Holwell Temple Built As Eyecatcher Circa 2000 Metres South Of Castle Hill, Filleigh

Holwell Temple, built as an eyecatcher, dates from 1770 to 1772 and is located approximately 2000 metres south of Castle Hill, Filleigh. Constructed of stucco on brick and stone rubble with ashlar dressings, the brick is mainly visible on the ground floor, in the stack, and in engaged pilasters and columns of the portico. The building is square in plan and features a tetrastyle portico on its north side. Floors and the roof no longer survive. Originally designed with two principal storeys and three bays on each face, the north facade is pedimented with three semi-circular headed niches over round-arched window openings that flank a straight-headed doorway. Three of the four columns have ashlar bases, with only the stubs of the brick columns remaining; the second column from the right rises to about 5 metres. Each of the bays on the remaining sides is flanked by engaged brick pilasters with Ionic style capitals, which survive mainly on the west and south sides. Square openings are positioned above window openings in each bay. On the west side, two of the upper storey windows are blocked, and on the south side, the central upper storey window is also blocked. The east side has similar openings in the left-hand bay; the central bay is blind due to an internal brick stack, and the right-hand bay has a blocked ground floor window. The only interior feature that remains is a ground floor fireplace on the east side, featuring a cambered brick arch. An inscription originally around the frieze recorded that it was "Erected By Matthew Lord Fortescue in Grateful Remembrance of his Brother Hugh Earl Clinton MDCCLXXII." The initial estimated cost was £100, but the final expenditure was £700. Lord Fortescue noted in 1771 that the expense should reflect the obligation he felt toward his brother’s memory and that he attempted to obscure what he considered "false French taste" that had been evident during earlier improvements. The Temple stands prominently on the edge of a bluff; originally, meadows below were flooded, and trees around it were trimmed to enhance the effect of a deliberate illusion. It is one of several significant garden structures within the 18th-century design of Castle Hill, Filleigh.