Callendar Park Mausoleum

I occasionally walk the dogs around Callendar Park in the centre of Falkirk. For the most part I tend to go around the woodland walks which are well maintained. I have walked past the Forbes family mausoleum on a number of occasions but I actually took the chance to take a closer look.

Callendar House

Forbes Family Mausoleum

The mausoleum itself is a neo-classical construction which seems strangely out of kilter with the rest of the park although given that one of the other great Roman relics passes through the park in the form of the Antonine Wall it’s possibly not as out of place as one would imagine. It was constructed for the Forbes family, who owned the estate, in the early 19th Century.

Greek Enscription

There is an engraving in Greek on the front above the doorway which apparently translates as: All things we mortals call our own
Are mortal too and quickly flown;
But could they all for ever stay,
We soon from them must pass away.



Grave in Park

As well as providing a resting place for members of the Forbes family there are a number of mostly fallen gravestones which were for particularly valued servants of the Forbes family. Such a feudal arrangement feels more akin to Ancient Egypt than relatively modern Scotland but the date one grave was as recent as 1949.


It is rather saddening that the building is strewn in graffiti as it is genuinely interesting as an architectural oddity and very much out of kilter with the rest of the park which is very well maintained. I’m wondering how much it would cost to remove the graffiti and tidy the site up. I suspect that it wouldn’t be that much.