Building record 0420802016 - GOTHIC TEMPLE, Hawkwell Field, Stowe Landscape Gardens

Plan Form - Triangular.
Detailed description (B4).
Brief description in c.1862 (B5).
Description, location plan & photo (B7).
Grade I. Pavilion, now a holiday cottage; 1741 by Gibbs. Brown ironstone, roof concealed by castellated parapets. Two storeys. Triangular plan with 3 storey tower at one angle, stone domed turrets at two. Each side has shallow gable divided into three bays to attached columns of a gothicised doric order with pointed arches between. The two central columns are crowned with pinnacles, flanking a central roundel with quatre-foil. First floor windows are traceried with quatre-foils in the centre. Ground floor openings have gothic panelled spandrels. Each arch contains a pointed arched window recess, some blank, others with quatrefoil opening at the head (B14).
The National Trust's Survey of Stowe undertaken in 1989 noted that the building originally had stained glass windows, was surrounded by the seven Saxon Dieties and was dedicated to 'Our Ancestral Liberties' (hence it is sometimes known as the Temple of Liberties or the Saxon Temple). The building is now leased to the Landmark Trust (B18).