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| In June of 1974 Quentin Keynes and Donald Young were invited by the Royal Geographical Society to inspect the interior of the Burton Mausoleum. Young describes how the 12ft x 12ft structure had been vandalized but that the interior contents had been undisturbed and the coffins were intact. Isabel had placed one of Richard's favorite walking sticks on his coffin and there were the remains of an electric actuating system which would ring the camel bells automatically; perhaps when Mass was said in the church. Our present view of Burton causes us to doubt whether this would have soothed his repose. |
| Below is a detail of the inscriptions on the outside of the tomb. |
| Click here to see the interior |
THE BURTONS' TOMB AT MORTLAKE, LONDON |
| richard@richardleveson.com for comments & queries |
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| See Young D.A. and Keynes Q. contributions to: "In Search of Richard Burton", Huntington Library, San Marino, CA (1993) See also Kirwan L.P., "Meditations on the Burton Mausoleum at Mortlake", Geographical Journal. (1975) - contact me if you have any difficulties finding these. |