Temple Of Flora Approximately 160 Metres North East Of Nuneham House

The Temple of Flora is a garden temple located approximately 160 meters northeast of Nuneham House, built around 1771. It is constructed of rendered brick and features wooden columns and a pediment, designed in the Greek-Doric style with a rectangular plan. The open front creates a portico supported by two fluted columns in antis, which hold up a triglyph frieze and a triangular pediment adorned with mutules. The sides and rear of the temple are plain. Inside, the rear wall showcases an oval relief of Flora above a moulded panel that includes lines from Ariosto's "Orlando Furioso." This temple served as the architectural centerpiece of an innovative flower garden designed in 1771 by Reverend William Mason, the author of "The English Flower Garden," for Lord Nuneham, later the 2nd Earl Harcourt. The design of the building resembles illustrations from James Stuart's "The Antiquities of Athens," and it is possible that Stuart, who was consulted on Nuneham House and All Saints' Church, also designed this temple. Nuneham Park is recognized in the Historic Buildings and Monuments Commission County Register of Gardens at Grade I.