The team, led by the Defence Infrastructure Organisation’s (DIO) Senior Archaeologist Richard Osgood and supported by VIVO Defence Services, carried out the investigation for a week at Tedworth House, Tidworth.
There, they sought to discover more about the existence of a mausoleum formerly located in the grounds of the Grade II listed country residence until its removal in 1954, which included the exhumation from the graves inside.
The Illustrated London News of 1858 claimed that the tomb was built a century earlier and was dedicated to “Thomas Assheton Smith Esq., a former politician, industrialist, and sportsman who died in 1858.”
According to the newspaper, the mausoleum measured roughly 20 feet by 20 feet, had a cupola and a domed ceiling, and was constructed in the Roman Ionic style. At its tallest point, it stood about 50 feet tall.
“The entire floor is covered with elaborate mosaic pavement, and all of the windows are filled with stained glass,” the statement continued. The mausoleum shares the chapel’s paving and glazing, and an elegant open-work bronze gate divides the two spaces.The entire structure is masterfully planned, executed, and situated among the lovely Tedworth trees.
The Operation Nightingale team, assisted by VIVO Defence Services – which provides Facilities Management services at Tedworth House and prepared and oversaw the dig – Wessex Archaeology, DIO and the volunteers set about trying to find if any traces of the mausoleum had survived and to discover more detail about its appearance.
Situated on 28 acres of grounds and gardens, Tedworth House serves as a rehabilitation centre for military soldiers who are sick, injured, or on recovery duty (PRD).
The crew unearthed much more of the tomb than they had anticipated during the dig, including brick foundations that suggested the main structure and the nearby chapel were constructed of brick and had stone facades.
There were also pieces of the exquisite architectural mouldings, lead sheeting from the chapel roof and intricate wrought-iron pieces from an enormous fence that had formerly encircled the building.
Although the newspaper article mentioned above indicated that there had been stained glass windows there and local sources state that it was taken down and shipped to the Caribbean, they only discovered clear glass.
They also discovered a small piece of wood from one of the three coffins – including Assheton’s – that were in the mausoleum, but removed for reburial in 1950. Major Dean Holder, the Officer in Command of Tedworth House Personnel Recovery Centre, said: “The dig provided an opportunity for Personnel On Recovery Duty (PRD) to come together and form a team with a shared purpose of exposing the remnants of the former mausoleum. “Participants enjoyed the chance to operate together and relished the new found camaraderie. Benefits were not only in what was uncovered from an archaeological perspective but also in providing PRD with a sense of achievement and a positive social environment.”
About two thirds of the site has already been excavated, according to DIO’s Richard Osgood. Another dig is scheduled for 2025, and the artefacts will be on display in Tedworth House.
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