However you define them, they are almost always odd, and often
accompanied by an interesting past.
The building of follies began in England around 1600. Generally
they were erected as a part of a garden, or to improve the
appearance of a landscape for the benefit of a wealthy landowner
and his family as they surveyed the view from their home.
Sometimes they were built simply as a joke, or as part of a bet.
Almost always expensive, they were possible only for the few
- but the employment that the building work generated for local
people was often welcome.
Many of the ideas seem to have stemmed from the fashion during
the 17th Century for the sons of wealthy families to
tour Europe as a part of their education - 'The Grand
Tour'. Whilst travelling in countries such as Italy or Greece
they saw the ruins of buildings from an earlier age, an age that
they had come across already as part of a Classical education,
and they sought to create something similar upon their
return.
The erection of follies was fashionable (for those that could
afford it) throughout much of the 17th and
18th Centuries and then dwindled. Not completely,
however - at least one modern-day folly was built as the last
millennium drew to a close!
The Bulkeley Monument, near Beaumaris
A 19th Century monument on a small hill outside Beaumaris
Solomon's Temple, at Buxton
A Victorian Folly, also known as Grinlow Tower, overlooking the town of Buxton.
Faringdon Folly
A recently-built folly near the market town of Faringdon.
The Temple, at Henley on Thames
A Georgian ‘folly’ on an island in the River Thames.
Flounders Folly
A folly tower on Callow Hill, close to Craven Arms.
Hawkstone Park and Historic Follies
A park close to Shrewsbury, full of follies, monuments and so on.
The House in the Clouds
A house above the trees at Thorpeness, on the Suffolk coast near Aldeburgh.
Leith Hill Tower
A Gothic Tower built to raise the height of a hill in Surrey.
The follies of Brightling, East Sussex
Brightling is a village almost over-endowed with follies! The local squire - commonly known as ‘Mad Jack Fuller’ - was so keen on them that he arranged for several to be erected in and around the village.
The ruins of Knepp Castle, West Sussex
More of a curiosity than a folly - but striking nevertheless.
The Goring Folly
At Goring-by-Sea, close to Worthing, this folly was built at the turn of the millennium - the most recent one! Not visible to the public it is, nevertheless, a reminder that the art of Folly Building is still with us.
Cowdray Castle
On the edge of the town of Midhurst, Cowdray Castle was caught up in a curse that might well have been its downfall.
Nore Folly
Nore Folly (sometimes known as the Slindon Folly) looks a little like the entrance to a railway tunnel - but without the railway.
Racton Monument
A strange looking ruin on the Stansted Estate - sometimes called Racton Tower, or Racton Castle.
Chesterton Windmill
The remains of a 17th Century windmill close to the M40 in Warwickshire, looking from a distance like a folly tower.
The Four Stones Folly
A group of stones erected on a ridge of the Clent Hills.
Broadway Tower
A castle-shaped tower on a hill overlooking Broadway.