Much of the charm of this lichen-covered mausoleum derives from its rather illiterate use of Classical detail. The shallow pediment is filled with carved scrollwork and the doorway is flanked by the type of curved pilasters normally used on a fireplace. The polished granite inscription panels on the side walls commemorate John Godden (see above) and Raymond Anthony Godden (d.1971). The interior of the mausoleum is fitted with coffin shelves.
Not known
Neo-Classical
Grade II (England and Wales)
1887
This mausoleum is thought to have been built by John Godden (1845-1938) following the death of his first wife, Anna Maria Jane (1860-1887). John’s father, William Godden, was manager of the North Wheal Robert Mine and lived in Sampford Spiney from the 1850s onwards. When he was only twenty John, who was a mining engineer, made a fortune by his discovery of guano deposits on Curacao in the West Indies. It was there that he met his Dutch wife, Anna, whose father was Governor of the Island. John Godden had ten children in all, six by his first wife and four by his second, and his descendants have continued to use the mausoleum up to the present day. In 1957 one of these, William Godden, set up a trust fund of £200 for the general maintenance of the churchyard of Sampford Spiney.
Good externally (2002).
Information provided by a member of the family.
None
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Churchyard of St Mary
Sampford Spiney
Devon
PL20 6JF
England