The mausoleum takes the form of a temple with a ribbed dome, the design being based on one in the garden at Montacute (Sir Bernhard had rented this house for a time during Sir Henry’s childhood). The columns support an entablature with inscriptions in English, Greek and Latin. The bronze chest tomb which used to stand under the dome was emblazoned with the Samuelson coat of arms and the family motto: Post Tenebras Lux (After darkness [comes] dawn [or light]) It was designed by the sculptor George Frampton.
Probably Roland Plumbe, the architect used by Samuelson to rebuild the mansion in Hatchford Park.
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Grade II (England and Wales)
1919
The mausoleum was built by Sir Henry Samuelson for his father, Sir Bernhard (1820-1905), mother Caroline (1821-86) and sister Florence (1857-81). All three were exhumed from Torquay cemetery and re-interred here in 1920. Sir Henry had wished to create a ‘Temple of Sleep’ where the whole family could rest together, though in the event he and his wife were interred elsewhere. In 1960-1 the bronze chest-tomb which had been brought from Torquay to stand under the dome was stolen. Although it was recovered on that occasion, it disappeared for good soon afterwards. In the years that followed, the mausoleum was stripped of its doors and panelling. The building and surrounding land were acquired by Surrey County Council in 1992.
The surrounding trees have been cut back and the fabric is generally sound, but sections of the cornice and the little obelisks which used to stand on the canopy were lost some time ago (2003).
BoE: Surrey (1971), 308;
J Grant, ‘The Strange Story of the Samuelson Mausoleum at Hatchford Park’, Surrey History, 5, 3 (1995), 76-83.
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Please note: The location information below is approximate - we are in the process of improving the accuracy.
Hatchford Park (in the grounds)
Hatchford
Surrey
KT11 1LR
England