Templetown Mausoleum

Templetown Mausoleum is one of the very few Irish works of the Scottish neoclassical architect Robert Adam, and the Trust calls it the finest example of his architecture in Ireland. It stands in the old Templepatrick burial ground at the heart of the Castle Upton demesne, commissioned by Sarah Cosby in memory of her husband, the Rt Hon. Arthur Upton MP, who died in 1768. Sarah chose a plainer version of Adam's first design: a sober temple dressed with funerary urns and two Coade stone medallions, one of Saint Agnes and one of the Roman province of Dacia in mourning. It served as the Upton family vault and was given to the Trust in 1963. Reviewers warn that the way in is poorly signed: the lane off the main road looks like a private drive before it leads on through iron gates. There is no car park, so leave the car in Templepatrick village, and expect uneven ground among the graves.