Temple of Echo is a Grade II* listed building in the West Oxfordshire local planning authority area, England. First listed on 27 August 1957. A Georgian Garden temple.

Temple of Echo

WRENN ID
carved-oriel-vale
Grade
II*
Local Planning Authority
West Oxfordshire
Constituency
Bicester and Woodstock MP: Calum Miller (LD)
Country
England
Date first listed
27 August 1957
Type
Garden temple
Period
Georgian
Address
Temple of Echo, Rousham
OS grid reference
SP 477 245
Coordinates
51.91787, -1.30668
Source
Historic England listing

Also on this page: flood risk · radon risk · weather exposure · detailed attributes ↓

Description

The Temple of Echo is a garden temple built around 1738-40 by William Kent and William Townesend. It is constructed from limestone ashlar and features a hipped Welsh slate roof with an octagonal plan in a classical style. The temple has a pedimented portico supported by two Tuscan columns in antis, along with moulded cornices and a vermiculated frieze. To the left, there is a 6-pane sash window with heavy glazing bars. Inside, the temple contains a Roman tomb, architectural frames for niches, and Hellenistic-style relief carving. This structure is part of the landscape gardens designed by William Kent between 1733 and 1740. Rousham Park, where the temple is located, is listed in the Historic Buildings and Monuments Commission Register of Parks and Gardens at Grade I.

Local climate

Temple of Echo sits in a drier-than-average part of the UK, with an average of 740 mm of rain a year. This makes it drier than 76% of listed buildings in the UK. Its exposure to wind-driven rain is lower than that of 69% of listed buildings.

It experiences an average of 37 freeze-thaw cycles a year, more than 66% of listed buildings. Of these, 17 follow at least 1 mm of rain in the preceding 48 hours. Average temperatures at this location have risen by 0.3°C per decade since 1991.

Averages for 1991–2020; temperature trend 1991–2025. Figures describe the wider area (a grid cell of roughly 10 km), not the individual site. Contains modified Copernicus Climate Change Service information 2026.

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