Monteath Mausoleum

A spectacular Victorian era mausoleum commissioned by General Sir Thomas Monteath Douglas stands on Gersit Law, overlooking the village of Ancrum below.

Thomas Monteath was born in 1788, in Jamaica, to a Scottish father and an English mother.

Thomas grew up to serve in the British Army, starting out as a cadet he quickly rose through the ranks becoming a major-general with the Bengal Infantry. He spent most of his career serving in northern India.

He returned home in 1845, then in 1850 he inherited the Douglas family fortune. In 1851 he added Douglas to his name to honour the family from which he inherited his fortune, becoming Thomas Monteath Douglas.

In 1865, he was awarded a knighthood by Queen Victoria for his long service to the Empire, becoming Sir Thomas Monteath Douglas.

It is not 100% certain why he chose this location for his mausoleum, one thought is that as the land belonged to his son-in-law Sir William Monteath Scott, Laird of Ancrum, that it was easy to gain permission to construct it here.

Another suggestion is that as a soldier Sir Thomas had an affinity to the land, as the hill overlooks the site of the Battle of Ancrum Moor. This was a significant battle during the 1545 Rough Wooing, where the Scottish army routed the English army of Henry VIII.

The views of the surrounding area alone make the location a beautiful spot for eternal rest!

The mausoleum was constructed in 1864, four years before Sir Thomas passed.

Sir Thomas commissioned the Edinburgh architects Peddie & Kinnear to create his mausoleum, their mark (an entwined P and K) can be found towards the base of the tower. However, Sir Thomas was very involved in the design of his mausoleum.

The mausoleum is constructed from ashlar sandstone which Sir Thomas had imported to the site, despite the mausoleum been constructed close to a local quarry simply because he did not like the colour of the local stone.

The mausoleum is guarded by two large stone lions lying either side of the entrance, one lion is awake while the other lion mysteriously appears to be asleep.

Inside the crypt two huge carved angels stand guard over the sarcophagus, although they initially appear to be a matching pair, on closer examination differences in their facial features can be observed. It is believed that the statues were modelled on Sir Thomas's two daughters, Amelia and Agatha. Sir Thomas specifically chose the stone for the angel sculptures, with the wings been a different material to the bodies, if you flash a light on the wings, you will notice they sparkle while the bodies do not.

 The stone box between the angels was designed to hold Sir Thomas's coffin, however, it has been discovered to be empty. Why Sir Thomas's is not in his mausoleum and the whereabouts of his remains are now a mystery!

If you are lucky enough to visit on a sunny day, soft green light filters down from the domed roof through 48 star shaped skylights. As the day progresses, the star shaped puddles of light pass across the walls of the mausoleum, like the stars traverse the night sky.

Standing with your back to the entrance, you will notice what appears to be a bricked up doorway part way up the wall on your left side. This is the builder's door, during construction a temporary floor would have been put in part way up the tower to allow the builders to bring construction materials in to the building at a more convenient height, once construction was complete the floor was removed and the doorway blocked up.

The mausoleum was intended to be sealed forever at Sir Thomas's request. However, at some point in history people broke in, it is suggested they were under the impression that Sir Thomas had been buried with his fortune.

What makes Sir Thomas's mausoleum unusual is that these structures are usually designed to hold many generations of a family, however Dir Thomas had his designed so he would be the only occupant.

The mausoleum fell into disrepair until 2014 when a group of locals came across it and became the long process of restoration. The renovation was completed in 2018 and the mausoleum was opened to the public in 2019.