architecture, Banqueting House, Buckinghamshire, eyecatcher, Folly, garden history, landscape, sham castle, Summerhouse

Dinton Folly, Dinton, Buckinghamshire

Close to the little village of Dinton, near Aylesbury, stands an imposing 18th century folly called Dinton Castle. 250 years after it was first built it shot to fame on the TV show Grand Designs. But to mark the 200th post on these pages, the Folly Flâneuse intends to enjoy a Dinton Folly of a very different kind.

architecture, Banqueting House, belvedere, boathouse, country house, eyecatcher, Folly, garden history, landscape, Nottinghamshire, public park, sham castle, Sham fortification, Tower

The Folly Castle and Folly Forts, Newstead Abbey, Nottinghamshire

Newstead Abbey is best known as the seat of the Romantic poet George Gordon, Lord Byron, but it was equally famed in the middle of the 18th century as the home of his great-uncle, William, the 5th Baron, known as the ‘Wicked Lord’. It was William who built sham forts and castles around the estate’s Great Lake, on which sailed his fleet of boats.

architecture, belvedere, country house, eyecatcher, Folly, garden history, landscape, Observatory, sham castle, Somerset

Knowle Tower, Knowle Hall, Bawdrip, Somerset

The little village of Bawdrip in Somerset was once home to a rugged and romantic ruin. Standing on Knowle Hill, it was built by Benjamin Cuff Greenhill of Knowle Hall as an eye-catcher and observatory, and to add a ‘Gallic touch to the Somerset countryside’. Sadly it is long gone, but it is remembered in local legends and picture postcards.

Devon, eyecatcher, Folly, sham castle

A Spring Break

The Folly Flâneuse is taking a short break, but will be back next week. Meanwhile, here is the dramatic folly high above the mansion at Castle Hill in Devon. Wishing everyone a wonderful weekend in the sunshine.

architecture, eyecatcher, Folly, sham castle, staffordshire, Tower

The Round Tower, Tutbury Castle, Tutbury, Staffordshire

Tutbury Castle is best known as one of the fortifications in which Mary Queen of Scots was imprisoned. The ruins that stand today have been remodelled on a number of occasions since those days, and in the middle of the 18th century the motte, long since missing its genuine tower, was embellished with a sham ruined turret called the Round Tower.

architecture, belvedere, country house, Essex, eyecatcher, Folly, garden history, Lancashire, Mausoleum, Monmouthshire, sham castle, Summerhouse

Monuments to Lost Loves

With St Valentine’s Day approaching, the Folly Flâneuse wondered which were the most romantic garden buildings. The most famous expression of love in an architectural form is surely the Taj Mahal, built by Shah Jahan as a tomb for his favourite wife. But closer to home are three equally enchanting buildings built as monuments to lost loves – two real, and one imaginary, and each likened to the marble mausoleum in India. 

architecture, Bath and North East Somerset, belvedere, eyecatcher, Folly, garden history, landscape, sham castle

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.

Sunset over the city, and a Montgolfier moment.

The folly is a highlight of the National Trust’s ‘Bath Skyline Walk’ which gives stunning views over the city.

Last of the evening sun on the beautiful Bath stone.

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. 

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, belvedere, eyecatcher, Folly, garden history, landscape, Northumberland, sham castle, Summerhouse

Starlight Castle, Seaton Delaval, Northumberland

Starlight Castle is a folly on the grand Seaton Delaval estate close to the Northumberland coast. Today only a small section of wall survives, and historic photographs and postcards show it already in ruins a century ago. It was probably built by Sir Francis Delaval (1727-1771) in the middle of the 18th century. The story goes that Delaval wagered he could build a castle overnight, and this was the result.