In the 18th century the Campbell family, Earls of Breadalbane, embellished the park around the family seat at Taymouth with temples and mock forts, complementing the natural beauties of the surrounding hills and the River Tay that flows through the estate. Just a couple of miles away, on the shores of Loch Tay, was a more dramatic feature, a rustic shelter and a roaring cascade, which added a sublime element to the beautiful policies of Taymouth.
garden history
The Temple of the Four Seasons, Margam, Glamorgan
The National Museum of Wales owns two fine oil paintings of Margam House, viewed from the north and the south, completed sometime around the turn of the 17th century. A closer look reveals a substantial garden pavilion, known as the Banqueting House, at a little distance from the house. Margam’s mansion has been remodelled a number of times, and the Banqueting House too has seen some changes: it was relocated in the 19th century and survives today as the facade of a very imposing cottage.
Radford Folly, Nottingham, Nottinghamshire
In the mid-19th century, the inhabitants of the rapidly-expanding town of Nottingham could spend their leisure hours at the Radford Grove Tavern and Tea Gardens. Here they could row on the lake, attend dances, and admire the view from the roof of a very pretty ‘Octagonal Pleasure House’.
Shobdon Arches, Herefordshire
In the middle of the 18th century, Viscount Bateman of Shobdon Court decided to remodel the Romanesque church on his estate. Demolishing all but the tower, he created an enchanting building with exquisite interiors in the fashionable gothick style. Although later accused of ‘wanton destruction’, Bateman did at least recognise the value of fragments of the earlier church, and had them re-erected as an eye-catcher at the end of an avenue in the park.
The Nelson Tower, aka Paxton’s Tower, Llanarthney, Carmarthenshire
High above the valley of the River Towy stands a sturdy, and seemingly invincible, tower. It was built to commemorate Admiral Lord Nelson, but within a century it was falling into decay, and it only narrowly escaped conversion into a cowshed.
The Hermitage, Conishead Priory, Bardsea, Cumbria.
Conishead Priory, as the name suggests, was a religious house, but after the dissolution it became a private home. In the middle of the 18th century it was home to Thomas Braddyll (1730-1776) who created new pleasure grounds around the Priory, including a number of ornamental features.
A Sham Castle at Sunset
The Folly Flâneuse is taking a short break to enjoy the last of the sunshine (hopefully). So a brief post this week looking at Ralph Allen’s wonderful Sham Castle, high above the city of Bath.
It’s a bit of a steep hike up the hill from the city centre, but one can’t get lost…
The folly was built by Ralph Allen of nearby Prior Park in 1762. A plaque records that it was restored and given to the people of Bath in 1921.
The folly is a highlight of the National Trust’s ‘Bath Skyline Walk’ which gives stunning views over the city.
Thanks for reading. The Folly Flâneuse will be back with a full-length folly feature next week. Enjoy the changing of the seasons as summer mellows into autumn.
The Grotto and Cottage Orné, Oatlands Park, Surrey, as seen by the novelist Denton Welch
Denton Welch was a talented artist and writer, but his career was sadly cut short by his early death in 1948. A few years before he died, he described an ornate 18th century grotto in one of his novels: the fabulous grotto was for real, but it was demolished in the same year that Welch died, making his description all the more poignant.
Brondanw Tower, Plas Brondanw, Garreg, Gwynedd.
Sir Clough Williams-Ellis is best remembered for the enchanting fantasy village of Portmeirion in North Wales. But not far away is Plas Brondanw, his own home, where he created an intimate garden, and high above the house constructed a magnificent folly.
The Monument, Penielheugh, Borders, Scotland
On Sunday 18 June 1815 the British and Prussian armies, commanded respectively by the Duke of Wellington and Field Marshal von Blücher, won the Battle of Waterloo. There were immediate demands for monuments across Britain to celebrate this great victory, but none were so quick to respond as William Kerr, the 6th Marquis of Lothian, and his family. By the end of June funds had been raised to erect ‘a monument on the summit of Penielheugh’, a lofty hill on the Marquis’s Monteviot estate.