Harwath Mausoleum, St Thomas of Canterbury churchyard, Fulham Broadway, London

Summary

A free-standing, stone mausoleum of around 1918, by Arthur Henry Durand.

Description

A free-standing, stone mausoleum of around 1918, by Arthur Henry Durand.

MATERIALS AND PLAN: the mausoleum is square in plan with a single entrance to the east. It is constructed of Portland stone, and has a copper-covered roof and dome.

EXTERIOR: the mausoleum is small in scale, but is designed in an elaborate, neoclassical style. The entrance is surmounted by an open pediment, supported by a pair of Doric pilasters, under a cornice. The doorway has an eared stone architrave, above which is a moulded cartouche showing a carved funerary urn. The solid oak door has a single recessed panel and upper-window. The lower section of the window is curved, and is fitted with a decorative, wrought-iron grille. The other elevations of the mausoleum follow suit, each including an open pediment, pilasters, and cornice. The southern example, has a square window with decorative metal grille. The northern side bears a rectangular bronze plaque set into a stone architrave with cill. The plaque has the embossed text 'IN BLESSED MEMORY / OF / MATHILDE HARWATH / BORN SEPT 18th 1871 / DIED NOV 10th 1918 / SIMON HARWATH / BORN OCT 25th 1866 / DIED MAR 20th 1942 / ANIMABUS PORUM / PROPITIUS ESTO / DOMINE' (Latin translated as 'O Lord, be merciful to their souls'). The western elevation has a similar stone architrave, but is otherwise blind. The copper-covered roof has a square base, supporting a ribbed-dome, which rises to a copper cross. Outside the entrance door there is a paved pathway, which has a moulded and curved, stone flowerbed to each side. The flowerbeds appear to have been reused for burials. The southern example carries a headstone* dedicated to the Marist sisters, and the northern, a horizontal stone cross*.

INTERIOR: the interior is constructed of Portland stone, and is elaborately decorated with carved-stone fixtures and fittings. There is a curved cornice beneath the dome, which is supported by four angels. Underneath, there are four sets of carved inscriptions of religious text, in relief, running vertically down the walls at the corners, which are also rounded. There is a stone plaque (donated by the staff of the Curzon hotel) which depicts Jesus in the arms of Mary Magdalene. To either side, there is an oval picture (presumably of Mathilde and Simon Harwath). The stone altar is supported by corbels, divided by a central cartouche, and is surmounted by a sculpture of the Crucifixion. To the side, there is a shell-shaped, wall-mounted piscina. The rectangular light switches and sockets, are faced in bronze.

* Pursuant to s1 (5A) of the Planning (Listed Buildings and Conservation Areas) Act 1990 (‘the Act’) it is declared that these aforementioned features are not of special architectural or historic interest. However any works which have the potential to affect the character of the listed building as a building of special architectural or historic interest may still require listed building consent and this is a matter for the LPA to determine.

History

The Harwath Mausoleum stands in the north-east corner of the churchyard of St Thomas of Canterbury, Fulham. It was built for Mathilde Harwath (1871-1918), around the time of her death. Her husband Simon Harwath (1866-1942) is also commemorated on a bronze plaque attached to the north face of the mausoleum. He was born in what is now (2019) Slovenia. First he lived in Trieste, then in Vienna, Cairo, Paris, and finally in London, where he was naturalized. The London Standard of April 1905, records him as the proprietor of the Hotel Curzon, Curzon Street, London. According to The London Encyclopedia of 1912, he was also the owner of the Stafford Hotel, 16 St James’s Place, London. Mathilde Harwath assisted her husband in managing their hotel business. She was born in Hegenheim, Alsace (then part of Germany) and the couple later lived at Howard’s Lane, Putney. After her death, Simon Harwath withdrew from business life and became a great benefactor of many Catholic institutions in Slovenia.

The mausoleum was photographed as part of the Bedford & Lemere collection and was designed by Arthur Henry Durand (1875-1958) FRIBA. He studied architecture in Brussels and then travelled to Paris, where he assisted with the design of the Eiffel Tower. From 1897 to 1903 he was an employee of Waring and Gillow, a luxury furniture company with a grand store on Oxford Street, and a factory in Cambridge Grove, Hammersmith. The company was one of the contractors for the extension of the Hotel Curzon in 1905, and perhaps this is where the Durand connection was made, because, by this time he had started his own architectural practice. Durand was also a respected interior designer whose work included the design of the RMS Olympic (sister ship to the Titanic). The mausoleum was photographed in 1920, and appears to be largely unchanged from this date. However the curved flowerbeds outside the entrance appear to have been reused as graves, the gravestones of which are excluded from the listing.

The wider churchyard opened in 1849 and was favoured by clergy, the titled, and wealthy Catholics from outside the parish. The interred include Alphonse Warington Taylor (died 1870), who was the devoted business manager of the creative polymath William Morris (1834-1896). His Grade II-listed tombstone was designed by the architect Philip Webb (1831-1915). The churchyard is adjacent to the Grade II*-listed Church of St Thomas of Canterbury, of 1847-9, by A W N Pugin (1812-52).

Reasons for Listing

The Harwath Mausoleum, a free-standing, stone mausoleum of around 1918, by Arthur Henry Durand, is listed at Grade II for the following principal reasons:

Architectural interest:

* for its good quality neoclassical elevations and copper-domed roof, by the notable architect and interior designer, Arthur Henry Durand;

* a good quality, elaborate interior with carved stone sculpture, fixtures and fittings;

* the mausoleum is virtually unaltered.

Group value:

* there is strong group value with two other Grade II-listed monuments in the churchyard, and with the adjacent Grade II*-listed Church of St Thomas of Canterbury, by A W N Pugin.

External Links

External links are from the relevant listing authority and, where applicable, Wikidata. Wikidata IDs may be related buildings as well as this specific building. If you want to add or update a link, you will need to do so by editing the Wikidata entry.