Haagensen Memorial and Vault, Laceby Cemetery

Haagensen Memorial and Vault, Laceby Cemetery

This neo-classical memorial and family vault were erected in 1897 to commemorate Janna Haagensen and her husband, Consul Peter Henrik Haagensen. The architect is unknown.

The memorial comprises a free-standing marble statue carved from a single block of Carrara marble, depicting Janna Haagensen being guided towards heaven by an angel. Her four children cling to two tree stumps beside her, grasping at her shroud. The angel holds Janna's left arm and gestures towards heaven with her right hand, while Janna's gaze looks down upon her children. Her right arm has transformed into a branch of a tree. The statue rises from a base with raised hooded corners and a plain fascia, mounted on a pedestal with a plain stepped plinth. The front of the pedestal features a raised panel with carved rosettes at the corners and an epitaph in relief recording Janna's birth at Vinger, Norway on 7 September 1845 and death at Grimsby on 11 December 1897, alongside details of Peter Henrik Haagensen, born at Moss, Norway on 3 August 1837 and died at Bournemouth on 12 May 1919. The inscription concludes: "TO THE GLORY OF GOD / IN THE / HOPE OF RESURRECTION AND RECOGNITION IN ETERNITY".

The memorial stands centrally within a rectangular enclosure formed by chamfered red granite curb stones with dwarf posts and is aligned at forty-five degrees to the sides of the enclosure. Domed iron ventilators with pierced copper ventilation screens occupy each of the internal corners. Rectangular metal grilles set at ground level over shallow voids are positioned against the exterior faces of the north-west and south-west corners.

The subterranean family vault lies directly beneath the enclosure. It is accessed by a stairway covered by twelve overlapping rectangular cast-iron panels—six to either side—resting on a central cast-iron beam supported by cast-iron end trusses. A pair of tubular steel poles secures and holds the panels in place. Each panel bears in relief a central Patonce cross set within a diamond panel with stars at each corner and a simple loop handle at each end. When lifted, the panels reveal a marble stairway flanked by marble-lined walls with torus moulding. Each step riser features a central incised roundel and flanking lined panels.

The vault chamber is set at a right-angle to the stairway. It is lined with marble and has a segmental arched roof supported by four brackets carried on pilasters with foliate decoration. The mosaic floor comprises a plain central area surrounded by a coloured floral border depicting flowers. Both end walls contain two rows of ventilation holes within the arch. The northern wall displays a carved portrait in relief of Peter Haagensen set in a dark grey oval marble frame, while the southern wall features a matching portrait of Janna Haagensen.

Six tombs are positioned in the eastern wall beneath segmental marble arches with chamfered and stopped edges. The outer tombs on either side of the central pair are plain, each fitted with a pair of handles. The central pair of tombs are at ground level, each with a single handle and lettering let into the surface. The northern tomb reads: "PETER HENRIK HAAGENSEN / BORN AT MOSS NORWAY 3 AUG / -1837,- / DIED 12 May / -1919.-" The southern tomb reads: "JANNA A. E. HAAGENSEN / BORN HAGERUP AT VINGER NORWAY / -1845,- / DIED AT GRIMSBY 11 DECR / -1897.-" The central pair of tombs is separated by a carved classically decorated panel rising from floor to ceiling.