Nash Mausoleum

The strange design of this mausoleum with its dome surmounted by a four-legged obelisk topped with a carved flower does suggest the hand of Nash. It may also be argued that the incongruity between the rugged rustication on the lower walls and the delicacy, even thinness, of the mouldings higher up, can be explained by the inexperience of the architect. The plan of the building is relatively simple; it has a square central chamber flanked by wings each containing nine loculi. All save one of these is sealed by a slate panel bearing an inscription.

Architect

Probably John Nash

Style

Listing

Grade II* (England and Wales)

Year built

1778

History

Thomas Nash (d.1778) made a fortune as a calico printer. The inscription on the mausoleum describes him as “Merchant Citizen of London and one of His Majesty’s Justices of the Peace for…Kent and Surrey”. He was also the uncle of the architect John Nash (1752-1835) to whom he left a legacy in his will. Although there is no hard evidence for this, it is probable that the mausoleum is an early work of Nash. The exterior was restored in 1988 with the help of English Heritage, Sevenoaks District Council, the Leche Trust, the Georgian Group, the Pilgrim Trust and the mausoleum’s own small Trust Fund. Following the death of the sole surviving Trustee, it was taken into the guardianship of the MMT in 1997.