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Ailesbury Mausoleum

Buildings and structures completed in 1656Central Bedfordshire DistrictGrade II listed buildings in BedfordshireGrade II listed monuments and memorialsMausoleums in England
Monuments and memorials in BedfordshireUse British English from February 2023
AilesburyMausoleum Maulden Bedfordshire
AilesburyMausoleum Maulden Bedfordshire

The Ailesbury Mausoleum situated in the churchyard of St Mary's Church, Maulden, in Bedfordshire, is a Grade II listed structure built in 1656 by Thomas Bruce, 1st Earl of Elgin (1599–1663) (father by his 1st wife of Robert Bruce, 2nd Earl of Elgin, 1st Earl of Ailesbury (1626-1685)), of nearby Houghton House in the parish of Maulden, for the purpose of housing the coffin and "splendid monument" of his second wife, Lady Diana Cecil (d. 1654), a daughter of William Cecil, 2nd Earl of Exeter and widow of Henry de Vere, 18th Earl of Oxford. In the opinion of the architectural historian Sir Howard Colvin (1991) it is one of the first two free-standing mausoleums ever built in England, together with the Cabell Mausoleum at Buckfastleigh in Devon.

Excerpt from the Wikipedia article Ailesbury Mausoleum (License: CC BY-SA 3.0, Authors, Images).

Ailesbury Mausoleum
Church Road,

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N 52.031 ° E -0.4589 °
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Church Road
MK45 2AU
England, United Kingdom
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AilesburyMausoleum Maulden Bedfordshire
AilesburyMausoleum Maulden Bedfordshire
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Nearby Places

Ruxox Cell

Ruxox Cell (sometimes spelled Rokesac) was a moated chapel, or monastic cell, established in the twelfth century in the parish of Flitwick in Bedfordshire, England. Situated on the east side of the village of Ruxox, it was granted to the Augustinian priory of Dunstable by Philip de Sanvill, Lord of Flitwick, c. 1170. The grant was confirmed by William, Earl of Aumale (d. 1189), and his wife, Hawise (d. 1214), who was Countess of Aumale in her own right. It was dedicated to St. Nicholas by Robert de Chesney, bishop of Lincoln (d. 1166). Priors from Dunstable would sometimes retire to Roxux.Only a few extant documents from the thirteenth century make reference to Ruxox: (a) an old deed in the cartulary of Dunstable, now in the British Library, which mentions Alexander, canon of Ruxox, and contains several grants to the chapel; and (b) the chronicle of Dunstable, which includes a reference to the prior at Ruxox under the year 1205, an account of two friars, Michael de Peck and John de Hallings, and others of the household of Ruxox under the year 1283; and a notice that two of the canons at Ruxox along with Stephen, parson of Flitwick, died and were buried at the site in 1290.Archaeological excavation at the site has revealed foundations of a wall near the bank of the River Flit, which runs five feet below ground parallel to the river for a short distance before going off at a 45o angle. It is composed of sandstone and other blocks, and partly pinned beneath it is a beam 10 ft. long and 2 ft. wide resting on underlying piles. Remains of Roman roads have been nearby, yet, even though Roman pottery has also been found along the wall, researchers consider the site to be more medieval than Roman primarily due to the re-use of a carved sandstone column base in the wall.

Greenfield, Bedfordshire

Greenfield is a small village about 2 km (1.2 mi) from the town of Flitwick in Bedfordshire, England. It lies across Flitwick Moor from the larger settlement of Flitwick and is on the opposite side of the River Flit. It forms part of the parish of Flitton and Greenfield. The main street (High Street) has junctions with Pulloxhill road, leading to the village of Pulloxhill, School Lane, the site of the old village school. High Street also has a junction with Mill Lane, which was until the 1960s a cart route to Ruxox Farm, Maulden and Ampthill and now leads to footpaths and bridleways to Maggot Moor, Flitwick Moor, Ruxox Farm, Flitton Moor, and the village of Flitton. Houses along High Street are a mix of thatched cottages and Bedfordshire brick dwellings, with an assortment of renovated or rebuilt barn buildings in keeping to some extent with earlier farm courtyard structures. Due to closures, there is now only one public house in Greenfield called The Compasses. Three former pubs, were the Swan Beerhouse on Mill Lane which closed in 1909, the Nags Head Beerhouse on the High Street which closed in 1913, and the Old Bell Public House which closed more recently in 2007. There was also once a post office and store on Mill Lane, and the village store on the High Street (formerly Cockroft's), and a village school on School Lane that was later used as an artists studio by artist and sculptor James Butler. The former beer houses and stores are now private residences. A new village school was built on Pulloxhill road during the 1960s.