The Temple

The Temple is a garden temple built around 1835, designed by architect William Kendall, who also laid out Madeira Drive and the Esplanade, and designed the Esplanade Cottages and Reading Room. The structure is made of stucco and has a roof that is obscured by a parapet and a 20th-century walkway.

The temple has a rectangular plan and is set into an embankment. The main elevation features a round-arched arcade with three bays and a return bay on one side. Each pier in the arcade is composite, consisting of a plain pier with a springing band for the arches, topped with a Tuscan pilaster that supports an entablature just above the arcade. The end walls are designed as rusticated piers, with a dentil cornice of the entablature running across them. The return bay to the right follows the same design.

The Temple is part of an important architectural group in Kemp Town, which includes Arundel Terrace, Chichester Terrace, Lewes Crescent, Sussex Square, and related buildings. It forms part of a group with the former Old Reading Room, Esplanade Cottages, and the tunnel entrance.