Designed by William Kent and built in stone 1734-1735 the curving wall contains six niches on either side of the central pier and two further niches on either end which are filled by busts. They are divided into men of contemplation, on the left, and men (plus one woman) of action, on the right. On the return elevations at either end are the two busts of the then living heroes Alexander Pope, the poet, and Sir John Barnard, a now forgotten MP who shared Lord Cobham's views of the government. The finely worded inscriptions on the tablets over the busts were composed by members of Cobham's circle.
Lord Cobham departed from the note of high seriousness by commemorating a pet dog, Fido, at the back of the Temple of British Worthies.