Stratton’s Folly, Little Berkhamsted, Hertfordshire

architecture, belvedere, eyecatcher, Hertfordshire, Monument, Observatory, Tower

Stratton’s Folly, Little Berkhamsted, Hertfordshire

Posted on August 30, 2024by Editor

View of the tower by John Varley, 1823. Courtesy of Chris Beetles Gallery, St James's, London. Full details below.

Just outside Little Berkhamsted in Hertfordshire stands a lofty circular brick tower which sits on an octagonal base. It was built towards the end of the eighteenth century by the Stratton family and has, appropriately, a tall tale attached. The eye-catcher was a popular subject with artists, and a number of very pretty views survive.

architecture, Cumbria, Folly, garden, garden history, Grotto, landscape, Rustic shelter, Summerhouse

The Grotto, Rydal Hall, Cumbria

Posted on April 22, 2022by Editor

At Rydal Hall in Cumbria is an unassuming little garden building. It was built by Sir Daniel Fleming, in the last years of the 1680s, as a summerhouse from which to view of one of the series of cascades on the Rydal Beck that flowed though his estate.

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