Timeline

Heritage classified

Key figures

Origin and history

The mausoleum of the Cabrol family, located at the Miramont cemetery in Decazeville, was commissioned by François Cabrol in the mid-19th century to house family burials. The building, designed by architect Antoine-Martin Garnaud (grand prix de Rome in 1817), is distinguished by a classical architecture in two levels: a funeral base accessible by side stairs and a decorated chapel, topped by a roof in the middle of the hangar. Two allegorical statues, the Grieve and Faith, carved by Raymond Gayrard, frame the entrance to the mortuary chamber. The use of the slope of the land isolates the monument, reinforcing its monumental character in the heart of the cemetery.

François Cabrol (1793–82), his wife Anaïs Costes (1806–?) and their son Elie (1829–1905) were buried there. The land was offered by M. de Lassalle, and the mausoleum became a central element of the new cemetery. The statues of Gayrard, a Aveyronian sculptor trained in Paris, illustrate his neoclassical style, while the architecture of Garnaud reflects his expertise, notably after the construction of the church of Decazeville in 1847. The monument, partially restored in 1916 and 1952 (reinforced concrete roof replacing a brick vault), was classified as a Historic Monument in 2019.

Raymond Gayrard (1777–1858), author of the statues, began as a metal engraver before he devoted himself to sculpture. Protected by Baron Denon, he exhibited at the Salon of 1819 with L-Amour trying his arrows, acquired by Louis XVIII for Saint-Cloud. His work for the Mausoleum Cabrol, realized in collaboration with Garnaud, marks the climax of his career in Aveyron. The archives mention an aborted renovation prior to the Second World War, postponed due to the circumstances, and then finalized by the Aveyron Society of Industrial Construction (SACI) in 1952.

The mausoleum, a communal property, embodies the bourgeois funeral art of the 19th century, mixing religious symbolism (Allegories of Faith and Grieving) and architectural ambition. Its registration in 2019 highlights its heritage value, both for its family history and for its landscape integration into the Miramont Cemetery. The successive restorations (wall of enclosure in 1916, roof in 1952) testify to its continuous maintenance, despite historical hazards.

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