Folly

Folly
In architecture, a folly is a building constructed primarily for decoration, but suggesting through its appearance some other purpose, or of such extravagant appearance that it transcends the range of usual garden buildings.
Eighteenth-century English landscape gardening and French landscape gardening often featured mock Roman temples, symbolising classical virtues. Other 18th-century garden follies represented Chinese temples, Egyptian pyramids, ruined medieval castles or abbeys, or Tatar tents, to represent different continents or historical eras. Sometimes they represented rustic villages, mills, and cottages to symbolise rural virtues. Many follies, particularly during times of famine, such as the Great Famine in Ireland, were built as a form of poor relief, to provide employment for peasants and unemployed artisans.
In English, the term began as "a popular name for any costly structure considered to have shown folly in the builder", the Oxford English Dictionary's definition. Follies are often named after the individual who commissioned or designed the project. The connotations of silliness or madness in this definition is in accord with the general meaning of the French word ; however, another older meaning of this word is "delight" or "favourite abode". This sense included conventional, practical buildings that were thought unduly large or expensive, such as Beckford's Folly, an extremely expensive early Gothic Revival country house that collapsed under the weight of its tower in 1825, 12 years after completion.
As a general term, "folly" is usually applied to a small building that appears to have no practical purpose or the purpose of which appears less important than its striking and unusual design, but the term is ultimately subjective, so a precise definition is not possible.
Characteristics
The concept of the folly is subjective and it has been suggested that the definition of a folly "lies in the eyes of the beholder". Typical characteristics include:
They have no purpose other than as an ornament. Often they have some of the appearance of a building constructed for a particular purpose, such as a castle or tower, but this appearance is a sham. Equally, if they have a purpose, it may be disguised.
They are buildings, or parts of buildings. Thus they are distinguished from other garden ornaments such as sculpture.
They are purpose-built. Follies are deliberately built as ornaments.
They are often eccentric in design or construction. This is not strictly necessary; however, it is common for these structures to call attention to themselves through unusual details or form.
There is often an element of fakery in their construction. The canonical example of this is the sham ruin: a folly which pretends to be the remains of an old building but which was in fact constructed in that state.
They were built or commissioned for pleasure.
History
Follies began as decorative accents on the great estates of the late 16th and early 17th centuries, but they flourished especially in the two centuries which followed. Many estates had ruins of monastic houses and (in Italy) Roman villas; others, lacking such buildings, constructed their own sham versions of these romantic structures.
However, very few follies are completely without a practical purpose. Apart from their decorative aspect, many originally had a use which was lost later, such as hunting towers. Follies are misunderstood structures, according to The Folly Fellowship, a charity that exists to celebrate the history and splendour of these often neglected buildings.
Follies in 18th-century French and English gardens
Follies were an important feature of the English garden and French landscape garden in the 18th century, such as Stowe and Stourhead in England and Ermenonville and the gardens of Versailles in France. They were usually in the form of Roman temples, ruined Gothic abbeys, or Egyptian pyramids. Painshill Park in Surrey contained almost a full set, with a large Gothic tower and various other Gothic buildings, a Roman temple, a hermit's retreat with resident hermit, a Turkish tent, a shell-encrusted water grotto and other features. In France they sometimes took the form of romantic farmhouses, mills and cottages, as in Marie Antoinette's Hameau de la Reine at Versailles. Sometimes they were copied from landscape paintings by painters such as Claude Lorrain and Hubert Robert. Often, they had symbolic importance, illustrating the virtues of ancient Rome, or the virtues of country life. The temple of philosophy at Ermenonville, left unfinished, symbolised that knowledge would never be complete, while the temple of modern virtues at Stowe was deliberately ruined, to show the decay of contemporary morals.
Later in the 18th century, the follies became more exotic, representing other parts of the world, including Chinese pagodas, Japanese bridges, and Tatar tents.
Famine follies
The Great Famine of Ireland of 1845–1849 led to the building of several follies in order to provide relief to the poor without issuing unconditional handouts. However, to hire the needy for work on useful projects would deprive existing workers of their jobs. Thus, construction projects termed "famine follies" came to be built. These included roads in the middle of nowhere, between two seemingly random points, screen and estate walls, piers in the middle of bogs, etc.
Examples
Follies are found worldwide, but they are particularly abundant in Great Britain.
Australia
Eastlink hotel, in Victoria
Austria
Roman ruin and gloriettes, in the park of Schönbrunn Palace, Vienna
Belgium
Hassenspark toren in the Hassenspark in Vilvoorde, Flemish Brabant
Canada
Dundurn Castle in Hamilton, Ontario
Czech Republic
Series of buildings in Lednice–Valtice Cultural Landscape (UNESCO World Heritage Site)
Chinese Pavilions in chateau gardens in Vlašim, Děčín Krásný Dvůr
France
Chanteloup Pagoda, near Amboise
Désert de Retz, folly garden in Chambourcy near Paris, France (18th century)
Parc de la Villette in Paris has a number of modern follies by architect Bernard Tschumi.
The Ideal Palace of Ferdinand Cheval in Hauterives, seen as an example of naive architecture.
Hameau de la Reine, in the park of the Château de Versailles
The Grottoes of Ferrand, in Saint-Hippolyte, Gironde
Germany
Bergpark Wilhelmshöhe water features
Lighthouse in the park of Moritzburg Castle near Dresden
Mosque in the Schwetzingen Castle gardens
Pfaueninsel artificial ruin, Berlin
Ruinenberg near Sanssouci Park, Potsdam
Hungary
Bory Castle at Székesfehérvár
Taródi Castle at Sopron
Vajdahunyad vára in the City Park of Budapest
India
Overbury's Folly, Thalassery, Kerala
Rock Garden of Chandigarh
Ireland
Ballysaggartmore Towers, County Waterford
Carden's Folly
Casino at Marino
Conolly's Folly and The Wonderful Barn on the same estate
Killiney Hill, with several follies
Larchill in County Kildare, with several follies
Powerscourt Estate, which contains the Pepperpot Tower
Saint Anne's Park, which contains a number of follies
Saint Enda's Park, former school of Patrick Pearse, contains several follies
The Jealous Wall at Belvedere House near Mullingar, County Westmeath
Waterloo Round Tower near Blarney, County Cork
Italy
La Scarzuola, Montegabbione
The Park of the Monsters (Bomarzo Gardens)
Il Giardino dei Tarocchi near Capalbio
Jamaica
Three follies were built on Folly Estate, Port Antonio, in 1905. They are now in ruins.
Malta
Lija Belvedere Tower
Poland
Roman aqueduct, Arkadia, Łowicz County
Temple of the Sibyl in Puławy
Romania
Iulia Hasdeu Castle
Russia
Ruined towers in Peterhof, Tsarskoe Selo, Gatchina, and Tsaritsino
Creaking Pagoda and Chinese Village in Tsarskoe Selo
Dutch Admiralty in Tsarskoe Selo
Spain
El Capricho, Comillas (Cantabria)
Ukraine
Ruins in Oleksandriia, Bila Tserkva
United Kingdom
England
Scotland
The Caldwell Tower, Lugton, Renfrewshire
Captain Frasers Folly (Uig Tower) Isle of Skye
Dunmore Pineapple, Falkirk
Hume Castle, Berwickshire
Kinnoull Hill Tower, Perth
McCaig's Tower, Oban, Argyll and Bute
National Monument, Edinburgh
Shaw Monument, Prestwick
The Temple near Castle Semple Loch, Renfrewshire
Wales
Clytha Castle, Monmouthshire
Derry Ormond Tower, Ceredigion
Folly Tower at Pontypool
Paxton's Tower, Carmarthenshire
Portmeirion, known as the setting for several television productions including The Prisoner series
Gwrych Castle, Conwy County Borough
United States
Bancroft Tower, Worcester, Massachusetts
Belvedere Castle, New York City
Bishop Castle, outside of Pueblo, Colorado
Coral Castle, Homestead, Florida
Hofmann Tower in Lyons, Illinois
Kingfisher Tower, Otsego Lake (New York)
Körner’s Folly, Kernersville, North Carolina
Lawson Tower, Scituate, Massachusetts
The Parthenon in Nashville, Tennessee
Summersville Lake Lighthouse, Mount Nebo, West Virginia
Vessel, New York, New York
Watts Towers, Watts, Los Angeles
See also
List of garden features
English garden
Folly Fellowship
French landscape garden
Garden hermit
Goat tower
Grotto
Novelty architecture
Ruin value
References
Bibliography
Barlow, Nick et al. Follies of Europe, Garden Art Press, 2009,
Barton, Stuart Monumental Follies Lyle Publications, 1972
Folly Fellowship, The Follies Magazine, published quarterly
Folly Fellowship, The Follies Journal, published annually
Folly Fellowship, The Foll-e, an electronic bulletin published monthly and available free to all
Hatt, E. M. Follies National Benzole, London 1963
Headley, Gwyn Architectural Follies in America, John Wiley & Sons, New York 1996
Headley, Gwyn & Meulenkamp, Wim, Follies — A Guide to Rogue Architecture, Jonathan Cape, London 1990
Headley, Gwyn & Meulenkamp, Wim, Follies — A National Trust Guide, Jonathan Cape, London 1986
Headley, Gwyn & Meulenkamp, Wim, Follies Grottoes & Garden Buildings, Aurum Press, London 1999
Howley, James The Follies and Garden Buildings of Ireland Yale University Press, New Haven & London, 1993
Jackson, Hazelle Shellhouses and Grottoes, Shire Books, England, 2001
Jones, Barbara Follies & Grottoes Constable, London 1953 & 1974
Meulenkamp, Wim Follies — Bizarre Bouwwerken in Nederland en België, Arbeiderpers, Amsterdam, 1995
External links
Landscape garden features
Landscape design history
Building types