It was long believed to have been designed by John Westley and built by the Hiorns of Warwick, who later added service wings and Rococo interiors.

[2] However, later research by John Harris, curator of the RIBA drawings collection suggests that it was designed as well as built by William or David Hiorns.

[4]Said to be the finest country house in Leicestershire, its last use was as an army headquarters during World War II, and was in such bad repair that it was demolished in 1951.

The remains include parts of the walled garden, the electricity generating building, an underground reservoir, the tree-lined avenue, the gatehouse and the temple ruins associated with Handel.

During December 1902 King Edward VII, Queen Alexandra along with other dignitaries arrived at the station in the new LNWR Royal Train on their way to Gopsall Hall.

Gopsall temple, based upon an original design by James Paine, was built by William and David Hiorn.

A cenotaph (Richard Haywood, 1764) was placed in the temple as a memorial to the classical scholar (and Jennens’s friend) Edward Holdsworth.

In 1857, the statue of Religion was donated by Lord Howe to the City of Leicester and is housed in the gardens of Belgrave Hall Museum.

During the second half of the eighteenth century the estate was owned by Charles Jennens (a librettist and friend of George Frideric Handel).

It is often, incorrectly stated that in 1741 Handel composed part of Messiah, his famous oratorio, inside a garden temple at Gopsall.