architecture, eyecatcher, Folly, landscape, Northamptonshire, Orangery, sham castle, Tower

A Novel Discovery: J.L. Carr and Northamptonshire landscape ornaments

J.L Carr’s novel A Month in the Country won the Guardian Prize for Fiction in 1980. It is a short novel which tells the gentle and very moving story of two men re-establishing their lives after the horrors of serving in the First World War. It is a firm favourite of The Folly Flâneuse, and she was fascinated to discover recently that Carr was also an amateur artist, and his subjects were usually the buildings of his adopted county of Northamptonshire. His volumes of sketches and paintings include a number of architectural curiosities, accompanied by captions that reveal his warm sense of humour.

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

The Rotunda, Leases Hall, near Bedale, North Yorkshire (and its travels)

In the 18th century, travellers on the Great North Road were able to enjoy a view of the ‘small neat house’ that was Leases Hall as they passed by in their carriages. Today, it’s not so easy to dawdle and appreciate ones surroundings, as the Great North Road has been superseded by the 6 lanes of the busy A1(M). But if you are quick, you can snatch a glimpse of a small mound which was once topped by a little rotunda.

architecture, belvedere, East Riding of Yorkshire, eyecatcher, Folly, garden, landscape, Summerhouse, Temple, Tower

Carnaby Temple, Boynton Hall, near Bridlington, East Riding of Yorkshire

‘An ill-treated folly’, wrote folly supremo Barbara Jones of the Carnaby Temple in 1953. The late 18th century landscape ornament, on high land above Boynton Hall, was by then disused and dilapidated, but remarkably intact considering the years of neglect. And so it remains.

architecture, Column, eyecatcher, landscape, Monument, wiltshire

Maud Heath, Nikolaus Pevsner, and Wiltshire

Photograph courtesy of Sandy Osborough.

The arrival of an updated volume in the Buildings of England series is always a cause for celebration. Better known simply as ‘Pevsners’, after Sir Nikolaus Pevsner (1902-1983), the author of the earliest volumes, the books are regularly revised. The latest volume to be painstakingly brought up to date covers the county of Wiltshire, and is the work of Julian Orbach. The first edition of the Wiltshire volume appeared in 1963, and was close to Pevsner’s heart, as he had a home in Clyffe Pypard where he and his family spent much of their time: his dedication calls Wiltshire ‘the county of the cottage’.

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

The Peace Column, Swansfield House, Alnwick, Northumberland

On the edge of Alnwick, in Northumberland, stood Swansfield House, an elegant villa that in the late 18th century was home to Henry Collingwood Selby (1748-1839), agent to the 1st Duke and Duchess of Northumberland of Alnwick Castle. Following the lead of his monument-building patrons, he embellished his small estate with a tower, a column, and a curious gothic structure.

architecture, boathouse, eyecatcher, Folly, garden, garden history, landscape, Lincolnshire

A Brief Interlude

The Folly Flâneuse is taking a short break to catch up with family, friends, and (of course) follies, and will be back next week. She sends her best wishes to all readers, and hopes that you too are able to enjoy the relaxation of restrictions, whilst remaining safe and well.

Meanwhile here is the jaunty yellow boathouse at Belton Park in Lincolnshire. Designed by Anthony Salvin and built in c.1838-9, it was restored by the National Trust in 2008.