The Burtons: Fascinating in Life and Death

Part of the 2025 London Festival of Architecture, this is a panel discussion and tour of the spectacular mausoleum of Victorian explorers, Sir Richard Francis Burton and Lady Isabel Burton.

The diverse panel will focus on underrepresented narratives and the lives and legacies of the inhabitants of one of London’s most fascinating examples of funerary architecture. This will be followed by a presentation on the conservation work Habitats & Heritage (H&H) intend to carry out on the mausoleum and a short question and answer session. Attendees will then be taken on a tour of the mausoleum in the cemetery of the church, led by H&H heritage experts.

The Burton Mausoleum, located at St Mary Magdalen Roman Catholic Church, Mortlake, was inspired by the tents used by nomadic Bedouins in Syria and displays both Islamic and Catholic iconography in its design. Sir Richard Francis Burton and Lady Isabel Burton were 19th century explorers and writers.