Situated in the graveyard of Castle Upton, this family mausoleum in the shape of a triumphal arch was designed and built by the renowned Scottish neoclassical architect Robert Adam. This particular tomb was built in 1789. It is typical of Adam’s style with its classical urns, leaf swags and circular reliefs surrounding the arched door to the vault. It remains one of the finest examples of neoclassical architecture in Ireland.
Templepatrick takes its name from the Irish ‘The Stone Church of Patrick’. Legend has it that while St Patrick was engaged in his mission to Ireland, in the 5th century AD, he came to this area and baptised converts in an ancient holy well. He then founded a church in the centre of the graveyard, where the mausoleum stands, inside the grounds of what is now Castle Upton.
In the last century, blasting was carried out for a new limestone quarry. Within a few days the quarry was flooded and all the equipment destroyed! Some would say that the ‘wee folk’ were angry at these strangers for desecrating the Chapel of St Patrick.
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