Downhill beach

Gorgeous hot day which meant a trip to Downhill beach while at the coast camping. Mussendun Temple can be seen on the cliff top in the background now owned by National Trust

Mussenden Temple is a small circular building located on cliffs near Castlerock in County Londonderry, high above the Atlantic Ocean on the north-western coast of Northern Ireland.

Over the years the erosion of the cliff face at Downhill has brought Mussenden Temple ever closer to the edge, and in 1997 The National Trust carried out cliff stabilisation work to prevent the loss of the building. It used for lots of events even wedding ceremonies and venues for photography.

It was built in 1785 and forms part of the Downhill Demesne. The demesne was formerly part of the estate of Frederick, 4th Earl of Bristol, who served as the Church of Ireland Lord Bishop of Derry from 1768 until 1803. It was Lord Bristol - popularly known as 'the Earl-Bishop' - who had the 'temple' built. Constructed as a library and modelled from the Temple of Vesta in the Forum Romanum in Rome