Temple of Augustus

Temple of Augustus at Virginia Water is not a Roman temple that stood here in antiquity. It is a romantic ruin assembled in the late 1820s from stones carried all the way from Leptis Magna, a Roman city on the coast of today's Libya. It stands on the south side of the lake in Windsor Great Park, in the Runnymede area of Surrey, and is one of the most unusual sights in the English countryside.

What exactly is the Temple of Augustus?

Despite the name, the structure is a folly: a decorative landscape feature built to look like an ancient ruin. Its columns and pedestals come from several buildings in Leptis Magna, and not from a single temple. The builders arranged them as a picturesque set piece beside the water, and added newly made, deliberately weathered columns to complete the scene. The name most likely alludes to George IV, whose full name was George Augustus Frederick.

How did Libyan stones end up in England?

In 1816 Colonel Hanmer Warrington, the British consul general in Tripoli, obtained permission from the local authorities to remove material from Leptis Magna. It included about 25 pedestals and 22 granite columns. Earlier, in the 1600s, Louis XIV of France had already received hundreds of columns from the same site for Versailles and Paris, so the city's stone had a long history of being carried abroad.

The pieces were first shown at the British Museum. In 1826 they were handed to the royal architect Jeffry Wyatville, who re-erected them at Virginia Water. The work was carried out between 1827 and 1830. Sources differ slightly on some dates and on the exact number of columns, which is common for a story this old.

What is the setting like?

Virginia Water is an artificial lake in Windsor Great Park. It was created for the Duke of Cumberland between 1748 and 1752 by Henry Flitcroft. The ruins sit among trees and open lawns by the shore, so a walk around the lake naturally leads past them. The mix of Mediterranean stone and English parkland is what makes the spot so photogenic.

Is it protected?

Yes. The Temple of Augustus has been a Grade II* listed structure since 1986, which places it among the more significant listed buildings in England.

Frequently asked questions

Is it a real Roman temple? Not in the sense of a building that stood here. The stones are genuinely Roman, but the arrangement is a 19th-century creation.

Where do the stones come from? From Leptis Magna, in present-day Libya.

Who built it? Jeffry Wyatville re-erected the remains for the royal estate between 1827 and 1830.

Is the site controversial? Yes. A Libyan lawyer has been pursuing the return of the ruins through the Crown Estate, so the monument is part of the wider debate about antiquities taken abroad in the 19th century.

Where is it? On the shore of Virginia Water in Windsor Great Park, near Runnymede, at roughly 51.408 N, 0.600 W.