Gothic Temple Approximately 600 Metres To East Of Shotover Park

The Gothic Temple, located approximately 600 meters east of Shotover Park, is a garden temple or boathouse built around 1740. It is possibly designed by William Townsend of Oxford for General James Tyrrell. The structure is made of limestone ashlar and rubble, topped with an old plain-tile roof, and showcases a Gothick style. The gabled front features a crenellated parapet with an apex finial, three pointed arches, and a blind traceried wheel set between triangular panels. It has flanking octagonal turrets with two tiers of cusped ogee panels and niches, steep triangular gablets on attached angle shafts, and recessed upper stages that end in a tier of openings. The sides and rear are constructed in plain rubble and have a hipped roof. Inside, the open loggia boasts a ribbed and panelled plaster vault adorned with Gothick cusping and decorative bosses. The temple is positioned at the eastern end of the main axis of the significant early 18th-century layout of the formal garden. Other potential designers include James Gibbs and William Kent.