Papurau Newydd Cymru

Chwiliwch 15 miliwn o erthyglau papurau newydd Cymru

Cuddio Rhestr Erthyglau

11 erthygl ar y dudalen hon

I THE MAUSOLEUM AT WINDSOR.

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Dyfynnu
Rhannu

I (Y BEDDROD BRENHINOL). I THE MAUSOLEUM AT WINDSOR. BRITAIN'S GRANDEST TOMB. The Queen s last resting-place—^the beautiful sepulchre at Frogmore—was built by command of her Maiesty 40 years ago It wtll b^lnv To af 1ain S fV^b- beautiful as art can make it, the memorial was the final home of her Majesty's e -beloved Consoit, and was intended also to be hers. Side by side their remains now rest together. None other will find a resting place in the mausoleum. When Prince Albert lay dead at Windsor, where he died December 14th, 1861, the Queen went out herself mto the grounds to choose where his tomb should be. The site chosen is a sequestered spot in Frogmore Gardens near the mausoleum in which the Duchess of Kent has been buried. The remains of the Prince Consort were, nine days after his death, temporarily committed to the Royal vault at St. George's Chapel. The foundation stone of the mausoleum was laid" in pious remembrance of her great and good husband." By December 18th, rather more than a year from the Prince Consort's death, it was sufficiently complete to receive his body. Over the entrance her Majesty caused to be set up in Latin the following tender and loving inscription His mourning widow, Victoria, the Queen, directed that all that is mortal of Prince Albert be placed in this sepulchre A.D. 1862. Farewell, well-beloved Here, at last, I will rest with thee; with thee, in Christ, I will rise ag.,tin." Seen from the outside the Mausoleum, with its dome rising over four transepts, has something of the character of an ancient Rome tomb at Ravenna. It stands on high brick vaults, to raise it somewhat above the damp soil on which it is built, for Frog- more, as the name implies, was at some period a swamp or marsh. There is a general chamber, and the four transepts make the whole monument into a cruciform chapel. The exterior, to the height of ten or eleven feet, is faced with Peterhead granite, and polished granite is also largely used in other places. Externally the building is about 80 ft. long by 70ft wide, and its extreme height from the ground level to the top of the cross is 83ft. Prince Albert's coffin lies on the south side, and that of his august consort on the northern side of the sarcophagus. The chamber in which the sarcophagus stands is a magnificent example of brilliant and tasteful decorations. A porch, forming one of the transepts, leads into it. The ceiling of the porch is of Venetian mosaics, and the interior beyond is a rich combination of colour and artistic effect. The floor is of inlaid marble, and the walls are covered with marble pannelling of varying and beautiful design. There are bas-reliefs, urns, statues, frescoes, and paintings of scenes and incidents in Scripture history, with appropriate inscriptions in English and German. The chancel, as the central chamber may be called, is lighted by windows in the octagonal lantern surrounding the domed roof. It is entered from the porch through beautiful gates of exquisite workmanship The ceiling is covered with a frescoe, painted from a sketch by the Crown PrinceSs of Germany, representing the glorification of the Saints. On the ceilings are painted representatives of the Annunciation, the Ascension, and of the Redeemer bearing His Cross. A large painting of the Nativity (after Raphael)] coders the south wall. On the west wall is a symbolical picture of the Resurrection, and on the north wall is a representation of the Crucifixion. Statues of David, Isaiah, Daniel, and Solomon, each with appropriate texts of Scripture, occupy the niches of the pillars, and above the entrance is a fine allegorical painting representing Virtue, Prudence, and Temperance. The centre of the mausoleum is dome-shaped, and is entered from the transepts through lofty arches, in each of which hang bronze and gold lamps of most elegant design, presented by the Prince of Wales. Above the central chamber the dome has a ceiling of blue, spangled with golden *tars, and the ribs of the wreatiTj^of lmmortenes & SUpp0rted g°lden an^els" The lantern is filled with stained glass, in which are cherubs holding v ^ntre °f ^he dome stands the massive sarcophagus of highlj -poUshed dark-grey Aberdeen granite raised ut>on a plinth of polished black marble the gift^of Leopold I., King of the Belgians. Bronze figures, of kneeling angels are at'each corner of the sarcophagus, with wings stretched backwaids. On the top of the sarcophagus is a recumbeut figure, beautifully executed by Baron Marochetti, in pure white marble, representing Prince Albert clad in his Field Marshal's uniform and wearing the robes and insignia of the Most Noble Order of the Garter. The Prince's name and titles are inscribed on the sides of the sarcophagus where other words will now have to be written, also in letters of gold. ° Above the altar is a painting of the Resurrection. Christ is represented coming out of the tomb, and the Roman soldiers falling down under the their shields, overcome by His triumph over Death. In the right aisle is a mural picture of the Crueifixion, the small niches in the side arches being filled with porphyry vases mounted on bases of malachite. The upper part of the interior is also adorned with a series of bas-relief of Scriptural subjects, inlaid work and frescoes, not an inch of the walls being left un- decorated. Over the entrance door, and placed so as to attract the attention of those leaving the building, is the well-chosen text: Marvel not at this, for the hour is coming in which all that are in the grave shall hear His voice St. John, 5th chapter, 28th verse> Within its walls are erected cenotaphs in memory of the Grand Duke of Hesse and the Duke of Albany two of the Queen s children who are interred elsewhere. That of the Grand Duchess forms a very touching group. It represents Princess Alice lying as if asleep, with the child, in attempting to save whose life she lost her own, lying in the hollow of her arm The grounds are full of interest, the carefully-kept greensward beings dotted with trees planted by the Queen, the members of t e Royal family, the Empress Eugenie, the Empress of Germany, and other illustrious personages. On the ri^ht of the nath leading to the mausoleum are a couple of Wellingtonia gigantea, whose history is of a somewhat romantic character. One of these trees was originally planted by the Prince Consort on the 5th June, 1861, in the grounds of South Kensington upon the occasion of the opening of the Royal Horticultural Society's Gardens, and was subsequently replanted by her :Majestv near the mausoleum on December 17th 1869. A similar tree first planted by the Queen at the same gardens oil June 24th 1861 was likewise removed to the mausoleum grounds and replanted by the Queen, at the same time af that of Prince Albert's but un- fortunately dying in August, 1870, was replaced by a fresh fir, planted by her Majesty on the 16th of December foiling The whote of the grounds round the beautiful building are enclosed by an iron railing, which protects the enclosure from idSbww A handsome entrance leads into the enclosure. It consists of a canopy of classic design, supported on lofty granite pillars £ 200^00 mausoleum is a most gorgeous and magnificent structure. The cost of its erection and adornment was over

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Diolchgarwch y Brenin.

PONTERWYD.

LLANYBYTHER.

I! YR WYTHNOS. |

Llith o Landyssil.

Claddu'r Frenhines. * ---

—————MBPVIMHIT«W-I Y RHYFEL…

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