Little Temple

Little Temple is a small, open-fronted temple built in the 1760s, likely designed by Lancelot ‘Capability’ Brown. It serves as a garden eye-catcher and viewpoint within the Temple Newsam parkland, situated in a clearing on a hill approximately 700 metres east of the main house and overlooking the southernmost Menagerie Pond. Originally, the clearing was larger, allowing clear views of the temple from the main house and east terrace, but later vegetation has obscured these views.

The temple is constructed from sandstone and rendered brick, with a stone-slate roof covered in clay ridge tiles. Its design is a hybrid, blending Gothic and classical details. The west-facing front elevation features a tetrastyle portico with four tall, slender sandstone columns. These columns have unusual Gothic-style clustered shafts and tall acanthus leaf capitals like no known classical order, each topped with an abacus displaying egg and dart moulding. The columns support a plain timber entablature and timber pediment with a boarded tympanum, which shows traces of original paint intended to resemble stone. The cornice and frieze of the entablature continue around the side elevations. The four columns are unevenly spaced, with the central space, accessed by two stone steps, being wider than the side spaces. Attached columns flank the left (north) and right (south) sides, with the rear half of each side return consisting of a solid rendered brick wall. The building is enclosed on its eastern side, creating a rendered rear to the shelter. The floor is finished with a 20th-century concrete screed. The rear (east) wall is plain and rendered, featuring a pediment matching the front, although the frieze is damaged and partially lost. Both the rear and side walls sit on a brick and sandstone plinth. The roof structure contains kingpost trusses, concealed by a ceiling, and access is through a small square opening.