page_title: Ta' Braxia Cemetery
section_title: Chapel
hierarchical_section_title: Ta' Braxia Cemetery / Chapel
caption_attribution_description: English: Cimiterju ta’ Braxa
context_page_description: Ta' Braxia Cemetery is a cemetery in Gwardamanġa, located near the boundary between Pietà and Ħamrun, Malta. It was built between 1855 and 1857 as a multi-denomination burial ground primarily intended for British servicemen, partially replacing a number of earlier 18th century cemeteries. The site also incorporates a Jewish cemetery which was established in around 1830. The cemetery's construction was controversial since the local ecclesiastical authorities were opposed to a multi-faith extra-mural cemetery.
  The cemetery was designed by the Maltese architect Emanuele Luigi Galizia. It was expanded a number of times during the 19th century, and in 1893–94 a memorial chapel dedicated to Lady Rachel Hamilton-Gordon was added. The chapel was designed by the English architect John Loughborough Pearson in a combination of the Gothic Revival and Romanesque Revival styles.
context_section_description: The main landmark at Ta' Braxia Cemetery is the Lady Rachel Hamilton-Gordon Memorial Chapel, which was built to commemorate the wife of Sir Arthur Hamilton-Gordon, 1st Baron Stanmore. While en route from Ceylon to Britain, Lady Hamilton-Gordon fell ill and died in Malta, being buried at Ta' Braxia on 28 January 1889. Sir Hamilton-Gordon commissioned a leading English architect, John Loughborough Pearson, to design a memorial chapel for his wife. Pearson probably never visited Malta, but prepared the plans which were sent to the island. The chapel's foundation stone was laid down on 28 May 1893 and it was completed in 1894.
  The chapel's architecture cannot be categorically classified as belonging to one particular style, since it combines elements from both the Gothic Revival and Romanesque Revival styles. It has a centralized circular plan with a dome. The external façades contain elaborate geometric decoration and ornamentation, which contrast with the relatively plain dome.
caption: Ta' Braxia Cemetery Chapel
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