In January 1739 (1740 new style) Katherine Conolly sat in her Dublin town house writing to her sister. Although close by the fire she complained she was still freezing, and she despaired of the severe weather. She wrote of her efforts to feed the poor which included sending ‘4 score loves of breed every wick’ (spelling was not her strong point) to the labourers and needy on her country estate at Castletown.  A few years later she commissioned this superlative silo to conserve grain for times of need, although cannily it doubled as a fanciful eye-catcher from the house at Castletown.

Although Mrs Conolly was benevolent, she disliked being ‘cheated’ by the poor. Building projects like the Wonderful Barn and the obelisk known as Conolly Folly, which she had built in 1740, enabled her to give employment, rather than charity, when few other opportunities were available.

In the first years of the 1740s the weather caused huge problems for farmers and smallholders, and the poor were in a ‘most miserable condition’. Extreme winters of frost and snow were followed by hot spring months without rain. Crops failed, and in drought conditions even those who had corn could not grind it as there was no water to power the mills. To ensure a secure supply was available in the future Mrs Conolly built a grain store – but her barn was far from the ordinary, and the elaborate design created many hours of work for those employed to build it.

The building was constructed with a spiral staircase on the exterior, which gives it the look of a huge fairground helter-skelter. From the viewing platform at the top Mrs Conolly and her guests could admire the Castletown demesne, including the recently-constructed obelisk. A plaque on the barn states that it was executed by John Glinn in 1743, but whether he was architect or builder is not known. Whichever is the case, he deserves credit for a unique design or a complicated build. Soon after completion it was noted as the ‘Mighty Barn’ but by the beginning of the nineteenth century it was famed as ‘The Wonderful Barn’.

A traveller in 1815 visited the ‘wonderful barn’, having heard reports that had ‘excited [his] curiosity’. Sadly he was weakened by illness and couldn’t face the climb to the viewing platform, but he was fascinated by the workings of the tiered structure of chambers inside the conical structure, and the system of pulleys and buckets that allowed the grain to be moved around the building.

Two smaller versions of the barn were built as pigeon houses, creating a most picturesque group with the adjoining Barnhall House.

Barnhall House is in need of restoration having been damaged by fire. The Wonderful Barn is structurally sound but remains at risk whilst empty. Discussions continue to find a viable use for the complex of buildings.

A new housing estate has recently been created in fields a little distance from the barn. It is called ‘Barnhall Meadows’ and the developers couldn’t resist marketing it as ‘The Chance to live in a Wonderful Place’.

Thanks for reading. Please scroll down to the foot of the page to share any thoughts or comments. 

In 1934 a local paper published a ‘Cleveland Ramble’ featuring a walk around Kirkleatham village. The author looked across the park to the ‘elaborate castellated pigeon-cote’ which was described as a ‘startling example’ of the extravagant ‘pseudo Gothic craze’ of the later 18th century. Only a couple of decades after this account was published the castellations were gone, and the pigeon cote was cracked and crumbling, and soon to disappear.

In 1808 Kirkleatham was praised for both its ‘various natural beauties’ and the ‘many decorations art has furnished it with’. The pigeon cote was one of the most striking of these ornaments, with a circular central tower and linking walls radiating out to three smaller turrets. Sadly no images of the folly before it began its decline have been found, but the Ordnance Survey maps illustrate the unusual plan.

The building’s early history seems to be lost, and although a document in the family archive cross-references an account book for work on the estate, that ledger does not seem to survive. The pigeon cote was most likely commissioned by Charles Turner (1726-1783), who lived at Kirkleatham after his father inherited the estate in 1757. No architect is named, although John Carr of York, who remodelled the house at Kirkleatham in the 1760s, is a possible contender. We do have a terminus post quem for the pigeon cote of around 1775, as it is not shown on an estate map of 1774.

The Kirkleatham estate passed through various families until the middle of the 20th century. The contents were then dispersed and, after attempts to find a use failed, the fabric of Kirkleatham Hall was auctioned as building materials in 1954.

Although promises were made to protect the historic structures on the estate, the pigeon cote and temple, admired by the 1934 rambler as an ‘exquisite little pavilion’, survived for less than a decade before they too were pulled down. The arable field surrounding the pigeon cote now covers the site of the building, with not a trace remaining above ground.

Happily there are still many reasons to visit Kirkleatham. The Free School of 1709 houses the Kirkleatham Museum, and the almshouses called Turner’s Hospital and the church with its adjoining Turner Mausoleum are both fascinating structures (there’s limited public access to the interiors, but they can be admired from the footpath).

The walled garden has been restored and continues to develop, and a wander around the village reveals the elegant stables and a number of other fascinating structures – look out for information boards and maps around the village. Here’s a taster…

Thanks to David Winpenny for introducing me to the archive of Peter Burton’s photographs. Burton (1927-2014) took many of the images which illustrated the Shell Guides that were produced in the mid-20th century. Burton was commissioned to write the North Yorkshire volume by the editorial team of John Piper and John Betjeman, but the project was cancelled before he could complete his research. He eventually published his material as North Yorkshire: a Guide in 2006. Thanks also to Burton’s friend and fellow photographer Harland Walshaw for permission to use images from the collection.

For the Kirkleatham Walled Garden https://kirkleathamwalledgarden.co.uk

And for more on the Kirkleatham Museum https://redcarcleveland.co.uk/enjoy/kirkleatham-museum/

Comments are most welcome – scroll down to share any thoughts. Thank you for reading.

Just outside Richmond in Yorkshire is the Aske estate. The grounds were landscaped by successive owners in the 18th century, and various ornaments added to the park. The most curious is Oliver Ducket*, a folly high above the park with many a tale attached.

Local histories will tell you that the curious round tower on a cruciform base was originally an old beacon, or signal tower, connected to the ancient Richmond Castle, and built to look out for marauders from the wild north. You might also discover that it is named ‘Oliver’ after Cromwell, or that it is known as ‘Robin Hood’s Tower’. Or that Oliver Ducket was the name of the last watchman in residence. There may be some truth in the idea that there was once a beacon, or lookout, on the spot, but Messrs Cromwell, Hood and Ducket can be discounted.

The ‘Oliver’ of the name comes from the area where the tower stands, and eighteenth century maps show parcels of land and a hamlet with this name. ‘Ducket’ is a dialect version of Dovecote (Doo’cot), and that there was once a dovecote here seems also to be proven by old maps, which show Oliver Ducket standing in ‘Dovecot Field’.

The present structure, perhaps incorporating something earlier, was probably designed as an eye-catcher and picnic spot by Sir Conyers D’arcy (died 1758), who bought Aske in 1727, and who also constructed an elaborate gothic banqueting house in the pleasure ground. All that is certain is that Oliver Ducket was in existence by 1761, when a lovely little vignette appears on an estate map. This drawing suggests that the tower was formerly topped with a third storey, long since lost, which would have provided a fabulous panorama, and was no doubt used to view the chase, for this was prime hunting country.

It is mainly in connection with the progress of the horses and hounds that the tower is mentioned in the 19th century, although there is one unexpected revelation: the sturdy structure inspired the name of a pedigree bull. In 1862 ‘Oliver Ducket’, bred by the Earl of Zetland, was discreetly advertised as available to ‘serve cows’.

But the folly reached the apogee of its fame in 1927, when it was chosen as the site for an ‘eclipse observation camp’ by eminent astronomer and physicist Dr W.J.S. Lockyer (1868-1936). Lockyer was the son of Sir Norman Lockyer, a Professor of Astronomical Physics who had established the observatory that still bears his name in Sidmouth, Devon.

The total solar eclipse, due in the early hours of 29 June 1927, was the first in two centuries and had caused great excitement nationally. A number of official camps were set up from where optimum views could be gained, and Richmond was one, being on the centre line of totality (the narrow track of the moon’s shadow on the surface of the earth). Once news got round local hoteliers were swamped with bookings, and further viewpoints on high ground were earmarked for the general public. Such was the fervour that the motoring organisations began to issue advice to stop roads becoming jammed.

The town saw a way to profit from the surge in visitors ,and a programme of events was put together including lectures on astronomy, a concert by the Band of the Royal Corps of Signals, and a Grand Ball in the castle grounds. The proceeds were put towards the restoration of Trinity Church Tower. Shops stayed open all night, and special licences were issued to allow alcohol to be served throughout the build up to the eclipse.

At Oliver Ducket, the principal team comprised of Lockyer, two colleagues, and Hickboo the Cairn Terrier – Three Men and a Dog quipped the papers – and the key piece of equipment was a ‘giant camera, shown above, with which they intended to photograph stages of the eclipse’. Lockyer’s wife was also present and operated some of the equipment. The folly was put into use with Lockyer’s own instruments on the first floor and a wireless aerial attached to the tower.

Despite some ‘most unsatisfactory’ weather as the camp was set up, Lockyer remained optimistic about the conditions for the eclipse. He told journalists that Oliver Ducket was an ideal location because it was ‘too low for the clouds to interfere’. Sadly, he spoke too soon; moments before totality the sun was lost behind a thick curtain of cloud. It was, in Lockyer’s own words, ‘a complete fiasco’.

Barbara Jones described Oliver Ducket in Follies & Grottoes in 1953, concluding that ‘the whole effect is most militant, a fine combination of belvedere and battleship’. This martial splendour must have made it the perfect training ground for soldiers stationed in Richmond during the Second World War. One remembered spending ‘a lot of time and energy attacking and defending’ the building. Happily it survived the siege. The folly also survived the vagaries of fashion: the writer of an 1949 letter to local magazine The Dalesman would presumably have been happy to see it pulled down. ‘It was only in the middle of the 18th century’, he wrote, ‘that erections like Oliver Ducket began to ornament the English countryside. Every county has their quota of them, pathetic and not very beautiful monuments…’

Thanks to Nigel Tooze for the wonderful recent photo of the folly in the snow, in which it looks beautiful (and not at all pathetic).

* there are many variant spellings but Oliver Ducket has been used here

Built in the later 18th century, The Kennels were designed in the style of a sham castle, with a central room flanked by two squat towers. The building also served as an eye-catcher from the bridge over the River Ribble, although this latter function has been lost as trees now block the view. Sadly the castellations are also long gone, but the building appears to have a happier future ahead.

When The Kennels were constructed in the 1770s, Thomas Lister (1752-1826) was yet to reach his majority. His father had begun to remodel Gisburne Park* before his premature death in 1761, and his mother appears to have implemented his plans until Lister was of age. As well as housing Lister’s pack of hounds, the building also doubled as a dovecote with nesting holes in the south tower. The architect is not known, but Lister (created Baron Ribblesdale in 1797) was something of a gentleman architect and may have designed the kennels himself.

The Kennels formed a picturesque trio with the pretty arched bridge over the Ribble, and a summerhouse known as The Temple. Nestled in woodland high on the riverbank, the Temple was built on a mound and overlooked ‘a glorious stretch of river scenery, towards the wide flung arches of the bridge’. It formed the termination of a drive from the house which crossed an ornamental bridge by the Menagerie (later known as the Poultry House), another landscape ornament. The Temple was probably a little earlier than the Kennels, and is thought to have been built in the 1750s. It was dismantled in the second half of the 20th century, but although only its base survives today, much of the masonry is said to survive in storage. Again, the designer is not known, but a sketch in what seems to be an amateur hand survives in the Lister papers, and two early photographs show how lovely it once was.

By the early 20th century, Lord Ribblesdale’s pack had been housed elsewhere on the estate and The Kennels became redundant. Plans to restore ‘The Old Kennels’ as a private house were discussed in the 1990s and as recently as 2014, but the idea was abandoned.

In 2015 Historic England advised immediate remedial work to save the grade II listed structure, and the current owner, Gisburne Park Estate, began the process of finding a new use for the building. After some negotiation Listed Building Consent was granted to carry out ‘reinstatement works’ to stabilise the grade II listed structure and hopefully (present circumstances allowing) work will begin very soon. The estate plans to consolidate the folly without changing its current appearance. On a limited number of days per annum a marquee will be erected at the rear for marriage ceremonies, and The Kennels will become ‘a backdrop folly’ for wedding photographs.

For Lister’s proposed folly tower on his Malham estate see https://thefollyflaneuse.com/octagon-tower-malham-north-yorkshire-spot-the-folly/

Lancashire County Council’s Red Rose Collections is a fabulous resource for images and documents. Explore it here https://redrosecollections.lancashire.gov.uk

* The village is Gisburn and the park has been called Gisburn or Gisburne over time. The present owner uses Gisburne Park.

Sir John Clerk’s great mansion at Penicuik was devastated by fire in 1889, and remained derelict and dangerous for over a century. It was consolidated by the Penicuik House Preservation Trust in 2007-2014, and is now a thriving visitor attraction and education centre. The Trust will soon turn its attention to another of its stated conservation aims: ‘preserving and restoring the historic built structures within the Designed Landscape’. Excellent news!

The first of the ornamental structures in line to be restored is the Tower on Knight’s Law; a fitting choice as it was Sir John’s earliest addition to his estate in 1749-51 (although it had been a decade in the planning). Long before William Morris made the phrase ‘beautiful and useful’ famous, Sir John intended that the tower would be ‘an ornament to my Country as well as my estate’ whilst being ‘beneficial to my family as a Dovecoat’. Conscious of his privileged position in society, he also felt it his duty to find work for the ‘Masons, Wrights and other workmen’ of the neighbourhood. Above the door he had cut the date MDCCL and the inscription TIBI SIT PRUDENTIA TURRIS, which has been translated as ‘Let wisdom be your tower’.

Whilst the doves are gone, the Trust plans that the tower’s ornamental role as belvedere will be revived and hopes eventually to enable public access to the rooftop viewing platform.

From the south-east front of the house (above) an avenue leads to the Chinese Gates and a view across the dramatic valley of the Esk. The vista is terminated by the Ramsay Monument, on which the Trust hope to start work in around 18 months. This wonderful quirky feature takes the form of a square pedestal with an arch supporting an obelisk pierced with three oval openings.

The monument celebrates the life of Allan Ramsay, the Scottish poet, dramatist, and key figure in the Scottish Enlightenment, who was a friend of Sir John. An inscription inside the arch records that Sir John’s son and heir, Sir James Clerk, erected the eye-catcher in Ramsay’s memory in 1759. No architect has been identified, but Sir James may have been inspired by lines from The Country Seat, a poem published by his father in 1727, when he placed the obelisk:

That Avenue will most delight the Sight
That on some beauteous object shapes it way

Regular readers will know that The Folly Flâneuse does appreciate a good cup of coffee after an afternoon of strolling, and she was not disappointed at the Penicuik cafe. It’s all very much a work in progress on the estate at the moment, but well worth a visit – and many more as work progresses. More here https://www.penicuikhouse.com

In the 18th century the Shaw family of textile merchants operated out of the magnificent Piece Hall in Halifax (recently restored and very well worth a visit) https://www.thepiecehall.co.uk.  By the end of the century a new mill had been established at Holywell Green near Stainland, outside Halifax. It was greatly extended in the second half of the 19th century by Samuel Shaw, who also built a new family home nearby, which he called Brooklands. The house was almost ready for occupation in the autumn of 1868 and the grounds were being laid out at the same date. The landscaping included a pond with fountain and a series of 3 curious towers linked by a wall. The Halifax Courier described the scene in 1877, noting that the three towers gave ‘the impression that a castle of somewhat imposing dimensions’  overshadowed the grounds.

As well as masking some farm buildings the towers functioned as summerhouses, housing two ‘rustic apartments’ with ‘quaint chairs’. The openings in the exterior walls were designed as roosts for wild birds, but Shaw probably didn’t have in mind the raucous crows who call the towers home today:

Shaw was passionate about birds and had a museum room in the mansion with cases of stuffed specimens. Within the grounds there were also extensive pens and cages to house a collection of pigeons and pheasants of ‘great rarity’.

There was a also a grotto and a dripping well which was ‘deftly formed’ by the head gardener, a Mr Pybus. Water was fed to the well from a spring in the hillside, flowing over a perforated iron plate which created the dripping effect. Both the grotto and the well were clad with clinker, the incombustible matter left in the mill’s furnaces after burning.

Shaw did not allow smoking in the house but as a consummate host he constructed a Smoking House in the garden. Guests retiring here for pipes or cigars were asked to don velvet jackets and caps to absorb the smell, so that no trace could be detected when they returned to the drawing room. Sadly this building does not survive.

The mansion and many of the associated buildings at Brooklands were demolished in the 1930s and the Shaw family gave the grounds to the people of Elland for use as public park. The  wonderful castle facade survives, but for the usual reasons of vandalism and health and safety the buildings are now fenced-off.

The towers are listed grade II.

Recently opened at The Scottish Gallery, in Edinburgh’s handsome New Town, is Place Makers, a new show featuring the work of artists Ed Kluz and Vicki Ambery-Smith.

For this joint show they have taken inspiration from some of Scotland’s quirkiest buildings, including perhaps the most astonishing folly in Britain, The Pineapple, which Vicki has reinvented as a brooch in silver and yellow gold. The Pineapple folly was built as a summer-house from 1761 the Earl of Dunmore’s seat near Stirling, and is a Landmark Trust property.https://www.landmarktrust.org.uk/search-and-book/properties/pineapple-10726

Ed and Vicki have also explored doocots, or dovecotes to those south of the border (although ducket appears in northern England). These take many forms but that at Saltoun Hall, 15 miles from Edinburgh, is full of architectural interest. Ed has used scraperboard to create his characteristic atmospheric view of the building.

The castellated and turreted doocot is attributed to architect William Burn who added similar embellishments to the mansion at Saltoun at the turn of the 19th century. The ‘Pigeon house’ is shown on Forrest’s Map of Haddingtonshire, surveyed in 1799 and published in 1802. As pigeon meat was less essential as a foodstuff by this period doocots began to take on more fanciful and romantic forms as eye-catchers in the landscape. Thanks Ed for introducing the Folly Flâneuse to this charming gothic example.

The exhibition continues until 28 October https://scottish-gallery.co.uk/exhibitions/place-makers1