Mussenden Temple, Castlerock, United Kingdom

Mussenden Temple is a small circular building located on cliffs near Castlerock in County Londonderry, high above the Atlantic Ocean. Perched on the cliffs overlooking Downhill Strand, it was once possible to drive a carriage around the temple: however, coastal erosion has brought the edge closer to the building. The temple was built in 1785 and forms part of the Downhill Demesne. The demesne was formerly part of the estate of Frederick, 4th Earl of Bristol, who served as the Church of Ireland Lord Bishop of Derry from 1768 until 1803. It was Lord Bristol – popularly known as 'the Earl-Bishop' – who had the 'temple' built. Constructed as a library and modelled from the Temple of Vesta in the Forum Romanum in Rome, it is dedicated to the memory of Bishop Lord Bristol's cousin Frideswide Mussenden.

Now part of The National Trust property of Mussenden Temple and Downhill Demesne, the grounds encompassing Mussenden Temple, and its manor house (Downhill Castle) are open to the public all year, from dawn to dusk.

References:

Wikipedia

Cemeteries, mausoleums and burial places in United Kingdom

User Reviews

Rider Budha (2 years ago)
Beautiful place for traveller s . Parking available. There are two parking if you to take the one near beach less walk. Also beautiful view from river side

Mark McLellan (2 years ago)
Stunning views although there's no entry to the temple building but the old mansion ruins are open.

GERARD MC SORLEY (2 years ago)
Spend 2.5 hours here with two children under 7. With a perfect sunshine day the kids imaginations ran wild exploring the mansion ruins and the mausoleum and Mussenden Temple. In its day this was an impressive house, mansion or whatever you want to call it but what happened to let it fall into ruin in less than 80 years? Had a great picnic in the grounds with the kids so Downtown Abbey existed here for a short space of time.

Francesca Dalbosco (2 years ago)
Mind-blowing. So peaceful, inspiring, wild. I am in awe of this place. And loved Castle Rock too. The village is adorable with lovely cafes and one of the best bakerys (the giggling goose) and chocolate shop ever!

Sandhyarani Analakkatillam (2 years ago)
Mussenden temple and downhill demise is a must see place in Northern Ireland. This place was open 24 hours and free to visit. But the car parking at Lion's gate nd Bishop gate opens up to 5pm and needs an entry fee. If you wish to visit the place for free, then park the car in Downhill beach (it's a drive in beach and you can park the vehicle in the beach itself) and walk 20 minutes uphill to reach the Lion's gate entry. We visited the place for sunset and sunrise experience and it was too quiet and wonderful.

Featured Historic Landmarks, Sites & Buildings

Photo from Flickr, copyright gwpics

Historic Site of the week

Abbey of Saint-Georges

Saint-Georges de Boscherville Abbey is a former Benedictine abbey. It was founded in about 1113 by Guillaume de Tancarville on the site of an earlier establishment of secular canons and settled by monks from the Abbey of Saint-Evroul. The abbey church made of Caumont stone was erected from 1113 to 1140. The Norman builders aimed to have very well-lit naves and they did this by means of tall, large windows, initially made possible by a wooden ceiling, which prevented uplift, although this was replaced by a Gothic vault in the 13th century. The chapter room was built after the abbey church and dates from the last quarter of the 12th century.

The arrival of the Maurist monks in 1659, after the disasters of the Wars of Religion, helped to get the abbey back on a firmer spiritual, architectural and economic footing. They erected a large monastic building one wing of which fitted tightly around the chapter house (which was otherwise left as it was).

Mussenden Temple

Address

Details

More Information

Rating

Interesting Sites Nearby

User Reviews

Featured Historic Landmarks, Sites & Buildings

Finest Norman castles in Italy

Exploring the History of Northern Poland

Discovering Slovenia's Historic Wonders

Historic Site of the week

Abbey of Saint-Georges