architecture, bridge, garden history, landscape garden, Monument, Obelisk, Rotunda, sham castle, Worcestershire

Hagley Park, Worcestershire

It is getting a bit ‘backendish’ – as they say in Yorkshire – and the Folly Flâneuse is taking a short break. Meanwhile here are some of the wonderful landscape ornaments built by the Lyttelton family at Hagley Park, seen on a perfect autumn day as the leaves begin to turn bronze and gold, and the mist clears to reveal a blue sky.

architecture, belvedere, eyecatcher, Folly, garden history, landscape, sham castle, Worcestershire

The Ruined Castle, Hagley, Worcestershire

The Ruined Castle in the grounds of Hagley Hall, near Stourbridge in Worcestershire, was built by Sir Thomas Lyttleton (1685-1751) in 1747-48 as a feature to be visited, and seen as a prospect, on a walk around his park. His eldest son, George Lyttelton (1709-1773), was probably a driving influence, and together they created one of the most perfect sham ruins in Britain.