The
Unofficial Website
The Walker Mausoleum
The Walker Mausoleum is only a short walk
from the centre of town but make sure you don't cross the dual carriageway to get there, use the underpass and head for Masbrough. It was built by Samuel Walker in 1776 in the private
cemetery adjacent to Masbrough Chapel. It houses memorials to the Walker family. It was extensively restored by RMBC in 1974 but is in a shabby state again.
Now don't get too excited just yet. In June 2004 after two years of campaigning the Friends of the Masbrough Chapel and Walker Mausoleum have secured a grant from the European Single
Regeneration Budget to begin work restoring the Mausoleum. The work has not started yet but the object is to repair the Mausoleum and the small attached graveyard and open them to the
public. I stopped off here a couple of years ago and the place was a right old mess.
May 2005 - Although the Friends of the Walker Mausoleum have raised £70,000 of funding to enable repairs to go ahead on the Mausoleum the owner of the surrounding land is refusing access for the work to begin. According the Friends the owner of the surrounding land seems to be under the impression that he owns the graveyard and mausoleum and wants to sell them to the Council, for a nice old profit I'll be bound. Land Registry documents show that he does not. The matter is now in the hands of Rotherham Council's legal department and I expect that the matter will drag on for a good few years yet. According to 'The Star' in January 2007 the plot was actually sold by Rotherham Borough Council in 1991 and has since been the subject of a long-running dispute over access. This apparently has now been solved enabling an initial survey to take place. When this has been completed work should start on the restoration of the chapel and possibly the surrounding graveyard.
Next to the graveyard is Masbrough Chapel, a dissenting chapel was founded by the Walker family in 1763 near to Masbrough Hall, the home of Samuel Walker. The original chapel was demolished in 1777 and replaced with the present building. The chapel is to remain in private hands and was furniture and carpet warehouse when last I looked. It is a very ugly building.
Visit the Friends of the Masbrough Chapel & Walker Mausoleum at their website www.walkermausoleum.co.uk or Email friendsatwalkermausoleum.co.uk (remember to change at to @).