Burton: Exploring Without Boundaries

The Burton Mausoleum is undergoing a period of essential conservation work as part of a wider project of research, education, and outreach.

Burton: Exploring Without Boundaries is a National Lottery Heritage Funded project, made possible by players of the National Lottery.

In 2024 Habitats & Heritage were granted £249,000 from the NLHF for a 2-year project.

Sir Richard Francis Burton (1821-1890) and Lady Isabel Burton (1831-1896) were renowned Victorian explorers and writers. Their mausoleum, located at St Mary Magdalen Roman Catholic Church, Mortlake, is a unique monument to their memory. The legacies of their travels and writing continue to affect communities today. This project incorporates research and public engagement to tell this complex and fascinating history.

We are working in partnership with St Mary Magdalen Church, heritage institutions such as the Museum of Richmond and Everyday Muslim, academic institutions such as Kingston University and the University of Westminster, and local charitable organisations in south and west London.

Interpretation and Research

Sir Richard Burton has a complicated legacy. His extraordinary travels have inspired generations of explorers, such as Levison Wood, however, his problematic engagement with religion, in particular with Islam, has caused controversy since his time. We are working carefully and sensitively with all the stakeholders and communities affected by this legacy and using this engagement to inform the project’s interpretive outputs. We are also highlighting Lady Isabel Burton’s life, explore her experiences of international travel, and her role in building the mausoleum. Our key interpretative outputs include information boards installed at the site, a local heritage trail, and educational resources.

Volunteer History Researchers have been delving into the archives to expand on existing narratives and tell new stories about the Burton Mausoleum and the Burtons. You can read their research on our blog:

Mara Willsdon, The Intersecting Identities of Lady Isabel Burton: Woman, Wife, Explorer.

Ieva Daujotaite, Constructing the Burton Mausoleum.

Education and Outreach

The aim of the Burton: Exploring Without Boundaries Educational Project is to deliver workshops, lessons and create educational resources around the Burtons and their mausoleum.

We have delivered workshops and engaged with students at primary, secondary and college, and postgraduate levels. We have incorporated visits to the Burton Mausoleum, craft activities, and conducting debates.

In collaboration with the Museum of Richmond, the project has helped to deliver a UAL Level 2 Award and Diploma in Art and Design at Richmond upon Thames College. With the mausoleum as the central inspiration the students created artwork responding to the building and the theme of exploration. An exhibit of their work and some objects from the Burtons’ personal collection is on display at the Museum of Richmond until July 2026.

We have also collaborated with the Museum to create a range of educational resources such as “Discovery Boxes” which can be loaned out to groups and teachers lead sessions on three topics: “Burtons and Victorians”, “Islam”, and “Hinduism and Sikhism”.

We will also produce a three-part documentary series on the history of Sir Richard Burton, Lady Isabel Burton, and the Burton Mausoleum.

You can currently see the objects from the Burton Mausoleum being cleaned by MA Museums and Galleries Studies students from Kingston School of Art at the Museum of Richmond over the Autumn Term 2025. For more information please email helen@habitatsandheritage.org.uk. The students are also producing a rolling display case of objects they have finished cleaning.