In this part of the garden, the theme of the temples and monuments was illicit and unrequited love. It was first incorporated into the garden by Lord Cobham in around 1720.

Main features of the Western Garden

The Rotondo
This beautiful temple, designed by the writer and architect John Vanbrugh, was designed as the hub of the garden. The centre-piece is a gilded statue of Venus  

The Statue of Queen Caroline
A tribute to the consort of George II, her statue was soon moved to the end of the Eleven Acre Lake after her husband fell out of favour with Lord Cobham

The Temple of Venus
Built in 1731, copies of the busts around the porticos of Nero, Vespasian, Cleopatra and Faustina, have recently been reinstated, although the original murals have been lost  

The Hermitage
It is said to represent the last refuge of the misogynist, surrounded by evergreens to underline the gloom  

Dido's Cave
The cave recalls the tragedy of the Queen of Carthage, deserted by her lover Aeneas

Artificial Ruins
Built as a ruin, they have twice had to be rebuilt, once in the late 19th century and again in 1974

The Menagerie
Its earliest function was as a much-admired museum for stuffed animals, including an eight foot crocodile and a thirty two foot boa constrictor. This is now part of Stowe School

Lost Buildings
Many of the temples and monuments here decayed or were demolished or sold, including a statue of George II, the Vanbrugh Pyramid, which had crumbled by 1797, and the Temple of Bacchus, which was pulled down in 1926 to make way for a new school chapel. George II's column was re-erected in 2003.