Rothschild Mausoleum

A classical pepperpot, the form of which is loosely based on that of Bramante’s Tempietto in Rome. Where Wyatt’s design differs most radically from that of its predecessor, however, is in the application of ornament; every part of the building displays a different type of Renaissance motif. The effect is sumptuous if rather busy.

Architect

Sir Matthew Digby Wyatt

Style

--

Listing

Grade II (England and Wales)

Year built

1866

History

The mausoleum was erected following the death of Evelina Rothschild (1839-1866). She was the younger daughter of Charlotte and Lionel Rothschild and, though neither as clever nor as beautiful as her mother and sister Leonora, seems to have had a particularly sweet nature. She married her cousin, Baron Ferdinand de Rothschild (1839-1898) in July 1865 but died in December the following year after giving birth to a stillborn child. The family was devastated and Ferdinand never married again. Inscribed on the wall of the mausoleum, in both Hebrew and English, are some lines he adapted from Psalm 139.

If I ascend up into Heaven
Thou art there
If I lie down in the grave
Behold I find thee
Even where thy hand leads me
And thy right hand supports me.

Baron Ferdinand de Rothschild (1839-1898) belonged to the Austrian branch of the Rothschild family. He was born in Paris but settled in England when he was twenty one. Between 1874 and 1880 he built the mansion at Waddesdon in Buckinghamshire, now owned by the National Trust, and filled it with a magnificent collection of furniture and works of art. In his will he left his collection to the British Museum.

Condition

Not known, but the mausoleum was vandalized in June 2005 when the doors were forced open and it was spray-painted with swastikas.

Sources

Dictionary of National Biolgraphy;

H Meller, London Cemeteries: An Illustrated Guide and Gazetteer (1985) 176-8.

S Weintraub, Charlotte and Lionel: A Rothschild Love Story (2003).

Links

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