Temple of the Four Winds

The Temple of the Four Winds is a historic building in the grounds of Castle Howard, in North Yorkshire, in England.

Its design was inspired by the Villa La Rotonda, and it was intended as a space for reading and writing,[1] with a cellar below for servants to prepare food.

It stands on a cruciform podium approached by a flight of eight steps flanked by lead statues of sibyls.

The doorway has an architrave and an elaborately carved head, and is flanked by sash windows in shell niches.

The flooring is of Portland stone inlaid with coloured marble, while the columns and architraves are in black and gold scagliola.

It slopes upward, away from the house, and curves, the design intended to obscure views of the temple until the viewer is nearby.

[7] The statue is in lead, and depicts a satyr — sometimes identified as Bacchus — holding a bunch of grapes with a dog at his feet.

It is on two steps and has a moulded base, sunken panels containing garlands carved in relief, and an egg-and-dart cornice.