Brookwood Cemetery is a beautiful Grade 1 listed site in the Register of Historic Parks and Gardens located in the heart of surrey, which has been serving the community since 1854
MBL were called in to help restore the ironmongery after a lost Victorian chapel was discovered in the undergrowth at Brookwood Cemetery.
The exquisitely sculpted, Gothic style chapel, built almost entirely from Bath stone, has been sympathetically restored using original materials and specialist tradespeople.
It was built in 1858 by the Colquhoun’s as their family mausoleum. It was last restored in 1924 by Violette Freeman in memory of Eliza Colquhoun Redhouse but subsequently left to disappear behind a thick wall of shrubs and rhododendrons.
The chapel was found in the back woods, in a poor state of repair. The entrance had been crudely blocked up, the floor of the crypt had fallen in and the wrought iron perimeter fencing had either collapsed or rotted. Nonetheless, the chapel’s beauty and character was still evident.
With support from a specialist conservation surveyor and building company, restoration work started in April 2019. Ten coffins were removed from the chapel and placed in storage while the crypt was rebuilt. Major repairs were made to the roof which included replacing the finials and other decorative features that were carved on site by experienced stonemasons. Internally the chapel was re-plastered and all the iron fixtures and railings were restored in wrought iron by a blacksmith. The stonework and marble cladding was cleaned and pathways built to provide access to the chapel. MBL were called in to replicate the original rim lock for the front entrance doors using the salvaged original iron straps and lock mechanism.
