The Temple lies to the eastern edge of the terrace, which in the spring is lined with thousands of daffodils and makes quite a picture as you stroll from the house to the Temple. During the late 17^th Century this was the main street of the village of Henderskelfe.

The Temple of the four winds was originally called the Temple of Diana, the structure is basically a cube with a dome and porticoes and modelled in part on Palladio’s Villa Rotonda in Vicenza, Northern Italy (designed by Andrea Palladio).

The Temple originated in early 1724, when John Vanbrugh sent some sketches to the 3^rd Earl for a pavilion for the south east corner of Ray Wood. Building started straight away but at the time of Vanbrugh’s death in 1726 the Temple was not completed. And it was over ten years later before the interiors were finally decorated with scagliola in 1738 by Francesco Vassalli. Beneath the temple is a cellar where the servants would have stored and prepared food as the Temple was used as a place for refreshment and reading. There are stunning views from all sides looking across the Howardian countryside. To the north about a quarter a mile away, is the site of Hawksmoor’s Temple of Venus, which sadly fell into disrepair in the 1940s, although plans are afoot to resurrect or recreate a similar monument on the same spot once the design and funding have been secured. The Temple of the Four Winds was restored in 1955 and was one of the first major restoration projects undertaken by George Howard since the Second World War.

In 2001 the Hon Simon Howard held his marriage ceremony with Rebecca Sieff in the Temple.