The Rockingham Mausoleum

Last updated

Rockingham Mausoleum
Rockingham Mausoleum.jpg
"an outstandingly fine and noble structure"
Type Cenotaph
Location Wentworth
Coordinates 53°28′06″N1°22′43″W / 53.4684°N 1.3785°W / 53.4684; -1.3785
OS grid reference SK413970
Area South Yorkshire
Height90 feet (27 m) [1]
Built1783–89
Architect John Carr
Architectural style(s) Neo-classical
Governing bodyFitzwilliam Wentworth Amenity Trust
Listed Building – Grade I
Official nameRockingham Mausoleum Including Obelisks and Railed Enclosure
Designated29 April 1968
Reference no.1286386
South Yorkshire UK location map.svg
Red pog.svg
Location of Rockingham Mausoleum in South Yorkshire

The Rockingham Mausoleum, Wentworth, near Rotherham, South Yorkshire, England is a cenotaph commemorating Charles Watson-Wentworth, 2nd Marquess of Rockingham, who was Prime Minister at the time of his death in 1782. [2] The name by which the memorial is now known is in fact a misnomer, since Charles Watson-Wentworth is buried in York Minster. Eighteenth and nineteenth century sources refer to the edifice simply as "the Monument".

Contents

History

The Rockingham Mausoleum was commissioned in 1783 by William Fitzwilliam, 4th Earl Fitzwilliam when he inherited the estates of his uncle Charles Watson-Wentworth, 2nd Marquess of Rockingham who died without a direct male heir.

The architect chosen for the Rockingham Mausoleum was John Carr of York, who had already built the stable block at Wentworth Woodhouse for Lord Rockingham himself. Carr was to do a great deal of work for Lord Fitzwilliam, notably alterations to the side pavilions and to the west elevation of Wentworth Woodhouse. He submitted a number of options for the monument, some of which were based on the concept of an obelisk. The three-storey design ultimately selected for the Rockingham Mausoleum may have been inspired by the Mausoleum of the Julii at St Remy de Provence, Glanum near Arles, France. As executed, it is a combination of a cenotaph and a Temple of Friendship, housing within it a statue by Joseph Nollekens of Rockingham himself in Garter robes with upraised hand.

Building started in 1785 and took four years to complete. [2] accounts record regular small payments to local artisans and more infrequent but larger disbursements to better-known craftsmen such as Nollekens. The building was enclosed by a fence of 743 iron railings commissioned from the Rotherham iron-founders Samuel Walker and Company. Finally, in 1792 four obelisks, which had previously stood on the West side of the Woodhouse, were relocated to the Monument and placed inside the enclosure. [2]

The monument is the property of the Fitzwilliam Wentworth Amenity Trust, [3] which completed its restoration in the 1980s with the aid of compensation from British Coal and a grant from English Heritage. It only became possible to undertake this work when local coal mining operations had come to an end, making it safe to remove iron clamps which had kept the building stable while mining was in progress. The monument was opened to the public for the first time in 1991.

The Fitzwilliam Wentworth Amenity Trust is a charitable trust formed in 1979 with an endowment from the Thomas Wentworth-Fitzwilliam, 10th Earl Fitzwilliam. The principal aim of the Trust is to promote the permanent conservation of lands and building of beauty or historic interest and generally to protect, preserve and improve the rural and visual character and amenities of the Parish of Wentworth and the adjacent areas. The Trust continues to invest in the conservation and restoration of the landscape and buildings in and around Wentworth. [4]

Architecture and description

The mausoleum is built of ashlar sandstone. [2] It is a 90 feet (27 m) high [1] three-stage monument, with obelisks at the four corners. [2] Niches in the walls support busts of eight of the Marquis's closest friends, all luminaries of the Whig hierarchy; Admiral Viscount Keppel, Edmund Burke, Sir George Savile, Charles James Fox, The Duke of Portland, John Lee, Lord John Cavendish and Frederick Montagu. [2] The original busts by Nollekens, Carrachi, John Bacon and William Hickey have now been replaced by casts. The large sarcophagus which can be seen from the exterior reposing on the first storey is vacant. Pevsner described it as "an outstandingly fine and noble structure". [5] It is a Grade I listed building. [2]

See also

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Wentworth Woodhouse</span> Grade I listed country house in South Yorkshire, England

Wentworth Woodhouse is a Grade I listed country house in the village of Wentworth, in the Metropolitan Borough of Rotherham in South Yorkshire, England. It is currently owned by the Wentworth Woodhouse Preservation Trust. The building has more than 300 rooms, with 250,000 square feet (23,000 m2) of floorspace, including 124,600 square feet (11,580 m2) of living area, and was – until it ceased to be privately owned – often listed as the largest private residence in the United Kingdom. It covers an area of more than 2.5 acres (1.0 ha), and is surrounded by a 180-acre (73 ha) park, and an estate of 15,000 acres (6,100 ha).

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Charles Watson-Wentworth, 2nd Marquess of Rockingham</span> Prime Minister of Great Britain, 1765–1766 and in 1782

Charles Watson-Wentworth, 2nd Marquess of Rockingham, was a British Whig statesman and magnate, most notable for his two terms as prime minister of Great Britain. He became the patron of many Whigs, known as the Rockingham Whigs, and served as a leading Whig grandee. He served in only two high offices during his lifetime but was nonetheless very influential during his one and a half years of service.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Marquess of Rockingham</span> Marquessate in the Peerage of Great Britain

Marquess of Rockingham, in the County of Northampton, was a title in the Peerage of Great Britain. It was created in 1746 for Thomas Watson-Wentworth, 1st Earl of Malton. The Watson family descended from Lewis Watson, Member of Parliament for Lincoln. He was created a Baronet, of Rockingham Castle in the County of Northampton, in the Baronetage of England in 1621. In 1645 he was further honoured when he was raised to the Peerage of England as Baron Rockingham. The third Baron served as Lord-Lieutenant of Kent. In 1714 he was created Baron Throwley, Viscount Sondes and Earl of Rockingham in the Peerage of Great Britain. His eldest son Edward Watson, Viscount Sondes, predeceased him and he was succeeded by his grandson, the second Earl. The second Earl was Lord-Lieutenant of Kent before his early death in 1745. He was childless and was succeeded by his younger brother, Thomas. He had previously represented Canterbury in Parliament.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Elsecar</span> Village in South Yorkshire, England

Elsecar is a village in the Metropolitan Borough of Barnsley in South Yorkshire, England. It is near to Jump and Wentworth, it is also 2 miles (3.2 km) south of Hoyland, 6 miles (9.7 km) south of Barnsley and 8 miles (13 km) north-east of Sheffield. Elsecar falls within the Barnsley Metropolitan Borough Ward of Hoyland Milton.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Earl Fitzwilliam</span> Earldom in the Peerage of Great Britain

Earl Fitzwilliam was a title in both the Peerage of Ireland and the Peerage of Great Britain held by the head of the Fitzwilliam family.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Wentworth, South Yorkshire</span> Village and civil parish in South Yorkshire, England

Wentworth is a village and civil parish in the Metropolitan Borough of Rotherham in South Yorkshire, England.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Keppel's Column</span> Folly in Wentworth

Keppel's Column is a 115-foot (35 m) tower Grade II* listed building between Wentworth and Kimberworth in Rotherham, South Yorkshire, England. Keppel's Column is one of several follies in and around Wentworth Woodhouse park; the others include Hoober Stand and Needle's Eye.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Charles Wentworth-Fitzwilliam, 5th Earl Fitzwilliam</span> British nobleman and politician

Charles William Wentworth Fitzwilliam, 5th Earl Fitzwilliam in the peerage of Ireland, and 3rd Earl Fitzwilliam in the peerage of Great Britain, was a British nobleman and politician. He was president three times of the Royal Statistical Society in 1838–1840, 1847–1849, and 1853–1855; and president of the British Association for the Advancement of Science in its inaugural year (1831–2).

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Greasbrough Canal</span>

The Greasbrough Canal was a private canal built by the Marquess of Rockingham to serve his coal mining interests in and around the village of Greasbrough, near Rotherham, South Yorkshire, England. It opened in 1780, and the Newbiggin branch was built some time later. The main line to Greasbrough closed in 1840 with the coming of the Sheffield and Rotherham Railway, and the canal ceased to carry commercial traffic during the First World War. Most of it has been filled in, but a small section near the River Don Navigation remains in water.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Great Harrowden</span> Human settlement in England

Great Harrowden is a village and civil parish in North Northamptonshire, with a population at the 2011 census of 161. The village is located near the A509 road running between Kettering and Wellingborough. The village formed part of the Orlingbury hundred and of Borough of Wellingborough.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Joseph Watson, 1st Baron Manton</span> English industrialist (1873–1922)

Joseph Watson, 1st Baron Manton was an English industrialist from Leeds, Yorkshire.

Wentworth Castle is a grade-I listed country house, the former seat of the Earls of Strafford, at Stainborough, near Barnsley in South Yorkshire, England. It is now home to the Northern College for Residential and Community Education.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Thomas Watson-Wentworth, 1st Marquess of Rockingham</span> British Whig politician

Thomas Watson-Wentworth, 1st Marquess of Rockingham, KB, PC (I) of Wentworth Woodhouse, Yorkshire was a British Whig politician who sat in the House of Commons from 1715 until 1728 when he was raised to the Peerage as Baron Malton.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">William Wentworth-Fitzwilliam, 6th Earl Fitzwilliam</span> British peer, nobleman and Liberal Party politician

William Thomas Spencer Wentworth-FitzWilliam, 6th Earl FitzWilliam,, styled Hon. William Wentworth-Fitzwilliam 1815–1835, and Viscount Milton 1835–1857, was a British peer, nobleman, and Liberal Party politician.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Hoober Stand</span> Tower in Wentworth, South Yorkshire, England

Hoober Stand is a 30-metre-high (98 ft) tower and Grade II* listed building on a ridge in Wentworth, South Yorkshire in northern England. It was designed by Henry Flitcroft for the Whig aristocrat Thomas Watson-Wentworth, Earl of Malton to commemorate the quashing of the 1745 Jacobite rebellion. It lies close to his country seat Wentworth Woodhouse. Its site is approximately 157 metres (515 ft) above sea level and from the top there are long-distance views on a clear day. Hoober Stand is one of several follies in and around Wentworth Woodhouse park; the others include Needle's Eye and Keppel's Column. Sidney Oldall Addy, the Sheffield author calls the structure Woburn Stand in his 1888 book, A glossary of words used in the neighbourhood of Sheffield.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Sheffield Archives</span>

Sheffield Archives collects, preserves and lists records relating to Sheffield and South Yorkshire and makes them available for reference and research.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Milton Hall</span> Historical Cambridgeshire home of the Fitzwilliam family

Milton Hall near Peterborough, is the largest private house in Cambridgeshire, England. As part of the Soke of Peterborough, it was formerly in Northamptonshire. It dates from 1594, being the historical home of the Fitzwilliam family, and is situated in an extensive park in which some original oak trees from an earlier Tudor deer park survive. The house is a Grade I listed building; the garden is Grade II*.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Thomas Watson-Wentworth</span> English landowner and politician

Hon. Thomas Watson, later known as Thomas Watson-Wentworth, of Wentworth Woodhouse in Yorkshire, was an English landowner and politician who sat in the House of Commons between 1701 and 1723.

Wentworth is a civil parish in the Metropolitan Borough of Rotherham, South Yorkshire, England. The parish contains 82 listed buildings that are recorded in the National Heritage List for England. Of these, three are listed at Grade I, the highest of the three grades, eight are at Grade II*, the middle grade, and the others are at Grade II, the lowest grade. The parish includes the village of Wentworth and the surrounding area. The most important building in the parish is Wentworth Woodhouse, a large country house, which is described as "one of England's greatest and most remarkable houses", and is "celebrated for being the longest front of any English country house". The house is listed together with associated structures and items in its grounds. Most of the other listed buildings are houses, cottages, and associated structures, farmhouses and farm buildings. The other listed buildings include churches and items in churchyards, a public house, a former school with attached almshouses, a folly, a mausoleum and a memorial tower, two windmills converted into houses, bridges, a weir and a causeway, a milestone and a milepost, workshops and a forge, a junior school, a former mechanics' institute, a war memorial, and a telephone kiosk.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Rockingham Kiln</span> 19th century kiln in Swinton, South Yorkshire, England

The Rockingham, or Waterloo, Kiln in Swinton, South Yorkshire, England, is a pottery kiln dating from 1815. It formed part of the production centre for the Rockingham Pottery which, in the early 19th century, produced highly-decorative Rococo porcelain. The pottery failed in the mid-19th century, and the kiln is one of the few remaining elements of the Rockingham manufactory. It is a Grade II* listed building and forms part of the Rockingham Works Scheduled monument. The kiln is currently on the Historic England Heritage at Risk Register.

References

  1. 1 2 Baines 1822, p. 630.
  2. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 Historic England. "Rockingham Mausoleum including Obelisks and Railed Enclosure (1286386)". National Heritage List for England . Retrieved 9 August 2017.
  3. "Monuments & Follies – Fitzwilliam Wentworth Estates" . Retrieved 9 August 2017.
  4. "Heritage – Fitzwilliam Wentworth Estates" . Retrieved 9 August 2017.
  5. Radcliffe & Pevsner 1967, p. 545.

Sources