The Hopper mausoleum is a grand, elaborate structure unlike any other in the country. The mausoleum is located on Greymare Hill, roughly six miles from Consett. The location feels very remote, but the churches congregation continued until the early 1970’s when St Andrews church became abandoned. The mausoleum was erected by Humphrey Hopper of Black Hedley in the year 1752 for his beloved wife, Jane.
The upper part of the mausoleum is embellished with obelisks, scrollwork, shields and statues standing in shell-headed niches. To the front, low stone walls, piers and iron railings enclose a paved stone floor. Under a sheltered arch lie the weather-worn stone effigies of Humphrey Hopper and his wife, Jane Hodgson. The top of the mausoleum is crowned with a large lantern. Unfortunately, the mausoleum has been the subject of recurring theft and vandalism over the years, and two of its statues are missing.
I have wanted to photograph this mausoleum for a few years now, but as it is quite a trek from Ouzlewell Green it remained on my to do list. Recently on the way back from Northumberland we had the time to take a detour from the A1. Despite a semi overcast day weather wise, I was determined to try and take a photograph. However, trying to make an image with just the natural light we had, it would not provide the feel and look I wanted. I decided to use one Godox AD300 pro flash with a 7-inch reflector to pop some light onto the structure of the mausoleum and under expose the natural light by a stop or two. The location was a little windy, so I asked Fran to and hold the light rather than use a travel light stand. All I needed to do, was place the camera on a tripod, takes some images with Fran in the frame with the light and then blend the images and remove Fran via Photoshop, well that was my intention. Anyway, here are some images of the process and the final outcome.
