Temple of Theseus About 1/2 Mile North of Hagley Hall

The Temple of Theseus, located about half a mile north of Hagley Hall, is a temple folly built in 1758 by James "Athenian" Stuart for George, the First Lord Lyttleton. The structure has been restored and partly rebuilt in the late 20th century. It is constructed of sandstone ashlar and brick, featuring a shallow-pitched roof made of coated steel. The temple has a rectangular plan and is designed as a miniature replica of a Greek Doric hexastyle prostyle temple. It includes arris fluted columns with entasis and no bases, a triglyph frieze, and a mutule cornice, all resting on a three-stepped stylobate. There is a rectangular opening on each side elevation. This building is noted for being a miniature replica of the 6th century BC Theseion in Athens. Stuart designed it shortly after his visit to Athens from 1751 to 1755, where he measured the ancient buildings. It is recognized as the earliest 18th-century building to be directly copied from an Ancient Greek original and the first structure outside Greece and its colonies to correctly use the Greek Doric order. The columns and much of the stonework were rebuilt in the late 20th century.