1785 – Mussenden Temple, Co. Derry

Built in 1785 and forms part of the estate of Frederick Augustus Hervey, the 4th Earl of Bristol, Bishop of Derry. Built as a library and modelled from the Temple of Vesta in Italy, it is dedicated to the memory of Hervey’s cousin Frideswide Mussenden. It was said the Bishop was infatuated by Frideswide. Frideswide Mussenden never lived to see the temple completed, she died at age 22.

The inscription around the temple reads:
Tis pleasant, safely to behold from shore
The rolling ship, and hear the tempest roar

Photograph Copyright and Courtesy of Adrian O’Neill