Doric Temple And Attached Bridge 200 Metres South-East Of Wollaton Hall

The Doric Temple and attached bridge, located 200 metres south-east of Wollaton Hall in Nottingham, was built around 1800. This garden temple features red brick and ashlar construction, with a flat bitumen roof over lime-ash and plain sandstone coping along the brick parapet. It is a single-storey structure with three bays.

On the south-west side, there is an open loggia with steps leading up, supported by two outer Roman Doric pilasters and two columns, likely reused from a late 17th-century orangery. Above the loggia is a simplified painted timber cornice. The north-east side has a projecting niche with a round-arched window, while both the north-west and south-east ends have segmental arch doorways with six-panelled doors; the south-east door has been adapted in the late 19th century with a wrought-iron decorative grille.

Inside, the temple has rendered ceilings and walls adorned with eight late 16th-century oval plaster relief panels, each framed with a floral border. These panels depict mythological scenes, including several with horses and chariots, sea creatures, and a copy of Raphael's fresco "The Nymph Galatea" from the Villa Farnesina, as well as at least one battle scene. The origins of these panels appear to date back to the 17th century, inspired by Italian Renaissance imagery. The floor is made of Yorkstone flags.

The adjoining bridge spans the ha-ha and features a single elliptical brick arch with ashlar coping. The parapet walls of the bridge fan out to meet the embankment. The high grade of this building highlights the significance of the plaster panels.