The Ailesbury Mausoleum - St Mary's Church, Maulden, Bedfordshire, UK
Posted by: 
Dragontree
N 52° 01.849 W 000° 27.527
30U E 674322 N 5767514
This quaint mausoleum stands in the churchyard at Maulden.
Waymark Code: WM5MN6
Location: Eastern England, United Kingdom
Date Posted: 01/22/2009
Views: 7
Built in the 17th century this mausoleum is an octagonal design. The official website has some good details with thanks:
visit link
'The original Ailesbury Mausoleum was built in 1656 by Thomas, Earl of Elgin, in memory of his second wife Diana, daughter of the Earl of Stamford. However, the crypt had been used for burials prior to that date and may have been used as a meeting place for worship before the reformation.
Inside the building was a monument to Diana and busts of the Earl of Elgin and Edward Bruce, Diana's grandson.
A plan of the church dated 1824 shows the mausoleum as being connected to the church by a covered passageway reached through a doorway in the north wall. This was demolished during the rebuilding of the church in 1859 when the exterior of the mausoleum was also refurbished and the church doorway replaced by a window.'
Unfortunately recent vandalism has caused the mausoleum to be closed to the public. All the lead was taken from the roof like so many churches in the UK.