Temple of the Four Winds

The temple was designed by John Vanbrugh, who also designed the house at Castle Howard. Its design was inspired by the Villa La Rotonda, and it was intended as a space for reading and writing,{{cite book |last1=Hart |first1=Vaughan |title=Sir John Vanbrugh |date=2008 |publisher=Yale University Press |isbn=9780300119299}} with a cellar below for servants to prepare food.{{cite news |title=Picture Post: Novel background of Castle Howard's stunning temple |url=https://www.yorkshirepost.co.uk/news/picture-post-novel-background-of-castle-howards-stunning-temple-1772151 |access-date=3 January 2025 |work=Yorkshire Post |date=6 August 2017}} It was constructed between 1724 and 1726, being completed after Vanbrugh's death. Dan Harvey carved the stone doorhead, and the statues may be by John Nost. The building was completed with plasterwork applied from 1737 to 1739, by Francesco Vassali.{{NHLE |desc=The Temple of the Four Winds including retaining wall |num=1296445 |access-date=3 January 2025}}

The temple was originally dedicated to Diana, and there was a corresponding Temple of Venus further down the hill, which is now ruined.{{cite book |last1=Richardson |first1=Tim |title=The English Landscape Garden |date=2024 |publisher=Frances Lincoln |isbn=9780711290938}} The Temple of the Four Winds is atop the hill, crowning a purpose-built terrace. It is described by Martin Calder as "remind[ing] the viewer that here winds blowing off the North Sea meet the winds from the Atlantic".{{cite book |last1=Calder |first1=Martin |title=Experiencing the Garden in the Eighteenth Century |date=2006 |publisher=Lang |isbn=9783039102914}}

The building was restored in the 1950s and grade I listed in 1954. Its steps were restored in 2001, and the structure is now regularly used to host weddings. In both the film and television adaptations of Brideshead Revisited, it was used to film a scene showing characters spending a day indulging in wine tasting.

File:Temple of the Four Winds, Castle Howard, 17112017, JCW1967, EOS 1Ds (3) (38465682276).jpg

The building is constructed of limestone with a lead roof. The central cella is square, and surrounded by four tetrastyle porticos with pediments and angle urns. It stands on a cruciform podium approached by a flight of eight steps flanked by lead statues of sibyls. The doorway has an architrave and an elaborately carved head, and is flanked by sash windows in shell niches. There is a domed roof with an octagonal window, topped by a lantern. Surrounding the building are containing walls, and two flights of steps flanked by a balustrade. The wall has a chamfered plinth and coping, and massive corner buttresses each with a moulded cornice. Inside the building, the niches above the doors contain busts of Vespasian, Faustina, Trajan and Sabina. The flooring is of Portland stone inlaid with coloured marble, while the columns and architraves are in black and gold scagliola.{{cite book| last1 =Grenville| first1 =Jane| last2 = Pevsner | first2 = Nikolaus | author2-link = Nikolaus Pevsner | series= The Buildings of England| title =Yorkshire: The North Riding| publisher =Yale University Press | year =2023 | orig-year=1966 |location =New Haven and London | isbn =978-0-300-25903-2 }}

The terrace on which the temple sits was designed by Vanbrugh, but may contain remains of Mediaeval castle walls. It slopes upward, away from the house, and curves, the design intended to obscure views of the temple until the viewer is nearby. Along its route are five statues, each of which is grade II* listed.{{cite book |last1=Fisher |first1=Celia |title=The Story of Follies |date=2022 |publisher=Reaktion Books |isbn=9781789146363}}

The statue is in lead, and depicts a satyr — sometimes identified as Bacchus — holding a bunch of grapes with a dog at his feet. Its pedestal is made of sandstone, and is {{convert|2.25|m}} high on a plinth. It is on two steps and has a moulded base, sunken panels containing garlands carved in relief, and an egg-and-dart cornice.{{NHLE |num= 1148982|desc= Statue of a satyr with dog and grapes, sometimes identified as Bacchus, and pedestal, Henderskelfe|access-date= 28 December 2024}}

File:Statue of Farnese Hercules and pedestal castle Howard Jun24 03.jpg

The statue depicts the Farnese Hercules, a copy of a statue in the Museo Archeologico Nazionale, Naples. It is made of lead, and was sculpted by Andrew Carpenter. The pedestal is in sandstone, and is about {{convert|2.25|m}} high. It has two steps and a moulded base, sunken panels containing garlands carved in relief, and an egg-and-dart cornice.{{NHLE |num= 1173011|desc= Statue of Farnese Hercules and pedestal, Henderskelfe|access-date= 28 December 2024}}

The statue depicts Meleager with a dog, leaning on a tree stump, and is a copy of a statue in the Vatican Museums, Rome. The statue is in lead, while the pedestal is in sandstone, and is about {{convert|2.25|m}} high. It has two steps and a moulded base, sunken panels containing garlands carved in relief, and an egg-and-dart cornice.{{NHLE |num= 1316059|desc= Statue of Meleager and pedestal, Henderskelfe|access-date= 28 December 2024}}

The statue of Belvedere Antinous is atop a sandstone pedestal. It has a moulded base, on two steps, and sunken panels containing garlands carved in relief, and an egg-and-dart cornice. It is grade II* listed and is about 150m west of the temple.{{NHLE |num= 1296449|desc= Pedestal approximately 150 metres west of Temple of Four Winds, Henderskelfe|access-date= 28 December 2024}}

File:Statue of Borghese Gladiator and pedestal Castle Howard Jun24 01.jpg

The last statue reached before the temple, about 100m to its west, it of a gladiator. It is on a standstone pedestal approached by two steps and has a moulded base. On the sides are sunken panels with garlands carved in relief, and it has an egg-and-dart cornice.{{NHLE |num= 1148981|desc= Castle Howard Pedestal approximately 100 metres west of Temple of Four Winds, Henderskelfe|access-date= 27 December 2024}}

• Grade I listed buildings in North Yorkshire (district)
• Listed buildings in Henderskelfe

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Category:Buildings and structures completed in 1739

Category:Castle Howard

Category:Grade I listed buildings in North Yorkshire

Category:John Vanbrugh buildings

Category:Neoclassical architecture in Yorkshire