This folly, both urban and modern, may come as something of a surprise after the elegant edifices of earlier centuries that usually grace these pages. It was built by volunteers to a plan drawn up by architectural students in the early 1970s, and today it provides a safe space for local children to play.
In the late nineteenth century blocks of tenement housing were erected in Islington to provide homes for labourers and artisans. Beaconsfield Buildings (designed by Charles Barry junior) had, by the middle of the twentieth century, deteriorated into slums known, ‘without affection’, as The Crumbles. They were cleared in the 1960s and 1970s. Part of the site became a park with a playground, and in one corner a folly was created using recycled materials such as the cobbles from the courtyards of the demolished buildings.
In 1971, Roger Moody, the local ‘playleader’, asked architecture students at the Regent Street Polytechnic (now the University of Westminster) to design a shelter for the new playground that was to serve 900 local homes and therefore ‘lots of children’. The team didn’t want a ‘boring box’ and it was decided to build a castle. Stone was salvaged from the site of the flats for use in the construction, and donations allowed the team to buy further materials.
Local children and their parents helped to build the sham fortification – in a division of labour that would be frowned upon in modern Islington, dads were asked to help with building work and mums ‘made the sandwiches’. The building was quickly christened ‘Crumbles Castle’.
There have been threats to the castle and the playground over the years but, with strong local support, it has survived and the park’s facilities have recently been upgraded. The Islington Play Association now operates Crumbles Castle as a space where children can ‘jump, climb, run and enjoy playing’ outside of school hours. What could be better than a folly castle as a place for children to ‘explore the world of their imagination’?
The Flâneuse would love to know the identity of the budding architects who rose to the challenge of building the folly. They are identified only as ‘Cathy and the two Bobs’. Please get in touch if you know more.
Thank you for reading. The comments box is at the foot of the page if you wish to share any thoughts, comments or information.
Marijana says:
A lovely story! I can’t claim it’s my favourite folly looks-wise but how exciting to have something like that to encourage you to play outside!
Editor says:
Good morning Marijana. I hope it has captured the imagination of many a child. Hopefully they will grow up to be folly fans!
jon callan says:
at about that time I worked with the London adventure play ground association,
who operated as cover organisation for playgrounds in the city which operated independatly
as a long shot they may just have an archive
you never know
Jon
https://londonadventureplaygrounds.org.uk
Editor says:
Thanks Jon. I will investigate.
Janet says:
Fascinating story, thank you.
Editor says:
Thank you Janet.
TOM GARDNER says:
TOM (NYC)
I AGREE WITH THE REUSE OF VINTAGE MATERIAL TO CREATE … MAGIC!
I’M ALSO A BIG FAN OF THE BRIT TV SHOW: ‘CALL THE MIDWIFE.’
YOUR BLACK AND WHITE PHOTO SO CAPTURES THAT TIME LINE.
NOW 80 MYSELF, I WAS FORTUNATE ENOUGH TO SEE MANY WONDERFUL
EXAMPLES OF ARTISTIC SUCCESS, SOME SADLY, NOW GONE. EGO:
ENJOY THE MOMENT, CHERISH THE PAST, AWAIT THE FUTURE WITH HOPE.
TOM
Editor says:
Hello Tom. Yes, I think it is wonderful that generations of children have been introduced to follies when playing at Crumbles Castle, and that it is a memorial to the homes that once stood there.