory.ie/Lady-Anne-Dawson-Temple-Project. Last accessed 1st Oct 2016.

Anon. (2012). Lady Anne Dawson Temple, County Monaghan . Available: http://www.buildingsofireland.ie/niah/search.jsp?type=record&county=MO®no=41402308. Last accessed 1st Oct 2016.

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