Gopsall Hall was erected for Charles Jennens around 1750 at a cost of £100,000. It was long believed to have been designed by John Westley and built by the Hiorns of Warwick, who later added service wings and Rococo interiors. However, later research by John Harris, curator of the RIBA drawings collection suggests that it was designed as well as built by William or David Hiorns. The Hall was set in several hundred acres of land and included two lakes, a walled garden, a Chinese boathouse, a Gothic seat and various garden buildings. In 1818 a grand entrance was added. Queen Adelaide was a frequent visitor to the Hall during her long widowhood. She was popular with the locals, being remembered in many of the surrounding villages. In 1848 Gopsall Hall was described as follows: By 1952 most of the buildings were demolished. Gopsall Park Farm was built over most of the original site and is not accessible without invitation. The remains include parts of the walled garden, the electricity generating building, an underground reservoir, the tree-lined avenue, the gatehouse and the temple ruins associated with Handel. During the 1920s and 1930s Gopsall hosted a motor racing circuit and part of the woodland is still named "The Race Course". Notable guests who stayed at the estate included King Edward VII, Queen Alexandra, Queen Adelaide and Winston Churchill. Land around Gopsall was considered as a possible site for East Midlands Airport. Between 1873 and the 1930s Gopsall was served via the Ashby to Nuneaton railway line. The station at Shackerstone is part of a preserved railway and visitor attraction. There was a Great Western Railway steam locomotive by the name of "Gopsal Hall". Note the misspelling of the name.
Chronology of owners
pre 1750: Humphrey Jennens
circa 1750 - 1773: Charles Jennens, grandson of Humphrey Jennens
In 2002 the temple was part of a restoration project and it is also a Grade II listed building. It is possible to visit the monument via the public footpath near the old Gopsall Hall Gatehouse entrance in the village of Shackerstone. It is a good 15 minute walk to the site. A statue of Religion by Louis Francois Roubiliac stood on the roof of the temple and was erected as a memorial to the classical scholar Edward Holdsworth. The figure was donated by Lord Howe to the City of Leicester and is housed in the gardens of Belgrave Hall Museum.
During the second half of the eighteenth century the estate was owned by Charles Jennens. It is reputed that in 1741 Handel composed part of Messiah, his famous oratorio, inside a garden temple at Gopsall. Some texts however challenge this theory and posit there is no evidence to confirm Handel stayed on the estate in 1741, although he was a frequent visitor. The temple was built after Messiah had already been completed. The organ that Handel specified for Charles Jennens in 1749 is now to be found in St James' Church, Great Packington.
