DOWNHILL DEMESNE HISTORY The Rt Rev. Dr Frederick Hervey (as he was at the time), Church of Ireland Lord Bishop of Derry, commissioned work at Downhill Demesne near the village of Castlerock in the early 1770s, after he was made the Bishop of Derry in 1768. Downhill House, overlooking Downhill Strand and Benone on the north coast of Northern Ireland, was built by the architect Michael Shanahan, although it has been suggested that James Wyatt or Charles Cameron may also have been involved in the early stages of design. The construction of the House, and the nearby Mussenden Temple, cost an estimated £80,000. The original principal entrance to the demesne was the Lion's Gate, which was actually guarded by two heraldic ounces or snow leopards, the supporters of the Hervey coat of arms. In 1784, this entrance was replaced by the Bishop's Gate.[5] The interior of the house was decorated with frescoes and statues and hung with works by several well-known artists. After the death in 1803 of Lord Bristol (he had succeeded to the Earldom in December 1779), the estate passed to his cousin, The Rev. Henry Bruce, who had acted as steward of the Estate during the Earl-Bishop's absences.Bruce's sister was Frideswide Mussenden, for whom Mussenden Temple was built, and which became a memorial after her death. Downhill was recorded to have escaped serious damage during the Night of the Big Wind in 1839, but in 1851 a fire damaged a significant part of the house and destroyed the library. Bishop Lord Bristol had amassed a large collection of art, which was kept at Downhill and another residence he built at Ballyscullion.[6] The fire destroyed works by artists including Correggio, Dürer, Murillo, Rubens and Tintoretto, although it was reported that most of the paintings had been saved. The restoration of the house began in 1870 and continued until 1874 under John Lanyon, the son of architect Charles Lanyon, who maintained many of the original features, although some of the original layout was altered and additions made to the floorplan and decor. During World War Two, the house was used to billet RAF servicemen and -women. The Bruce family continued to own the house until 1946; by 1950, it had been dismantled and the surrounding land sold.The house was acquired by The National Trust in 1980; the temple had become a Trust property in the 1940s MUSSENDEN TEMPLE HISTORY Perched on the cliffs overlooking Downhill Strand, it was once possible to drive a carriage around the temple. The forces of nature over the years brought it closer to the edge. The temple was built in 1785 and forms part of the Downhill Demesne. The demesne was formerly part of the estate of Frederick, 4th Earl of Bristol, who served as the Church of Ireland Lord Bishop of Derry from 1768 until 1803. It was Lord Bristol - popularly known as "the Earl-Bishop" - who had the "temple" built. Constructed as a library and modelled from the Temple of Vesta in the Forum Romanum in Rome, it is dedicated to the memory of Bishop Lord Bristol'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.

Dude what an awesome video. The first straight drone footage thats held my attention 100% since the last one of yours that I watched. What a location. Some of your angles and filming techniques are unique to you in a very good way. I especially like the shot at 2:33. It has everything. Close approach, camera pan down the cliff, pull back and then reverse the orbit all while staying buttery smooth. It is all fantastic but that shot was the highlight of the video for me. Absolutely amazing stuff mate. I see your subs are climbing fast too mate and you deserve it.

Beautiful Video of that Stirs My Irish Soul! I love it and Thank you for Sharing! 👍

Definitely one of my favourite scenic spots in Northern Ireland and the UK in general!

cool spot and great footage great job you definitely know what you doing taking that shoots 👍👍👍😀👍👍👍

Very nice Mate! Thoroughly enjoyed the view, great music to go with as well!

Great video love this one very beautiful country Wow 😮👍

A wonderful video with great clips and a nice edit to beautiful music. I like your initial straight one approach over all the ruins to the cliff before doing the lovely smooth flights around each. Nice scenic ending view also. Thank you for sharing.

What an awesome place to fly.. Thanks for sharing. I visited Southern Ireland a few years ago with my daughter. Didn't have my Mavic back then, that would have been great to have it over there.. We saw such cool places... Full View and Like 29...

Breathtaking 😳,,, what a master piece... Wow.. 👍🏼,, 👍🏼 No words,, this... Tuke my breath away. 🐺 🐾

So beautiful I would love to visit Ireland thank you so much for sharing 😊 💕💕 💕💕 💕👍 👍👍 👍👍 👍👍 👍

absolutely stunning views, you have some amazing locations there. I love it.

Hello my dear friend, Rod~Incredibly gorgeous footage. Stunning and breathtaking. Wonderful narrative about Downhill Demesne. Thank you so much for sharing. Have a wonderful weekend. Warmest regards always. Happy holidays to you and your family. :-)

Wow, that was dramatic film in terms of images and music perfectly married. Loved the sequence at the start moving towards the Temple and revealing the cliffs and water below and the sequence at the end pulling back. Never been and will have to plan a visit now :-)

Great job Rod

Fantastic video ability stunning cool big like WOW.

Beautiful drone flight and nice monument! Awesome Video ... Big Like :))

Wonderful scenery. Love this video with nice music.

nice flying by the sheep, temple looks cool!

Paisajes preciosos , muy buen gusto mi admiración por tu trabajo un saludo y otro like porsupuesto 👍👍

Great video, great clips. Brilliant scenery. Very beautiful video full of emotions and love.

Awesome video and music my friend. Enjoyed watching. Great channel. Thank you.

Hi, very nice pictures with the right music, I like the video very much. Thumbs up. best regards Joseph

Wow, really cool history! My son and I loved it!

Gorgeous capture! Thank you for sharing my friend! 👍✌️

Awesome Ride Very Beautiful Thank You for Sharing

Beautiful 😍 Thanks for sharing the great footage and information too. 👍

Nice view

Great video, love the background music to

Absolutely outstanding thank you for sharing your wonderful part of the world for all to enjoy & see....👍🏼😉😎

Unbelievably beautiful views - great video whole :) Thank you - Thumb up 123.

Nice video with nice song! beautiful landscapes! Great job my new friend! Big like! ;-)

Amazing place to fly drone 👍🏻 Good job 👍🏻👍🏻

Wow nice flying great subject awesome 👍

Beautiful temple. Thanks for sharing and have a great weekend, mate 🙏👍❤️🍻

wow nice video around this area 👍 Ireland is very beautyfull!

Perfect subjects and an excellent job! Thank you for sharing with us. 👍👌✌

Quite a piece of property. The grounds and structure seem to be well maintained, thank heavens. And I loved the birds that often circled while you flew and filmed.

That was cinematic great job! Perfect edition and flying Cheers and God bless🇺🇾☘️👍

RodPikers video's are absolutely Spectacular .

Another epic flight..............perfect 👍😉

This is really wonderful! Love this! :)

What a killer flying location ! Great presentation ! 👍

Amazing video! Very enjoyable to watch 👍

VERY NICE THUMBS UP AND SHARED

WOW. Your work is Hollywood grade. I watch your stuff on the big screen tv it’s epic. I can’t wait for this winter to end and get up flying again.

✨🍀💥 GREAT VIDEO 🎵💥🌷 Thumbs Up!!!💖 I wish you a wonderful day! 🎶 :) ♥ Much Love 💕💗💕 Ivana

Use to love going up there I've not been there since 1992 great video brings back memories 👍👍👍

wow this is amazing. Great shoots and drone moves. Love the music to go with it too

Fantastic footage of a very cool place! Nice work

i love your video, good editing skills and your awesome to take a video, beautiful castle and view.

WOW!!!!! That was unbelievable. Amazing location to fly. I love the music, perfect. WOW. So glad I subscribed.

Hey Rodpiker, It was nice to meet you in Canadian Drone chat. One thing about drone flying it brings people together. Like YT does. Keep up the amazing work my new friend.

Beautiful landscape 👍😎

Incredible ! Wonderful movie. I love ireland and I like your video. Excellent 👌

Superb man 🔥👍🏽🍻

Fantastic I think we might have to meet up for some lessons of ya great place thanks for sharing

Love the drone footage, that’s a very cool place 👍👊 well done👌🏻

wow, just wow, such breathtaking footage.

very dramatic, your film has made me excited about visiting this stunning place!

I'm headed there today to get some footage! one of the best sites in Northern Ireland for sure!

Great footage...thanks for the Tour!! 👍👍😎

That is just beautiful. I don't know what else to say about it I sat here for a good 2 minutes trying to think of words to type but I couldn't. That is simply amazing footage of some beautiful old places. I especially loved the shot from above you got of the structure on the cliff above the beach. WOW

Another well done from me! Very cinematic and well thought out. Loved every second. 👍👍👍👍

Wow beautiful 💜💜

Wow, Beautiful my friend Chas here love what your doing keep it up. 👍😀

Very nice Rod this so Beautiful

WOW Dude this is really beautiful!! Thanks for all your time!!!

Great one Rodpiker! Keep them coming

Utterly fantastic. You are a master at this. 👍

Very beautiful view.

Nice sharing

There's so much beautiful antique architecture in Ireland I definitely will have to visit sometime. Especially like the castles! Really nice video!

Stunning !! Very well done!

Excellent Aerials loved the Cliff shot.. :)

What a great video and location 👍

By far my friend this is my Favorite (for now). It's sad to think the Temple might be gone one day. Beautiful Video & Flying.

Awesome video✅👌Nice shots

Wow! You videos take my breath away sir you are a drone genius!! That temple monument is going to need saving from Mother Nature very soon!!

Nice overview of a great spot.

Beautiful footage here.

Just gorgeous. How you are not working for a movie company by now, I have no idea. You are so talented and everything you make is so cinematic. Wonderful! :)

So beautiful again.You hav a clean channel

Wow that is Beautiful landmark And the history of the middle evil age 👍👍👍👍

Amazing video and amazing place :)

Wow mate really nice drone work here. Looks amazing there! I'd love to come visit

Nice one mate, smooth flight, well done.

Really great vid really nice flying .keep it up don 👌👌👌👌👌🇬🇧

Awesome footage, beautiful. Merry Christmas and Happy New Year

This is real PRO stuff Rod, excellent production, perfectly shot and the music matched the location.

Sweet video,great footage keep it up

Awesome sound and video. Drone footage is amazing, can’t get any better than that. Adrian

Great video my friend! 👍

hello man , this place is very amazing , your video is amazing , i love ireland , i must go to this country ..

I am so very grateful for you visiting my channel, RODPIKER DRONES UK. As always, I am happy to return the love with a play *_in full_* and like #139 from Bits of Real Panther! We slid by another Monday, my friend -- May your new week be off to a fine start!

Incredible building and amazing footage from above. I have a great interest in these types of building also landscape archeaology so to see a site like this from above is amazing. The symmetry of the building and how it lines up with the Temple is incredible and looking at the lumps and bumps in the surrounding fields i would bet there is a lot more to this site just burred under the surface. I live in the Uk so its not possible to see this place so thanks for sharing this video.

Amazing, great atmosphere !!!!!!! .-) :-)

Nice one Rod, point of interest, music, location and cool edit. oh yeah and your piloting skills are very good to. cheers mate

Epic video, well done!!!

great castle beautifully filmed