Mausoleum and Gothic Ruin at The Priory

Mausoleum and Gothic Ruin at The Priory

These two structures in the grounds of The Priory were designed by Thomas Espin and built between approximately 1812 and 1818. They are situated on either side of a large lake that lies to the north of The Priory itself.

MAUSOLEUM

The mausoleum is a small building in the Gothick style, matching the character of The Priory. It is constructed of stuccoed walls with stone dressings, and has a pitched roof clad in stone slates laid to diminishing courses. The building follows a rectangular plan and stands on the east side of the lake, with its main façade facing west towards the Gothic ruin across the water.

The western façade is the principal elevation. It features angle buttresses with stone plinths and off-sets supporting a parapet with stone-capped crenellations. Above each end of the parapet stands a weathered turret-like moulded stone finial. The façade is dominated by a deeply moulded pointed arch opening with a hoodmould and stone headstops. Within this opening are double-leaf timber doors with delicate and ornate open Gothic tracery.

The north and south elevations are each marked by a centrally placed shallow projection. Both projections are surmounted by a wide octagonal chimney stack capped with terracotta crenellations. On the north side, this projection corresponds with the position of the fireplace inside. On the south side, however, the projection is pierced by a rectangular window without glazing bars, apparently included for symmetry rather than function. The window glazing is not original. The east or rear elevation has a stone-coped parapet at the gable and is lit by a similar window placed under a Tudor hoodmould.

The interior contains a stone memorial set into the floor, inscribed with the words "hic jaret (here lies) Thomas Espin FSA". The memorial is surrounded by hexagonal stone tiles decorated with a floral motif. At its foot stands an octagonal stone plinth with a moulded base supporting a shaft featuring recessed, cinquefoil-headed arches. Above this is a frieze embellished with stylised foliage motifs and a crenellated cornice. On the north side of the interior is a hob grate with a Gothick surround, painted white. The grate has a shallow pointed arch opening flanked by attached pilasters, and its mantelpiece is decorated with billet moulding. What appear to be the original timber two-light windows with cusped ogee arch heads are propped up in the window openings and are no longer in use.

GOTHIC RUIN

Opposite the mausoleum on the west side of the lake stands the Gothic ruin, which Espin constructed from salvaged masonry from Louth Park Abbey. The principal feature is a Gothic window with geometrical tracery. This window has two trefoil-headed lights with the central mullion missing, and is topped by a trefoil in the window head. The window is flanked by ashlar blocks laid to roughly the same height and by round piers with scalloped capitals. At the south end is a low masonry wall which incorporates a small cusped ogee arch opening and is surmounted by fragments of moulded trefoils. The rear or west side of the ruin, which is not visible from the lake, is built up in red brick. Additional fragments of moulded masonry are gathered at the foot of the structure.