Mausoleum of Sir Richard and Lady Burton

The Mausoleum of Sir Richard and Lady Burton is a Grade II* listed[1] tent-shaped mausoleum of Carrara marble and Forest of Dean stone in the churchyard of St Mary Magdalen Roman Catholic Church Mortlake in the London Borough of Richmond upon Thames.[1] It contains the tombs of the Victorian explorer Sir Richard Burton (1821–90), who took part in the search for the source of the River Nile and translated The Arabian Nights, and his wife Isabel, Lady Burton (1831–96), who designed it.[2] The coffins of Sir Richard and Lady Burton can be seen through a glass panel[1] at the rear of the tent, which can be accessed via a short fixed ladder. The inscription includes a commemorative sonnet by Justin Huntly McCarthy (1859–1936), who lived in Putney.[3]

Mausoleum of Sir Richard and Lady Burton
General information
Type	Mausoleum
Address	61 North Worple Way, Mortlake, London SW14 8PR
Town or city	Mortlake, London Borough of Richmond upon Thames
Country	England
Coordinates	51°28′06″N 0°15′41″W
Listed Building – Grade II*
Official name	Mausoleum of Sir Richard and Lady Burton, Churchyard of St Mary Magdalen
Designated	30 October 1973
Reference no.	106539

The mausoleum was completed in time for Sir Richard's funeral at the church on 15 June 1891.[4] It was restored in 1975[4] and, with the support of the Friends of Burton and the Environment Trust for Richmond upon Thames, in 2012–13.[5]

Close-up of inscription on the mausoleum

Next to the lady chapel in the church there is a memorial stained-glass window to Burton, erected by his widow.[6]