Harwath Mausoleum, St Thomas of Canterbury churchyard

Harwath Mausoleum, St Thomas of Canterbury Churchyard

A free-standing stone mausoleum dating from around 1918, designed by architect Arthur Henry Durand.

The mausoleum is square in plan with a single entrance on the east side. It is constructed of Portland stone with a copper-covered roof and dome.

The building is small in scale but elaborately designed in neoclassical style. The entrance is topped by an open pediment supported by a pair of Doric pilasters and a cornice. The doorway features an eared stone architrave with a moulded cartouche above displaying a carved funerary urn. The solid oak door has a single recessed panel and an upper window with a curved lower section fitted with decorative wrought-iron grille. The other three elevations follow the same pattern, each with an open pediment, pilasters, and cornice. The southern elevation includes a square window with decorative metal grille. The northern side bears a rectangular bronze plaque set into a stone architrave with cill, embossed with text commemorating Mathilde Harwath (born 18 September 1871, died 10 November 1918) and Simon Harwath (born 25 October 1866, died 20 March 1942), with the Latin inscription "Animabus porum propitius esto Domine" (O Lord, be merciful to their souls). The western elevation has a similar stone architrave but is otherwise blank. The copper roof has a square base supporting a ribbed dome topped with a copper cross. Outside the entrance door, a paved pathway is flanked by moulded and curved stone flowerbeds, which appear to have been reused for burials. The southern flowerbed carries a headstone dedicated to the Marist sisters, and the northern a horizontal stone cross.

The interior is constructed of Portland stone and elaborately decorated with carved-stone fixtures and fittings. A curved cornice beneath the dome is supported by four angels. Four sets of carved religious inscriptions in relief run vertically down the walls at the rounded corners. A stone plaque, donated by staff of the Curzon Hotel, depicts Jesus in the arms of Mary Magdalene, with oval pictures presumably of Mathilde and Simon Harwath on either side. The stone altar is supported by corbels divided by a central cartouche and surmounted by a Crucifixion sculpture. A shell-shaped wall-mounted piscina is located to the side. Light switches and sockets are faced in bronze.