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monika
24 Sep 2008 122 views
 
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shutterchance

Mussenden Temple

I have got some hectic weeks these days and I am very sorry I could not contribute to SC as much as I used to. First I had my family visiting (and the legacy of this time is approx. 1200 pictures awaiting my attention!) and then I had a short city break in Oslo, Norway. All together around 2000 pictures - that will keep me busy throughout the winter! ;)

Until I find some time I am still digging into my archives, that is a picture from my May trip to Ireland. Mussenden Temple appeared on a few of my pictures already but here goes a reminder about it:

Mussenden Temple is a small circular building located on cliffs near Castlerock in County Londonderry, high above theAtlantic Ocean on the north-western coast of Northern Ireland.

It was built in 1785 and forms part of the estate of Frederick Augustus Hervey, the 4th Earl of Bristol, Bishop of Derry. Built as a library and modeled on the Temple of Vasta in Italy, it is dedicated to the memory of Hervey's cousin Frideswide Mussenden.

Over the years the erosion of the cliff face at Downhill has brought Mussenden Temple ever closer to the edge, and in 1997 the National Trust carried out cliff stabilisation work to prevent the loss of the building.

The inscription around the building reads, "Tis pleasant, safely to behold from shore/ The rolling ship, and hear the tempest roar." The quotation is from Lucretius.

The Temple offers magnificent views westwards over Downhill Strand towards Magilligan Point and County Donegal and to the east Castlerock beach towards Portstewart, Portrush and [Fairhead].

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mussenden_Temple

camera FinePix S9600
exposure mode shutter priority
shutterspeed 1/340s
aperture f/3.8
sensitivity ISO200
focal length 25.0mm
resolution 3039x2099 pixels
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