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Mussenden Temple

 
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Mussenden Temple
 
 
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Mussenden Temple is a small circular building located on cliffs near Castlerock
Castlerock

Castlerock is a seaside village in County Londonderry, Northern Ireland. It is situated between Coleraine and Derry and is very popular with summer tourists, having numerous apartment blocks and three caravan sites....
 in County Londonderry
County Londonderry

County Londonderry or County Derry is one of the six Counties of Ireland of Northern Ireland in the Provinces of Ireland of Ulster in Ireland....
, high above the Atlantic Ocean
Atlantic Ocean

The Atlantic Ocean is the second-largest of the world's oceanic divisions; with a total area of about 106.4 million square kilometres . It covers approximately one-fifth of the Earth's surface....
 on the north-western coast of Northern Ireland
Northern Ireland

conventional_long_name = Northern Ireland|native_name= Tuaisceart ?ireannNorlin Airlann|motto =|image_map = Europe location N-IRL2.png...
.

It was built in 1785 and forms part of the estate of Frederick Augustus Hervey, the 4th Earl of Bristol
Frederick Hervey, 4th Earl of Bristol

Frederick Augustus Hervey, 4th Earl of Bristol, Privy Council of Ireland , known as The Earl-Bishop, was Bishop of Cloyne from 1767 to 1768 and Bishop of Derry from 1768 to 1803....
, Bishop of Derry.






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Mussendentemple
Mussenden Temple is a small circular building located on cliffs near Castlerock
Castlerock

Castlerock is a seaside village in County Londonderry, Northern Ireland. It is situated between Coleraine and Derry and is very popular with summer tourists, having numerous apartment blocks and three caravan sites....
 in County Londonderry
County Londonderry

County Londonderry or County Derry is one of the six Counties of Ireland of Northern Ireland in the Provinces of Ireland of Ulster in Ireland....
, high above the Atlantic Ocean
Atlantic Ocean

The Atlantic Ocean is the second-largest of the world's oceanic divisions; with a total area of about 106.4 million square kilometres . It covers approximately one-fifth of the Earth's surface....
 on the north-western coast of Northern Ireland
Northern Ireland

conventional_long_name = Northern Ireland|native_name= Tuaisceart ?ireannNorlin Airlann|motto =|image_map = Europe location N-IRL2.png...
.

It was built in 1785 and forms part of the estate of Frederick Augustus Hervey, the 4th Earl of Bristol
Frederick Hervey, 4th Earl of Bristol

Frederick Augustus Hervey, 4th Earl of Bristol, Privy Council of Ireland , known as The Earl-Bishop, was Bishop of Cloyne from 1767 to 1768 and Bishop of Derry from 1768 to 1803....
, Bishop of Derry. Built as a library and modeled on the Temple of Vesta
Temple of Vesta

The Temple of Vesta is ancient edifice in Rome, Italy, located in the Roman Forum between the Temple of Castor and Pollux, the Temple of Caesar, the Regia and the House of the Vestals....
 in Italy
Italy

Italy , officially the Italian Republic , is a country located on the Italian Peninsula in Southern Europe and on the two largest islands in the Mediterranean Sea, Sicily and Sardinia....
, it is dedicated to the memory of Hervey's cousin Frideswide Mussenden.

Over the years the erosion of the cliff face at Downhill has brought Mussenden Temple ever closer to the edge, and in 1997 the National Trust
National Trust for Places of Historic Interest or Natural Beauty

The National Trust for Places of Historic Interest or Natural Beauty, usually known as the National Trust, is a conservation organization in England, Wales and Northern Ireland....
 carried out cliff stabilisation work to prevent the loss of the building.

The inscription around the building reads, "Tis pleasant, safely to behold from shore/ The rolling ship, and hear the tempest roar." The quotation is from Lucretius
Lucretius

Titus Lucretius Carus was a Roman Republic poet and philosopher. His only known work is the epic philosophical poem on Epicureanism De rerum natura, translated into English as On the Nature of Things....
.

Now part of the National Trust property of Downhill Estate & Mussenden Temple, the grounds encompassing Mussenden Temple, and its manor house (Downhill Castle) are open to the public all year, dawn to dusk. The temple itself is open on certain days, and admission is free. The Temple offers magnificent views westwards over Downhill Strand
Downhill Strand

Downhill Strand is a beach in County Londonderry, Northern Ireland, with the A2 road and the Derry to Coleraine railway line next to it. The beach had Blue Flag beach status until June 2007....
 towards Magilligan Point and County Donegal and to the east Castlerock
Castlerock

Castlerock is a seaside village in County Londonderry, Northern Ireland. It is situated between Coleraine and Derry and is very popular with summer tourists, having numerous apartment blocks and three caravan sites....
 beach towards Portstewart
Portstewart

Portstewart is a town in County Londonderry, Northern Ireland and had a population of 7,803 people in the United Kingdom Census 2001. It is a seaside resort, seen by residents as a grander version of neighbouring Portrush....
, Portrush
Portrush

Portrush is a seaside resort town in County Antrim, Northern Ireland, on the County Londonderry border. The main part of the old town, including the Portrush railway station as well as most hotels, restaurants and bars, is built on a mile–long peninsula, Ramore Head, pointing north-northwest....
 and Fair Head
Fair Head

Fair Head is a rocky headland at the north-eastern corner of Northern Ireland, in County Antrim. It lies 3 miles east of Ballycastle, County Antrim town, and is the closest part of the mainland to Rathlin Island....
.

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