Folly

architecture, belvedere, Column, eyecatcher, Folly, garden, garden history, landscape, Monument, Northumberland, Observatory, Tower

Brizlee Tower, Alnwick, Northumberland

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Brizlee Tower. Photo' courtesy of Robin Kent Architecture and Conservation.

Brizlee Tower* stands high on Brizlee Hill, near Alnwick, and overlooks Hulne Park, a detached pleasure ground close to the Duke of Northumberland’s principal park at Alnwick Castle. It was built in the late 18th century as a prospect tower and eye-catcher, and also as an object to be visited on a drive from the castle through Hulne Park. The park was designed by ‘the inimitable Brown’, aka Capability, working with local engineers and designers, and was also home to the ruins of mediaeval Hulne Abbey, embellished and repurposed by the Duke and Duchess as a banqueting house, pleasure garden and menagerie for exotic pheasants.

architecture, eyecatcher, Folly, garden, garden history, landscape, North Yorkshire

Hunmanby Arch, Hunmanby, North Yorkshire

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Few follies can be said to have directly contributed to coastal erosion, but one example can be found in the lovely little village of Hunmanby, near Filey. Early in the 19th century Humphrey Osbaldeston, of Hunmanby Hall, took stone from the rocky coastal outcrop called Filey Brigg, and used it to erect this rustic entrance arch.

Dovecote, eyecatcher, Folly, Lancashire, Summerhouse

The Kennels and The Temple, Gisburne Park, Gisburn, Lancashire

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Postcard courtesy of a private collection.

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.

architecture, Folly, garden, hermitage, landscape, Lincolnshire, Rustic shelter

The Hermitage, Brocklesby, North East Lincolnshire

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As the nation settles into staying at home, forgoing a social life and, more practically, visits to the hairdresser and beauty salon, the Folly Flâneuse got to thinking about those fashionable landscape ornaments called hermitages, in which men (presumably women had more sense than to apply for the vacancy) lived in isolation. With ragged clothing, long fingernails, and unkempt beards, the hermits animated the landscape, whilst creating a little drama for the visitors who caught a (staged) glimpse of the recluse.

architecture, belvedere, eyecatcher, Folly, landscape, Monument, North Yorkshire, Obelisk, Tower

Lund’s Tower and Wainman’s Pinnacle, Sutton in Craven/Cowling, North Yorkshire

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The Folly Flâneuse is playing safe here with the locations of these two structures, as the inhabitants of the villages of Cowling and Sutton in Craven, south of Skipton, each claim a monument as their own. Locals are at least agreed on a nickname: for very obvious reasons the tower and pinnacle are known as the Salt and Pepper Pots.

architecture, belvedere, Folly, garden, Grotto, landscape, North Yorkshire, Summerhouse

The Grotto, Ingleborough Hall, Clapham, North Yorkshire

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Constructed early in the 19th century, this rocky grotto was built in the grounds of Ingleborough Hall, home to the Farrer family. Later it was a favoured spot of Elizabeth Farrer (1853-1937), and has thus became known by the wonderfully comforting name of Aunt Bessie’s Grotto. Here tea was served by the staff, whilst the family enjoyed the wonderful view to Thwaite Scars.

architecture, belvedere, Column, eyecatcher, Folly, garden, landscape, Lincolnshire, Monument

Dunston Pillar and Statue of George III, Lincolnshire

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The Dunston Pillar as featured in the Illustrated London News, April 1859. Courtesy of a private collection.

In the middle of the 18th century the area around Dunston was unenclosed heath, and travel was a dirty and dangerous business, especially in the dark winter months. Sir Francis Dashwood (1708-1781), 2nd baronet, of West Wycombe and Hell-fire Club fame, came into property in the area when he married Sarah Ellys of nearby Nocton in 1745. Dashwood erected the Dunston Pillar in 1751 as a beacon to guide ‘the peasant, the wayfaring stranger, and the horseman with his dame on pillion’.

architecture, belvedere, Column, Folly, Tower, West Yorkshire

Wainhouse Tower, Halifax, West Yorkshire

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The Tower in June 2019.

Halifax has been much in the news recently following the restoration of the wondrous Piece Hall, a Georgian cloth trading centre on a monumental scale. But the town is also home to another amazing structure, the Wainhouse Tower, one of the country’s finest follies. Factory chimney turned witness to wealth, it thrusts 253 feet into the sky above the town.