The Hannen Columbarium is a

columbarium A columbarium (; pl. columbaria) is a structure for the reverential and usually public storage of funerary urns, holding cremated remains of the deceased. The term can also mean the nesting boxes of pigeons. The term comes from the Latin "''colu ...

mausoleum – a resting place for the

cremated Cremation is a method of final disposition of a dead body through burning. Cremation may serve as a funeral or post-funeral rite and as an alternative to burial. In some countries, including India and Nepal, cremation on an open-air pyre i ...

remains of the deceased – built for the Hannen family of

Wargrave Wargrave () is a historic village and civil parish in Berkshire, England. The village is primarily on the River Thames but also along the confluence of the River Loddon and lies on the border with southern Oxfordshire. The village has many old ...

, Berkshire, England and designed by Edwin Lutyens.

Columbarium

Lutyens became acquainted with the Hannen family in about 1897 and from 1902 to 1905 employed Nicholas Hannen as an architectural trainee. The Hannen Columbarium was built in 1906–07 to house the ashes of Nicholas's father, Sir Nicholas Hannen, a barrister, diplomat and judge who died in

Shanghai Shanghai (; , , Standard Mandarin pronunciation: ) is one of the four direct-administered municipalities of the People's Republic of China (PRC). The city is located on the southern estuary of the Yangtze River, with the Huangpu River flowin ...

in 1900. Lutyens was commissioned in 1905, and produced a columbarium design combining

Byzantine Revival Neo-Byzantine architecture (also referred to as Byzantine Revival) was a revival movement, most frequently seen in religious, institutional and public buildings. It incorporates elements of the Byzantine style associated with Eastern and Ortho ...

with Arts and Crafts and with classical architectural lines, in the form of a square building of red-brick, red-tile, glass-tile and stonework, sited in the south-east of the graveyard of St. Mary's Church, Wargrave. Within – in Lutyens's words – is "a circular

cella A cella (from Latin for small chamber) or naos (from the Greek ναός, "temple") is the inner chamber of an ancient Greek or Roman temple in classical antiquity. Its enclosure within walls has given rise to extended meanings, of a hermit's or ...

within four

piers Piers may refer to: * Pier, a raised structure over a body of water * Pier (architecture), an architectural support * Piers (name), a given name and surname (including lists of people with the name) * Piers baronets, two titles, in the baronetages ...

, which carry intersecting arches forming

pendentive In architecture, a pendentive is a constructional device permitting the placing of a circular dome over a square room or of an elliptical dome over a rectangular room. The pendentives, which are triangular segments of a sphere, taper to point ...

s and completed by a saucer dome." The cilla is decorated with text from Luke, chapter 20, verse 38: 'He Is Not The God Of The Dead But Of The Living For All Live Unto Him'. The Columbarium is a Grade II*

listed building In the United Kingdom, a listed building or listed structure is one that has been placed on one of the four statutory lists maintained by Historic England in England, Historic Environment Scotland in Scotland, in Wales, and the Northern Irel ...

. It was restored in 1985, but concerns exist as to its condition. It forms Lutyens's earliest mausoleum design, and (with

Heathcote Heathcote may refer to: Places in Australia *Heathcote, New South Wales, a suburb of Sydney **Electoral district of Heathcote, a seat in the New South Wales Legislative Assembly **Heathcote National Park ** Parish of Heathcote a parish of Cumberla ...

Ilkley Ilkley is a spa town and civil parish in the City of Bradford in West Yorkshire, in Northern England. Historically part of the West Riding of Yorkshire, Ilkley civil parish includes the adjacent village of Ben Rhydding and is a ward within the ...

), is recognised as an embodiment of the point at which he fully incorporated classical architecture in his designs.

Interments

The following individuals are interred in the Columbarium: * Sir

Nicholas John Hannen Sir Nicholas John Hannen (24 August 1842 – 27 April 1900) was a British barrister, diplomat and judge who served in China and Japan. He was the Chief Justice of the British Supreme Court for China and Japan from 1891 to 1900 and also served ...

* Lady Hannen (the former Miss Jessie Woodhouse) *

Nicholas "Beau" Hannen Nicholas James "Beau" Hannen OBE (mil) (1 May 1881 – 25 June 1972) was a British actor of the early and mid-20th century who acted in a number of stage plays and films. Early life Hannen was born on 1 May 1881 at No. 40 Westbourne Park Ro ...

(Sir Nicholas' son) *

Athene Seyler Athene Seyler, CBE (31 May 188912 September 1990) was an English actress. Early life She was born in Hackney, London; her German-born grandparents moved to the United Kingdom, where her grandfather Philip Seyler was a merchant in London. Ath ...

, Beau Hannen's wife

References

{{coord, 51.49948, N, 0.87339, W, type:landmark_region:GB, display=title Buildings and structures completed in 1906 Byzantine Revival architecture in the United Kingdom Grade II* listed buildings in Berkshire Mausoleums in England Monuments and memorials in Berkshire

Columbarium A columbarium (; pl. columbaria) is a structure for the reverential and usually public storage of funerary urns, holding cremated remains of the deceased. The term can also mean the nesting boxes of pigeons. The term comes from the Latin "''colu ...

1906 establishments in England

Columbarium

Interments

See also

References