Tomb Of Andrew Ducrow

The Tomb of Andrew Ducrow is a mausoleum located in Kensal Green Cemetery, built in 1837 for Ducrow's wife and later embellished for his own burial after his death in 1842. Designed by George Danson and constructed by mason John Cusworth, the tomb is made of rendered brick with decorative features in Carrara marble and artificial stone, enclosed by cast iron railings.

The structure is a single cell featuring Egyptian-style reeded columns with lotus capitals at the corners, supporting a cavetto cornice. The blocked doorcase on the north-east face is topped with a winged orb and an eared pediment, flanked by plinths that support sphinxes. The battered sides of the tomb display reliefs of angels holding wreaths above marble inscription panels, which are broken on the north-west face.

At the top, there is an urn adorned with horses' heads and garlands on a tapering pedestal, resting on a lower stage featuring reliefs of Pegasus. A marble relief on the north-east pediment depicts a mourning woman with comic and tragic masks and an inverted torch, with Pegasus among clouds. The side pediments are decorated with bee-hives.

Additional features include a free-standing broken column with a wide-brimmed hat and gauntlets on the north-west side, and a garland-hung broken column on the south-east side. The cast-iron railings are embellished with motifs of wreaths, swags, and inverted torches.

Andrew Ducrow was known as an equestrian, circus performer, and proprietor of Astley's Amphitheatre. The mausoleum was constructed at a cost of £3,000, with an inscription stating it was "ERECTED BY GENIUS FOR THE RECEPTION OF ITS OWN REMAINS." It is recognized as one of the outstanding funerary monuments of Victorian England.