Ring Temple (EHER 153)

The Grade II* listed Temple of Victory is an ionic temple and folly situated in the grounds of Audley End House. It was built to the designs of Robert Adam and begun in 1771. It replaced a hunting tower and was built to commemorate the Seven Years War which took place between 1756 and 1763 and in which then owner, Sir John Griffin Griffin, served as an aide to King George II. It was used to entertain guests and was furnished with five settees and a table which were also designed by Adam. The building is stuccoed with a leaded domed roof. It is circular in plan and has a diameter of 11 metres with a central, enclosed chamber which is 7 metres tall. The enclosed chamber is surrounded by a lower portico of twelve Ionic columns. Six plaster roundels portraying Virtues related to the theme of victory are set into the ceiling.

Monument description derived from merging EHER 153 and 35577. Original HER entry merged with NRHE data import: Monument (NUT). <1> Ring Temple, a circular stuccoed building with lead roof was erected to commemorate The Treaty of Paris in 1763. <2> A garden temple situated within the grounds of Audley End House. It is circular in plan, stuccoed and has a leaded dome. The interior contains a central circular room with six double hung Bash windows and a colonnade of twelve Ionic columns. It was erected to commemorate the Treaty of Paris at the end of the Seven Year War in 1763. <3> The Temple of Victory was built to the designs of Robert Adam and begun in 1771. It replaced a hunting tower and was built to commemorate the Seven Years War which took place between 1756 and 1763 and in which then owner, Sir John Griffin Griffin, served as an aide to King George II. Used to entertain guests, Adam also designed the five settees and table which once furnished the temple. The guidebook features Adam's illustration of the temple and it is also marked on an illustrated plan of Audley Park in the back cover. <4> Audley End House and Gardens are listed in the English Heritage members' & visitors' handbook 2009/10. <5> Work to prepare the site began in 1771, when a partly constructed rotunda was taken down. Some of the materials were reused in the new structure. The basic timber and stonework was carried out in 1772, work on the detailed plasterwork began in 1773 and internal joinery in 1775. <6> The temple is listed Grade II*. <7> 1978. Field visit. Circular stuccoed building with lead roof erected to commemorate Treaty of Paris in 1763. <8> <9> June 1989. Field visit. Monument as described. <10> June 1995. Earthwork survey. In June 1995 RCHME's Cambridge Field Office carried out an analytical earthwork survey of Ring Hill hillfort, primarily as a training project for undergraduates from Cambridge University. The Temple of Victory was not recorded in detail. The monument was designed by Robert Adam about 1741 and built in 1774-5 to act as an eyecatcher for Audley End House. It commemorates British victories in the Seven Years War, in which the then owner of Audley End Sir John Griffin Griffin had served. The Temple has a diameter of 11 metres and has a central circular cella 7 metres tall, surrounded by a lower portico of twelve Ionic columns. Five curving seats specially designed by Adam for the interior survive. Six plaster roundels portraying Virtues related to the theme of victory are set into the ceiling. The monument was set against a backdrop of dark evergreens, predominantly yews, and approached by a carriage drive around the interior of the hillfort, which was lined with an avenue of paler green limes. Other specimen planting on Ring Hill includes firs, two species of chestnut, beech and evergreen oak. In the interior was a menagerie built at the same date. The Temple of Victory replaced a 17th century 'hunting tower', probably a belvedere associated with the earlier phase of Audley End's garden. The exact site is unknown, but it is shown on an etching by Stukeley of 1722 in almost the same position. For further details, see RCHME Level 3 client report and plan at 1:1000 scale, held in archive. <11> - <13> Site Management: = Formerly scheduled as SAM 90, now, with Ring Hill Camp, is SAM 18. <14> See also: <15> - <18>