Jack Fuller's pyramid is a 25 foot (7.62 m) high mausoleum that he had built in 1811,twenty-three years before his death. It stands incongruously in the churchyard of St. Thomas à Becket, Brightling.
The ninth verse of Gray's Elegy is inscribed on the wall inside the pyramid:
Local legend had it that Fuller was entombed in the pyramid in full dress and top hat seated at a table set with a roast chicken and a bottle of wine. There have been several variations of this story told over the years all of which proved to be untrue when during renovations were made to the pyramid in 1982. Fuller is indeed buried in the conventional manner, in the ground beneath the mausoleum.
Jack Fuller was not the only Sussex worthy to be entombed in a pyramid. London builder, James Burton (1761-1837), is credited with creating the town of St. Leonards (near Hastings, East Sussex) as a seaside resort for the wealthy, between 1827 and 1837. His son Decimus Burton(1800-1881) continued building in the 1850s and 60s. Father, son and other family members are buried beneath the Burton pyramid located on West Hill Road, St Leonards overlooking the sea.
William Mackenzie's Pyramid, Church of Saint Andrew, Liverpool
In the graveyard of this Presbyterian church, closed since 1975, stands a pyramid mausoleum dedicated to William Mackenzie. He was born on the 20th of March in 1794 at Nelson, Lancashire and died on 29 October 1851 at his home at 74 Grove Street, Liverpool. Mackenzie was a civil engineer and contractor who worked on canals, tunnels and railways throughout the United Kingdom and parts of Europe.
Legend has it that Mackenzie was a gambler who had a wager with the devil and so asked to be interred seated upright holding a winning hand of cards so Satan couldn't claim his soul after his death.
This seems highly unlikely as the pyramid was commissioned by his younger brother, and sole heir, Edward, in 1868 which was seventeen years after William Mackenzie's death. An inscription reads: "In the vault beneath lie the remains of William Mackenzie of Newbie, Dumfriesshire, Esquire who died 29th October 1851 aged 57 years. Also, Mary his wife, who died 19th December 1838 aged 48 years and Sarah, his second wife who died 9th December 1867 aged 60 years. This monument was erected by his Brother Edward as a token of love and affection A.D. 1868. The memory of the just is blessed". Source: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/William_Mackenzie_(contractor)
