Andrews Family burial vault, St. Mary's Parish Church, The Square, Comber, Co. Down, BT23 5DU

Andrews Family Burial Vault, St. Mary's Parish Church, Comber

A compact, sturdy single-storey Greek Revival burial vault built in 1867 by William Glenny Andrews, a member of the locally prominent milling family. The structure was erected as a memorial to his father, mother, brothers and sisters, and was constructed on top of a tomb built by James Andrews in 1788. The underground vault itself contains earlier 18th-century elements. Vaults of this architectural quality are rare.

The mausoleum is rectangular in plan and constructed in dressed Scrabo sandstone. It features panelled corner pilasters, a chamfered base, decorated frieze, and a gabled roof. Each end is capped with a pediment surmounted by anthemion motifs and crowned by urns. The structure is topped with a frieze of small moulded floral motifs or rosettes, above which runs a dentilled cornice. The gables display pediments with acroteria at each corner, characteristic of Greek Revival design, with dentilled eaves and light-coloured terracotta urns at each apex. The roof is of natural slate with broad sandstone parapets.

The east-facing façade contains a centrally positioned doorway with a shouldered surround and timber panelled double doors featuring an intricate pierced grill in the uppermost panels. The remaining three faces each display a centrally located panel in polished red granite inscribed with details of the deceased, with records dating back to John Andrews in the mid-18th century. These panels are probably early to mid-20th century additions and each has an original 'shouldered and heeled' surround.

The vault is situated in the ancient graveyard of Comber parish church on its western side, near the entrance. Although located in a Church of Ireland parish graveyard, the Andrews family were in fact Presbyterians who were instrumental in building Comber Non-subscribing Presbyterian Church. The mausoleum may also have been built on or near the grave of James Thomson, a man unconnected with the Andrews family.

As of 2011, the structure required repair to the roof, urns, entablature and stonework.