A sealed mausoleum surrounded by mystery and unexplained theories.
A sealed mausoleum surrounded by mystery and unexplained theories.
In the middle of the Brompton Cemetery in London (United Kingdom) stands a fascinating mausoleum in Egyptian style, the largest and most elaborate construction in Brompton. It would be remarkable for its imposing stature alone, but there’s more to the story. It is believed to be a fully functional time machine.
Hannah Courtoy
Hannah Courtoy (born Peters) was a mysterious woman. She never married, but she inherited a fortune from an elderly merchant by the name of John Courtoy. She worked for him as a housekeeper and later took his name. There are rumors that she was his mistress, but also the mistress of kings, politicians, and other rich, powerful men.
Like many Victorians of the era, Hannah was intrigued by Egyptian iconography, particularly hieroglyphics. Therefore, it is not surprising that she, and two of her three daughters, Elizabeth and Mary-Ann, rest in the tomb with many Egyptian characteristics. The mausoleum was designed by two of Hannah`s good friends, Joseph Bonomi and Samuel Alfred Warner.
A secret project
Samuel Alfred Warner was an inventor. Some people think that he was a genius who invented the torpedo, others believe that he was just a fraud who tried to convince The British army to finance his development of several advanced weapons, too advanced to actually exist. On the other hand, Joseph Bonomi was a noted Egyptologist, artist, sculptor and museum curator. He was among the first to decipher some of the hieroglyphic texts found in the Valley of the Kings. The story goes that Bonomi discovered the secret of time traveling from hieroglyphs he saw on one of his expeditions.
Supposedly, the two men convinced Hannah to finance their secret project - to design and build a mausoleum that would actually be a time machine. By placing their device in a cemetery, they ensured that no one would interfere with their journey through time, since cemeteries are rarely changed.
Details supporting the theory
The mausoleum was finished in 1853, 5 years after Hannah died. Shortly after the completion of construction, Warner died in suspicious circumstances. Some say he died because of what he discovered while working on the time machine. Others say that Bonomi killed Warner to stop him from telling anyone about their project. Another version of the story is, that Warner didn’t die at all and simply travelled in time and disappeared.
Both Warner and Bonomi are buried in Brompton Cemetery. Warner in an unmarked grave and Bonomi in the immediate vicinity of mausoleum. There is a depiction of Hannah’s tomb on his modest headstone and an illustration of Anubis, the Egyptian god of death, looking in the direction of the mausoleum.
But this is just one detail that supports the story of the mausoleum being a time machine. There are also strange wheel motifs on the bottom of the mausoleum door and a large circular hole in the top with 8 smaller holes surrounding it. Some say that it looks like a clock or dial was supposed to be in that place. Furthermore, for almost every structure in the Brompton Cemetery there exists an architect’s plan, but not for this mausoleum. To make everything even more mysterious, the key of the mausoleum went missing, so no one was able to see what is inside the mausoleum for more 150 years.
Time machine or teleportation device?
Another version of the story is, that the mausoleum is not a time machine, but a portal or teleportation device. It is believed that Bonomi designed at least one of the others Egyptian-inspired structures that resemble a lot the one on Brompton Cemetery. The others are placed on the “Magnificent Seven", a group of London’s historic private cemeteries that form a perfect ring around London.
So is the Brompton Cemetery mausoleum a time machine or a teleportation device? Contact us and let us know what is your theory.
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