Further Afield

Attached to the Church in Flitton

A superb family mausoleum attached to Flitton church, housing the memorials to generations of the De Grey family, holders of nearby Wrest Park. The mausoleum is possibly the largest and most magnificent sepulchral chapel attached to an English church.

 

Monuments

There are 17 monuments within the De Grey Mausoleum, forming one of the finest collections of family funerary monuments in England. The earliest dates to 1614, and the final monument was erected in 1899. The mausoleum was founded in 1605 by Henry Grey, the sixth Earl of Kent. Grey was the first to be buried in the mausoleum, though like subsequent family members his body actually lies in the family vault beneath the mausoleum, not under his memorial.

 

The Chapel

The chapel was extended between 1705 - 1710 by another Henry Grey, the 1st Duke of Kent. The Duke wanted to create a light, spacious chamber to reflect the growing stature of his family. Many of the Duke's children died during his lifetime, including Anthony, his eldest son, who is depicted on his monument in classical Roman attire.

 

The last De Grey monument in the mausoleum is that of Thomas, Earl de Grey, who died in 1848. The Earl's heir was his eldest daughter, Anne, Countess Cowper, who lived at her husband's house at Panshanger, Hertfordshire, rather than at Wrest Park, so the mausoleum was no longer required.