Bowen Vault, Milltown Cemetery, 546 Falls Road, Belfast, BT12 6EQ

Bowen Vault, Milltown Cemetery

A fine example of Gothic Revival funerary architecture dating from the 1870s, this limestone vault is located on a prominent site within Milltown Cemetery on the Falls Road in Belfast. It is attributed to architect Timothy Hevey, one of the leading Catholic architects in Ireland of his generation.

The vault is constructed in plain ashlar Portland limestone carved in a gabled Gothic style. The building is crowned with an octagonal hipped roof featuring a capstone and metal finial. The design incorporates a balustraded parapet with octagonal crocketted pinnacles at the corners, shallow projecting pilasters, and a two-stage plinth. Celtic crosses are carved into the tympanum on all four elevations. The east elevation features a shouldered doorway with elaborate wrought iron gates, with the initials MB carved above.

Lancet tracery openings pierce the north, west and south elevations. The interior is embellished with a carved sandstone representation of the Deposition of Christ, and inscribed marble plaques recording the epitaphs of Mathew and Catherine Bowen on the south and north sides respectively.

The vault holds group value with two other listed structures nearby, also designed by Timothy Hevey: the arched entrance gateway with wall and railings, and the Clark Canavan cross.

Historical Context

Milltown Cemetery was established as a Catholic burial ground following a dispute between the Catholic Bishop, Dr Dorrian, and Belfast Corporation over the administration of the municipal cemetery on Falls Road. On 4 April 1869, Dorrian secured parishioner support to purchase private land. He acquired 15 acres from James Ross for £4,100, and burials commenced in November 1869. The cemetery was consecrated on 18 September 1880.

Matthew Bowen was a wealthy Belfast businessman and proprietor of the Royal Hotel at 27 Donegall Place, which he had acquired around 1860 and which was regarded as one of the city's most fashionable hotels. He died on 7 May 1876 aged 67 years. His widow Catherine died on 18 September 1881 aged 68 years. Bowen's estate was valued at just under £3,000, and his will executors included Bishop Dorrian himself, testament to his standing among Belfast's Catholic mercantile class. Timothy Hevey designed this mausoleum for the Bowens. Hevey was only 23 years old when he designed the entrance to Milltown Cemetery and had recently returned to Belfast from Dublin. He became renowned for his ecclesiastical commissions, including St Eunan's Cathedral in Letterkenny, County Donegal, but died in 1878 at the age of just 32.