The Folly Flâneuse is putting her feet up this week, and handing over to her very good friend The Garden Historian. As guest contributor he reveals the history of the lovely, but now lost, timber temple at Exton Park.

In 1953, when Barbara Jones coined the opening words ‘survival is capricious’ for her account of the Bark Temple in Follies & Grottoes, she was probably unaware of how prophetic they were. At the time, she mused whether it was ‘perhaps built as a band stand for dances by the lake’; yet feeling the building’s oppressiveness as it slipped into ruin, added ‘but an innocent purpose for it seems unthinkable.’ She was actually so right on the former, and so wrong on the latter.

There have been many opinions as to when the temple was built – Jones carefully evades that point – with some writers suggesting it dates from the 18th century, probably because it was assumed to be contemporary with nearby Fort Henry, a pretty gothic lakeside pavilion (by William Daniel Legg, 1786–89). More scholarly was Roger White’s assessment that it was ‘probably […] a survival of the late 18th century fashion for primitivism, propagated by the Abbé Laugier and Sir William Chambers and practised by architects such as Soane.’ Somewhere along the way, Thomas Wright’s name has been brought into the melange, and an attribution to John Linnell Bond needs to be abandoned – he died eight years before its appearance. Laugier’s sentiments were first published, in French, in 1753, with an English translation two years later; Chambers, in his 1759 Treatise on Civil Architecture, saw primitive buildings as no more than an evolutionary stage in architectural history. But if such works inspired Exton’s bark temple, there was a wait of almost a hundred years.

It was actually constructed for the wedding celebrations of Andrew Agnew and the Lady Mary Arabella Louisa Noel, eldest daughter of Exton’s owner, the Earl of Gainsborough. The wedding took place on Thursday, 20 August 1846, although festivities started the previous day with a ‘Tenants’ Dinner’ for some 260 persons in a marquee, and a women’s tea in the coach houses at the house, which also accommodated about a hundred labourers on the Thursday morning as well as teas for the schools on the Friday (subject to weather conditions); the wedding breakfast was held in Fort Henry (at half past one for those who just have to know). The Lincolnshire Chronicle for 21 August recorded:

‘… The spot selected for pitching the tent was about two miles distant from the house, and by far the most picturesque site on these delightful grounds, being on an eminence immediately in front of the expansive sheet of water which so delightfully diversifies the scenery in Exton Park, and very near to the fairy temple now in course of erection.’

The last remark is key – it indicates that despite their best efforts, the ‘fairy temple’ was not complete at the time of the wedding, even though from the scant documents that we do have, some seventy four carpenters, masons, and labourers were engaged in these preparations. Unsigned rough drawings hint at the bark temple being designed almost on the spot, and everything done in haste. There was a family tradition of hosting parties by the lake and in Pavilions in Peril Julia Abel-Smith noted a picture at the hall ‘of the lakeside clearing en fête with fireworks breaking over the water’ – it would be nice to think that the temple was ready enough for dancing of an evening, the Exton band serenading the family and their guests as they glided across the wooden floor.

The unknown architect may have been influenced by an 18th century design by William Wrighte, which was advocated ‘to be placed at the head of a grand canal’, with ‘the arcades to be ice or frosted work’, with a length of some 75 feet. At Exton, the lake suffices for the canal, and bark for the frosted work; its length was 75 feet. But the temple’s juxtaposition and axial alignment to Fort Henry are also key: being on rising ground, it terminated a vista for those enjoying a boat trip; for those in the temple, the setting was reversed, with Fort Henry adopting the role of banqueting house (and possibly an ideal setting for the firework displays). Ironically it was Fort Henry, ‘almost beyond preservation’ in the eyes of Barbara Jones, that was rescued, thanks to the work of architect Will Hawkes; but sadly the bark temple succumbed.

As much as it would have been wonderful to see this building saved, viewing this dilemma from the owner’s perspective casts a more pragmatic hue. Its remoteness from the house would have put a restored building at considerable risk from any ne’er do wells; that it was principally of wood construction added to its vulnerability. In 1994, English Heritage commissioned surveys and measured drawings of what then survived of the structure, so at least a record of this unique building exists. But it is the photographs of Neville and Will Hawkes that prove the most evocative and captivating. They show the structure still in reasonable condition – both arcades still standing, and mostly roofed. It died, in the winter of 1997, æt. 150.

Fort Henry survives has been beautifully restored as, rather appropriately, a venue for weddings and events. It can be seen from a public footpath. For Exton Park see https://www.extonpark.co.uk

Thanks to the Garden Historian for this post, and thank you for reading. If you’d like to comment, please scroll down. If you would like to read more about follies, why not subscribe and receive a weekly post direct to your inbox.

In 1987 Save Britain’s Heritage, the charity which campaigns to save historic buildings from needless destruction, published Pavilions in Peril, a report into the great number of garden buildings in Britain that faced an uncertain future. In drawing attention to historic buildings that are vacant and whose future is uncertain, the charity hoped to identify new owners able to repair and/or find a new use for the structures, thus securing their future. 33 years after that report was written The Folly Flâneuse is delighted to write that there have been some fabulous restorations (see link below to an earlier post), but read on for the not-so-good news…

The report’s author, Julia Abel Smith, researched 54 case studies, and sadly two of the featured structures have disappeared forever. The classical Temple to Pitt at Coleby Hall in Lincolnshire, was described in 1987 as being ‘a very sad sight’, and it was demolished in the 1990s. Although it looks fairly substantial in this postcard view, it was actually wood plastered to look like stone, and therefore less able to withstand the elements.

The Bark Temple at Exton in Leicestershire, a rustic wooden summerhouse which had been deteriorating for some years, finally collapsed in 1997. There will be more on this fascinating lost building in a forthcoming guest post.

Two years after the report was published SAVE introduced a Buildings at Risk Register, and two of the buildings featured in Pavilions in Peril remain on that list today.

Despite attempts to secure its future, the Umbrello, on the privately-owned Great Saxham estate in Suffolk, has spent 33 years in peril. It is of particular interest as not only is it an unusual design, but it is built of Coade Stone, the celebrated artificial stone developed by Mrs Coade at her factory in Lambeth. Originally constructed in the late 18th or early 19th century, its design is based on a Batty Langley pattern and a Historic England report of 2001 concluded that Great Saxham may not have been its first home. There’s a link to the full report below.

Near Chichester in Sussex, stands the derelict Racton Tower, which is also on SAVE’s Buildings at Risk Register. It was designed by Theodosius Keene for the 2nd Earl of Halifax and complete by around 1770. The hilltop folly (described by Horace Walpole as ‘a very ugly Tower’) was built to take advantage of extensive views across the downs to the Isle of Wight and beyond, and as an eye-catcher from Lord Halifax’s seat at Stansted House. In the year Pavilions in Peril was published it was bought by a private owner who planned to turn it into a private house. Planning permission was granted some years ago, but has since expired, and at the time of writing a new application, from the same very patient owner, is being considered by the South Downs National Park Planning Authority.

Other buildings featured in the report remain in need of rescue. In 1987 the Belvedere at Sketty, near Swansea, was unlisted and derelict. Probably designed by the architect William Jernegan in the early 19th century, the folly contains a lovely vaulted chamber with its roof supported by a single column (likely inspired by the nearby Chapter House at Margam).

The building has the inscription ESTO PERPETUO (May it stand forever), which is somewhat ironic given its current condition, although nicely relevant when one learns that when it was conveyed to Swansea City Council there was a covenant attached forbidding demolition. The house at Sketty was demolished in 1975 and the belvedere is now surrounded by the modern housing that was built in its park. In 2015 the cash-strapped Swansea Council sold the building at auction; the sum realised was reported to be £130,000. However plans to restore the (now grade II listed) folly as a dwelling have been scuppered by a colony of bats, and it remains boarded-up and neglected.

In Yorkshire the temple at Whitley Beaumont, near Huddersfield, was thought to have a bleak future as it had lost its roof, and the fine chamber beneath was filling with rubble. Happily it still stands, although it has continued to slowly deteriorate under the combined force of vandals, the elements, and total loss of raison d’être: the estate was requisitioned for mining during the Second World War and the mansion demolished in 1952 . Attributed to James Paine, the temple was probably constructed in the early 1750s when the Beaumont family’s mansion was being remodelled. A grand terrace walk, edged with flowering shrubs, terminated at the temple from which there were extensive views. In the 1770s the building was home to a telescope and visitors were invited to admire the distant views from the elevated site, which (as reputed of every prospect tower in Yorkshire) included a view to York Minster. When invited to admire the view one guest, clearly an old hand at dealing with the boasts of owners, announced that he could most certainly see the mighty church: experience had taught him that when he found his hosts ‘resolutely determined that I shall see a thing, I always see it immediately to save trouble.’ The temple now stands rather forlornly on the edge of a quarry, as a reminder of how great the estate once was.

If you are feeling a little despondent now, see last week’s post for the good news https://thefollyflaneuse.com/pavilions-in-peril-part-i-pavilions-preserved/

This is only a selection from the buildings featured in Pavilions in Peril, but it is still in print at the absolute bargain price of £5 and is well worth the investment. You can buy it and learn more about SAVE here https://www.savebritainsheritage.org/publications/publications-in-print/3 

For the full report on the Umbrella at Great Saxham follow this link https://research.historicengland.org.uk/Report.aspx?i=15025&ru=%2FResults.aspx%3Fp%3D549

Feedback is always welcome, please scroll down to find the comments section. Thank you for reading.