Lytton Mausoleum

The octagonal mausoleum stands about two hundred yards east of the church. The roof is crowned with a sarcophagus, and niches in the walls contain funerary urns. Segmental pediments surmount both the entrance to the west, and the plain stone panel to the east. The building is surrounded by contemporary iron railings.

Architect(s) J.B. Papworth

Listing Grade II (England and Wales)

Year Created 1817

History Prior to the construction of the mausoleum in the park, the family used the Lytton Chapel for interments. The chapel is attached to the north side of the Church of St Mary and was rebuilt c.1710 to house three exceptionally fine monuments dedicated to members of the family: Sir William Lytton (d.1705) and Sir George Strode (d.1707), both by Edward Stanton; and Lytton Lytton (d.1710) perhaps by Thomas Green.

The mausoleum was commissioned by Elizabeth Bulwer-Lytton (1773-1843) in memory of her parents Richard (1745-1810) and Elizabeth Warburton-Lytton of Knebworth Park. In 1798 Elizabeth had married General William Earle Bulwer of Heydon Hall, Norfolk, whose son later built the Bulwer mausoleum at Heydon in Norfolk. Among the members of the family buried in the mausoleum at Knebworth is Lady Constance Lytton (1869-1923) who joined the suffragette movement and, as her epitaph states “sacrificed her health and talents in helping to bring victory to this cause”.

Condition Good, recently restored (2004).

Sources BoE: Herts (1978) 221; Shell Guide: Herts (1982) 119.

Links Knebworth House website