Andrews Family burial vault

The Department's description

Exterior description and setting

Compact, single storey and rectanular Greek neo-classical style mausoleum built in 1867 as the resting place for the remains of many of the Andrews family. The mausoleum, which consists of a large underground vault (part of which is 18th century in date) with plain cell above,, is set on the W side of the graveyard of St. Mary’s parish church, near the entrance.

The structure is in dressed Scrabo sandstone, with panelled corner pilasters, chamfered base, decorated frieze and gabled roof. There is a pediment at each end surmounted by anthemion motifs and crowned by urns. To the E face is a centrally located doorway with shouldered surround and timber panelled double doors with intricate pierced grill to uppermost panels. The rest of the faces each have a centrally located panel in polished red granite inscribed with the details of the deceased (dating back to John Andrews in the mid 1700s). These panels are probably early to mid 20th century and each has an (original) ‘shouldered and heeled’ surround.

Each face is topped with a frieze with small moulded floral motifs or rosettes. Above the frieze is a dentilled cornice. As stated above, the gables have pediments at each end with acoterias at each corner, so characteristic of Greek Revival buildings. These pediments have dentilled eaves and each apex is surmounted by a light coloured terraccotta urn. . The roof is of natural slate with broad sandstone parapets.

Historical information

This Greek Revival burial vault was constructed in 1867 by William Glenny Andrews, a member of the locally prominent milling family, ‘to remain a sacred memorial to his father, mother, brothers and sisters’. It is built in the ancient grave yard of Comber parisih church, and erected on top of a tomb built by James Andrews in 1788; it may also have been built on top of a grave of one James Thomson, a man unconnected with the Andrews family but whose finial resting place happened to be close to the site. The side panels, on which the names of those interred are listed, do not appear to be original, and may date from the 20th century.

Though this vault is situated in the Church of Ireland parish graveyard, most of the Andrews family were in fact Presbyterians who were instrumental in the building of Comber Non-subscribing Presbyterian Church.

References- Secondary sources
1 Sydney Andrews (ed. John Burls), ‘Nine Generations- A History of the Andrews Family, Millers of Comber’ (Isaac Andrews & Sons, 1958).
2 R.S.J. Clarke ‘Gravestone Inscriptions Vol. 5’ (Belfast UHF 1970), pp.25-26.
3 James Stevens Curl “Suggestion of Permanence. Funerary Architecture in The Classical Tradition” in ‘Country Life’ 9 September 1982, pp.756-60.
4. EHS SMR DOW 10/26.
5. James Stevens Curl (1978) Mausolea in Ulster' Ulster Architectural Heritage Society, Belfast (1978)

Criteria for listing: architectural interest

A. Style
B. Proportion
C. Ornamentation
H-. Alterations detracting from building
J. Setting
K. Group value

Criteria for listing: historic interest

X. Local Interest

Evaluation

Compact and sturdy looking single storey Greek Revival burial vault of 1867. Vaults of this architectural quality are rare.

General comments

According to a comment supplied to Built Heritage by the Andrews Family in 2011, the mausoleum 'requires some repair to the roof, urns, entablature and stonework'.