Drake Family Mausoleum

The Drake Family Mausoleum is a Grade II listed structure dedicated to Sir William Richard Drake, who died in 1890. The designer is unknown. It is built from limestone and sandstone, featuring pink granite shafts and remnants of glass mosaic decoration on the frieze, along with wrought iron gates.

The mausoleum consists of a rectangular cell with arcaded sides, each side having four arched openings, and a triple-arched west end with low gates. Above a moulded base, there is a dado made of pink-brown sandstone. Paired granite shafts with crocketed capitals support the sandstone arches, which are adorned with cable mouldings. The upper part of the mausoleum features a pedimented roof above a densely bracketed cornice. The floor includes a cross-incised slab at the center. The inner rear wall is divided into three sections, mirroring the entrance wall, with engaged shafts that support a sandstone frieze. The wall is decorated with floral reliefs surrounding circular fields, which are currently empty but likely once held bronze panels. At the center is the Drake coat of arms, accompanied by an inscription that reads "TYME TRYETHE TRUTHE." Unfortunately, the roof has collapsed.

Historically, Drake was a lawyer and connoisseur who played a role in the Burlington Fine Arts Club and helped establish the Murano Glass & Mosaic Company in 1869, a branch of the Salviati firm. The once prominent mosaic decoration on the frieze inscription has significantly deteriorated. This mausoleum is a distinctive example of late Victorian architecture in the Lombardic style, reflecting Drake's aesthetic interests.