Comments for The Folly Flaneuse

Comment on The Follies at Cottington, Southshire: a Hermit Whodunnit. by Editor

Editor — Tue, 06 Oct 2026 15:49:10 +0000

In reply to Tim Harley. Good afternoon Tim. Two strange coincidences - that two authors should choose the same name for a fictional county, and that you should encounter both on the same day. Thanks for letting me know, and I will look out for Metropolitan Mysteries.

Comment on The Follies at Cottington, Southshire: a Hermit Whodunnit. by Tim Harley

Tim Harley — Tue, 06 Oct 2026 15:44:33 +0000

By coincidence , the same evening that I read this piece I read a whodunnit short story , Sergeant Pollock in Parliament by William Fienburgh. In it there is a character Mr Bulrose , Member of Parliament for Southshire. He is PPS to the Minister of Planning and Reconstruction . the story is contained in the British Library publication Metropolitan Mysteries edited by Martin Edwards.

Comment on The Follies at Cottington, Southshire: a Hermit Whodunnit. by Editor

Editor — Tue, 06 Oct 2026 07:47:09 +0000

In reply to Iain KS Gray. Good morning Iain. This was a most distressing incident, and I suspect the legal issues will take some time to resolve. My thoughts remain with the family.

Comment on The Follies at Cottington, Southshire: a Hermit Whodunnit. by Iain KS Gray

Iain KS Gray — Sun, 04 Oct 2026 17:03:22 +0000

This one-off tale and the murder it mentioned brought to mind the recent murder of Putney resident and FF member Mark Talbot for which his son has been charged. Mark owned the renowned triangular Sussex folly -The “Racton Ruin”. I can’t help wondering who has inherited it.

Comment on The Follies at Cottington, Southshire: a Hermit Whodunnit. by Editor

Editor — Sun, 04 Oct 2026 08:44:38 +0000

In reply to Nigel Searle.

Good morning Chris. Thanks for these really useful observations. I did wonder about Cook’s Castle as a possible influence, and I should have mentioned it. Bamford certainly knew the scandalous story of Sir Richard and Lady Worsley of Appuldurcombe and the bath house, as he includes a fictionalised mention in the novel.
I did find the blog you mention, as did Chris Beevers of Renishaw, and we felt sure Francis must be one of the boys (the photo is of his father as your surmised). But a photo of him later in life remains elusive. One of the comments on that blog was from Bamford’s son, but I couldn’t see a way to get in touch.
Thanks for your kind comments, and I am very pleased you discovered my weekly posts.

Comment on The Follies at Cottington, Southshire: a Hermit Whodunnit. by Editor

Editor — Sun, 04 Oct 2026 08:37:49 +0000

In reply to Chris Beevers. Thanks Chris. And thanks again for your help.

Comment on The Follies at Cottington, Southshire: a Hermit Whodunnit. by Chris Beevers

Chris Beevers — Sun, 04 Oct 2026 07:09:56 +0000

Brilliant article – piecing together fragments of information to make a fascinating read – and setting a challenge to find an image of the elusive Mr Bamford! Many thanks

Comment on The Follies at Cottington, Southshire: a Hermit Whodunnit. by Nigel Searle

Nigel Searle — Sat, 03 Oct 2026 22:19:03 +0000

Thank you for yet another fascinating read. I couldn’t help wondering whether Mark Amberley’s follies of Bamford’s in ‘Return to Cottington’ might also have been influenced/inspired in some way by Cook’s Castle and obelisk at Appuldurcombe on the Isle of Wight (as previously discussed https://thefollyflaneuse.com/cooks-castle-and-the-obelisk-appuldurcombe-isle-of-wight/ ) which, although becoming ruinous by then, might have had a similar appearance to that depicted on the book’s cover and, being nearby to their home (nowhere on the IoW is that that far away from any other location there) is likely to have visited by the young Francis & his family. Assuming that the Rev. Francis Bamford, given as being vicar of All Saints’ Church, Newchurch on the island between 1896 and 1934 (see this blog https://louisemabey.com/tag/reverend-francis-bamford ) was Francis’s father – there appear to be too many coincidences (ie shared Christian name, island location, dates etc) for him not to have been – there are likely to have been plenty of opportunities for him to have explored the area as a child or teenager. The blog includes a photograph of Newchurch’s ‘Pageant of St George’ in 1914 which shows Rev. Francis Bamford (were vicars exempt from dressing up or taking part in such activities in order to maintain their dignity, I wonder…) It’s possible to imagine, but unlikely to be confirmable, that the boy third from the right, sporting a St George’s Cross adorned tabard and faux chain mail coif, might just be Francis junior who would have been nine or ten at that time and unlikely to have been able to avoid taking part (he certainly doesn’t look too happy about it.)
I should add, having come across the overgrown stone marking its site, that I first chanced on your great resource while looking for details of Cook’s Castle; I’ve been hooked ever since.
Best Wishes
Nigel

Comment on The Follies at Cottington, Southshire: a Hermit Whodunnit. by Editor

Editor — Sat, 03 Oct 2026 17:18:12 +0000

In reply to TOM GARDNER. Good evening Tom and thanks for sharing your appreciation.

Comment on The Follies at Cottington, Southshire: a Hermit Whodunnit. by TOM GARDNER

TOM GARDNER — Sat, 03 Oct 2026 17:07:18 +0000

TOM – NYC
SIMPLY AMAZING, JUST HOW MANY ‘LOCATIONS’ THERE ARE – TO BE FOUND IN YOUR ‘HOMELAND’.
AS MENTIONED, NOW BEING 80, IN MY YOUTH (1966-1976) I WAS IN THE ‘AMERICAN VERSION – OF THE DOMESTIC FIELD (HOUSEHOLD STAFF). AS BUTLER TO THE LAST: ‘ASTOR – 400’ – I WAS LUCKY ENOUGH TO EXPERIENCE ‘RESIDENCES’ OF IMPRESSIVE DESIGN. PERHAPS THAT’S WHY I UNDERSTAND YOUR OFFERINGS, GRACED WITH AN ADDED INSIGHT AS TO THEIR BEAUTY AND CONSTRUCTION.
BRAVO AND KEEP UP THE WONDERFUL OFFERINGS.
TOM