Survey Data
Reg No
15401309
Rating
Regional
Categories of Special Interest
Architectural, Historical, Social
Original Use
Mausoleum
In Use As
Mausoleum
Date
1830 - 1840
Coordinates
254577, 258535
Date Recorded
23/11/2004
Date Updated
--/--/--
Description
Freestanding beehive-shaped mausoleum, built c.1835, comprising central cement dome (on circular plan) set within cylindrical pit constructed of rubble limestone walling with ashlar limestone coping over. Houses the remains of Robert Cooke of Cookesborough House. Located within the grounds of St. John the Baptist's Church of Ireland church (15401308) in the countryside to the southwest of Delvin.
Appraisal
An eccentric mausoleum of great character and historical interest. It was built by Adolphus Cooke (1792-1876) of Cookesborough, Co. Westmeath to house the remains of his father, Robert. Adolphus Cooke was a noted and colourful local eccentric and landowner with a strong belief in reincarnation. Reputedly, Adolphus Cooke designed this tomb to look like a beehive, as he believed his father would be reincarnated as a bee. Adolphus himself later had massive fox holes/covert built around his estate of Cookesborough in the belief that he, himself, would be reincarnated as a fox. Adolphus Cooke himself was buried in this grave in 1876 after the rector at Killucan refused to bury him in a marble mausoleum he constructed for himself within the grounds of Cookesborough House. This mausoleum is located within the grounds of St. John the Baptist's Church of Ireland church (15401308) and is an interesting and quirky addition to the architectural heritage of Westmeath.