Mussenden Temple is located in the beautiful surroundings of Downhill Demesne near Castlerock in County Derry, on the north-western coast of Northern Ireland. It perches dramatically on a 120 foot cliff top, high above Downhill beach. Both the Temple and the surrounding views are among the most photographed scenes in Ireland. Over the years the Temple itself was under danger of being lost to the sea due to the erosion of the cliff which brought Mussenden Temple ever closer to the edge. In 1997 the National Trust then carried out cliff stabilisation work to prevent the loss of this lovely building.
The temple was built in 1785 and forms part of the estate of Frederick Augustus Hervey, Bishop of Derry and Earl of Bristol (or the Earl Bishop). The temple was built as a summer library and its architecture was inspired by the Temple of Vesta in Tivoli, near Rome. The domed Mussenden Temple was designed as a library and built in honour of his cousin Hervey Bruce’s sister Frideswide Bruce of whom the Bishop appears to have been extremely fond. Some say the Earl Bishop and Frideswide were far too close. Without actually naming them, the Freeman’s Journal (a newspaper of the day) suggested that the relationship between the Earl Bishop and his niece was not altogether proper and - although this was later denied in print - the mud stuck. Frideswide married a wealthy and elderly London banker named Daniel Mussenden and, as a gift to her, the Earl Bishop built the splendid library called the Mussenden Temple. This was to house part of his celebrated Library and was supposed to be a place to which Frideswide, when she visited, could retire. The temple was finished in 1783 but it's said that the mortification of the scandal affected Frideswide health, which had always been delicate. Although there is no proof, it may have contributed to her early death. The Temple, which was to have been her refuge, became her memorial when she died in 1785.