Sacheverell-Bateman Mausoleum

Standing in a prominent location to the east of the church and adjacent to a section of medieval wall (possibly representing a fragment of the old manor of Morley, long since demolished).

Three-bay single-storey Perpendicular Gothic Revival style mausoleum. Roof hidden behind parapet. Cross finial to east. Red sandstone ashlar walls with stepped baseplinth, buttressing and parapet stringcourse. Ogee-headed niches carrying statuary to south elevation. Multi-foil mullioned lights grouped within square-headed opes to south and west with round-head ope to east having stained glass by Burlison and Grylls.

Finely painted ceiling to interior. Marble sarcophagus to centre of floor having glass inlayed within the lid, forming a cross. Altar to east wall. Framed memorial inscription, on vellum, to wall.

Architect

George Frederick Bodley

Style

Gothic Revival

Listing

Grade II* (England and Wales)

Year built

1897

History

The mausoleum was built in memory of Hugh Alleyne Sacheverell-Bateman (1860-1896) by his wife, Anna (1866-1946). The couple lived at Morley Manor. Bateman was a good musician, a splendid shot and an expert horseman. Prior to his marriage he had led a number of exploratory expeditions to Asia and North America and had learned to sleep in the saddle. Apparently he was asleep while returning from a day’s hunting when his horse, which knew the way home, walked under a low branch. The branch struck Bateman full in the face and knocked the stem of his pipe through the roof of his mouth. He lived for a time but finally died of septicaemia. The Bateman’s had no children and Anna did not marry again until 1913. Her second husband was Commander Russell Lister-Kaye who was Deputy Director of Naval Intelligence during the 1st World War. Morley Manor was sold in 1938 and, at Anna’s death in 1946, the mausoleum became the property of her sister’s grandson, the late Duke of Valderano (d.2005). It was he who, in 1996, consigned it to the care of the MMT.

Condition

Good. During the last eight years, the roof, stonework, ironwork, stained glass and vellum inscription have all been restored by the MMT with the help of grants from English Heritage, the Glazier’s Trust and the Barbara Whatmore Charitable Trust, as well as donations from our members (2006).