Garrick's Temple to Shakespeare
David Garrick and his Wife by his Temple to Shakespeare at Hampton,
Johan Zoffany, c. 1762 |
|
| Coordinates | 51°24′45″N 0°21′33″W / 51.4123806°N 0.3593°WCoordinates: 51°24′45″N 0°21′33″W / 51.4123806°N 0.3593°W |
|---|---|
| Location | Hampton, London |
| Type | Folly |
| Material | Brick |
| Beginning date | 1755 |
| Completion date | 1756 |
| Dedicated to | William Shakespeare |
Garrick's Temple to Shakespeare is a small garden folly erected in 1756 on the north bank of the River Thames at Hampton in the London Borough of Richmond upon Thames. Grade I listed, it was built by the actor David Garrick to honour the playwright William Shakespeare, whose plays Garrick performed to great acclaim throughout his career. During his lifetime Garrick used it to house his extensive collection of Shakespearean relics and for entertaining his family and guests. It passed through a succession of owners until coming into public ownership in the 20th century, but fell into serious disrepair by the end of the century. After a campaign supported by distinguished actors and donations from the National Lottery's "good causes" fund, it was restored in the late 1990s and reopened to the public as a museum and memorial to the life and career of Garrick. It is reputedly the world's only shrine to Shakespeare.
The temple is an octagonal domed building with a nod to the Pantheon, Rome, constructed in undecorated brick with a single east-facing entrance. It was built in the Classical style popularised by the Italian architect Palladio with an Ionic portico, four columns wide by three deep, flanking the entrance. Several steps lead up to the portico. Inside, glazed arched windows reaching to the ground face the river. A deep curved recess in the west wall provides room for a statue. Outside, a lawn and garden provide views over the Thames to the south.
Garrick built the temple on land adjoining a villa that he had bought in October 1754 to serve as a country retreat. The villa's riverside garden, a plot now known as Garrick's Lawn, was separated from the main property by the road from Kingston upon Thames to Staines. Garrick commissioned the building of an elaborate grotto-tunnel under the road, illuminated by 500 lanterns, to facilitate private access to the lawn from the house.
...
Wikipedia