W.H. Matthews Mausoleum

The restoration of the W.H. Matthews mausoleum at Mount Hope Cemetery in Raleigh, NC is nearing completion. W.H. Matthews was a mason and contractor who lived in Raleigh.  Believed to have been designed by his son W.J. Matthews of Chicago, his mausoleum is one of the more significant monuments in the cemetery. Built from a variety of stones collected by Mr. Matthews from his work across North Carolina, it features a barrel vaulted roof and cast iron door.

Mount Hope was founded in 1872 as a city-owned African-American cemetery, among the first of its kind in North Carolina.

"A peculiar feature of the funeral of William Matthews...was the fact that the body was encased in a coffin of glass, the entire form being in plain view." © News & Observer 6/24/1902

"His life was a lesson of industry and thrift.  Having labored and earned money with which he purchased his freedom before the war, he prized the same so highly that he always tried to live a life free from blemish."© News & Observer 6/19/1902

Mausoleum Before Restoration

Restored Stone Work

I finally made it over to Duke Chapel to take some new photos of the baptismal font I designed when working at Eason & Farlow Design. The Gothic style font is carved from quarter-sawn white oak and features a hand hammered sterling silver basin with  an overlaid cross pattern.  Duke Chapel had never had a baptismal font until this was commissioned in the early 2000s. Our goal was for it to appear as if it had always been there, fitting in perfectly with  Julian Abele's 1932 masterpiece.

The brick re-pointing, roof repair and masonry restoration has begun at St. Timothy's Episcopal Church in Wilson, NC.  St. Timothy's was constructed in 1906 and is a fine example of Gothic Revival architecture with it's asymmetrical brick tower and Tudor Gothic windows.  We designed a new cast stone cross with symbol for St. Timothy to be located above the main entry.