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JBB: An Artblog!
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The Arch, Paganhill, Stroud, Gloucestershire
Henry Wyatt lived at Farmhill, an estate on the edge of Stroud, in Gloucestershire. In 1834 he built an arch at the end of a new drive to his house, with an engraved stone tablet announcing that the memorial was erected to commemorate the abolition of slavery in the British Colonies. His house is gone, and the land developed but, after some near misses, the arch survives. Continue reading TheâŚ
The Bell Tower, Kirkoswald, Cumbria
Driving into Kirkoswald from the south, the Flâneuse was convinced that she had discovered a charming hilltop folly. But she was wrong, and this building has a very particular purpose â it is the belfry to the church in the hollow below, and was built on higher ground so that the church bells could ring loud and clear across the district. As it was clearly also built as an ornament to theâŚ
The Mausoleum of Lord Barton-Bendish, Letheringsett, Norfolk
In 1956 John Betjemanâs poem âLord Barton-Bendishâ was published in The Saturday Book, an annual anthology of words and pictures edited by John Hadfield. It told the tale of the eerie mausoleum of Lord Barton-Bendish â but neither baron nor burial place was real. Continue reading The Mausoleum of Lord Barton-Bendish, Letheringsett, Norfolk
Crumbles Castle, Islington, London
This folly, both urban and modern, may come as something of a surprise after the elegant edifices of earlier centuries that usually grace these pages. It was built by volunteers to a plan drawn up by architectural students in the early 1970s, and today it provides a safe space for local children to play. Continue reading Crumbles Castle, Islington, London
The Raikes Mausoleum, Welton Dale, East Riding of Yorkshire
In 1789 Robert Raikes married the daughter and heiress of Thomas Williamson of Welton House, in the village of Welton, near Hull. Early in the 19th century Robert and Elizabeth Raikes moved to Welton House, and the property passed to them on the death of Williamson in 1809. In 1818 Raikes built an elegant classical rotunda in a romantic dale above the house, which was to be a mausoleum for hisâŚ
The Peel Tower, Braunton, Devon
Overlooking the village of Braunton in Devon a âprominent church-likeâ tower was once a landmark on the heights of East Hill. It was however âless ecclesiasticalâ than it looked, being a belvedere that was inaugurated in 1857 in commemoration of Sir Robert Peel and his efforts to repeal the Corn Laws in 1846. Only a crumbling ruin remains today, which is a great shame as it has the mostâŚ
The Gothic Temple, Painshill, Surrey
Painshill, or Pains Hill, near Cobham in Surrey, was the creation of the Hon. Charles Hamilton. From 1738 he landscaped the valley of the river Mole and decorated his estate with an enchanting array of garden buildings, including this pavilion which is known as the Gothic Temple. In 1953 Barbara Jones wrote that she feared the park was âbeyond helpâ, but thanks to an amazing restoration project,âŚ
The Garden Temple and the Pantheon, Ince Blundell, Merseyside.
In 1761, Henry Blundell was given control of the Ince Blundell estate by his father. He had recently married Elizabeth Mostyn and the couple settled into the mansion house, which had been built earlier in the century. Blundell was an avid collector, with the funds to indulge his passion, and after his wifeâs early death he spent time in Italy before returning to Ince Blundell to build two templesâŚ
The Folly, Pontypool, Monmouthshire.
Pontypool House, in the ancient Welsh county of Monmouthshire, was a seat of the Hanbury family and stood in a park that was described in 1801 as âpleasing, wild and diversifiedâ. The writer of this description was taken on a âpleasant rideâ up to a âsummer houseâ called âthe follyâ, from which there was an extensive panorama. It was, he concluded, a âsingular and almost boundless prospectâ whichâŚ
Freddie's Folly, The Gibberd Garden, Harlow, Essex
In the 1970s the Coutts Bank building in central London was partly remodelled to a design by the architect Sir Frederick Gibberd. A new glass entrance was designed to replace the columned central section of the facade on the Strand. As work progressed Gibberd salvaged some of the redundant masonry to reuse at his Essex home. There he indulged in what the Architectsâ Journal called âthat virtuousâŚ
The Frampton Obelisk, Moreton, Dorset.
Moreton House, in Dorset, is the seat of the Frampton family. In the middle of the eighteenth century, it was home to James Frampton who remodelled the house and created new plantations and pleasure grounds. When he died in 1784 his friend Captain John Houlton erected an obelisk on the estate to âperpetuate a worthy and much-lamented characterâ. Continue reading The Frampton Obelisk,âŚ
Perrott's Folly, Birmingham, West Midlands.
It is not everyday that someone builds a seven-storey brick tower on the edge of one of the busiest and most rapidly-growing towns in Britain, especially in the middle of the eighteenth century, so one would assume that the construction of this folly would have been noticed. Birmingham was home to one of the earliest provincial newspapers â surely the curious structure made the pages? But no, theâŚ
The Sham Castle, Bath, Bath & North East Somerset.
In the middle of the eighteenth century Ralph Allen, who had both a Bath townhouse and the Prior Park estate in a fine landscape just out of town, erected a gothic eye-catcher on high ground above Bath.  The folly took the form of a turreted and castellated screen, unadorned at the back and intended only to be viewed from the city. By the end of the eighteenth century the folly had become knownâŚ
The Shell House, Cilwendeg, Pembrokeshire.
Walking through a glade on the Cilwendeg estate, in Pembrokeshire, one suddenly encounters the prettiest of buildings: one would not be at all surprised if Hansel and Gretel skipped around the corner. The monochrome exterior, with stepped parapet, conceals a vibrant interior with walls and ceiling decorated with shells and minerals, brightly coloured glass in the windows and a floor inlaid withâŚ
Charles George Harper: follies and foibles.
In 1922 the writer and illustrator Charles George Harper penned a series of three articles about follies for The Architect magazine. Harper was a prolific author and had noted many follies as he toured Britain, often including them in his books on the topography of Britain. The articles were illustrated with his own vignettes of some of the buildings he admired (or censured). As for the foibles,âŚ
Pelham's Pillar, Cabourne, Lincolnshire
In 1840 the foundation stone was laid for a column on the Brocklesby estate which can be found near Grimsby, in Lincolnshire. Eventually reaching a height of 130 feet, it could soon be seen from miles around. The plantations surrounding it have long since matured, and today you have to look a little harder to find what became known as Pelhamâs Pillar. Continue reading Pelhamâs Pillar,âŚ
Modern Architecture meets the British Folly
In 2006 the Royal Mail issued a set of commemorative stamps featuring âModern Architectureâ in England and Scotland. Benham of Folkestone, the âindependent collectables retailerâ, spotted a link between these new buildings and some structures that might have been thought just as radical in their own day â follies. The company issued a set of first day covers juxtaposing the Modern ArchitectureâŚ