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Edwards Mausoleum

The chapel has a low-pitched roof with a parapet and diagonal buttresses. The monument it shelters stands in the centre of the space and is raised on four steps. It takes the form of a tall obelisk, surmounted by an urn and adorned with cartouches bearing coats of arms, standing on a large marble chest with diagonally set consoles at the corners. Freestanding pedestals, also bearing urns, occupy the four corners of the chapel.

Architect

Sparrow of Stamford (mason)

Style

--

Listing

Grade II* (England and Wales)

Year built

1809

History

When Francis Edwards died in 1729 his daughter Mary erected an elaborate monument in the churchyard. By the beginning of the 19th century this had become so weathered that Sir Gerard Noel Noel, the great grandson of Francis Edwards, decided to build a chapel attached to the church and place the tomb inside. This chapel, which is large enough to be mistaken for the north transept of the church, was built by a local mason, Sparrow of Stamford. When it was finished the coffins of Mary Edwards (d.1743), Gerard-Anne Edwards (d.1773) and Lady Jane Edwards (d.1811) were transferred to the vault beneath it. Sir Gerard Noel Noel joined them there in 1838, though his memorial at the base of the monument was not added till 1921. The large Perpendicular window in the north wall of the chapel was inserted in 1870 when the church was restored.

Condition

Good (2003).

Sources

BoE: Leics (1984), 419-20;

Shell Guide: Leics (1970), 110;

VCH: Leics, 5, (1964), 335.

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Edwards Mausoleum Edwards Mausoleum

Location

Church of St Andrew
Main Street
Welham
Leicestershire
LE16 7UJ
England