Folly is also a synonym for foolishness; see stupidity. A folly is a silly error. For the hardcore band, see Folly (band)

In architecture, a folly is an extravagant, useless, or fanciful building, or a building that appears to be something other than what it is.

The term comes from the fact that such structures have often been dubbed "of architect or builder's Folly", in the sense of foolishness or madness.

Follies are usually found in parks or large grounds of houses and stately homes; they may sometimes have been deliberately built to look partially in ruins. They were especially popular from the end of the 16th century to the 18th century.

The Parc de la Villette in Paris has a number of modern follies by different architects.

Famine Follies

The Irish Potato Famine of 1845-49 led to the building of innumerable follies. Britain's prevalent political tone of the day held that laissez faire, not a welfare state was the appropriate form of civil management. As such, distribution of aid to those in need was seen as wrong. However, to hire the needy for work on useful projects would deprive existing workers of their jobs. Thus, "famine follies" came to be built extensively. These include: roads in the middle of nowhere, between two seemingly random points; Piers in the middle of bogs; etc.

Examples

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Britain

• Fonthill Abbey, Wiltshire, England
• The Folly Tower at Pontypool, Wales
• Freston Tower, near Ipswich, Suffolk
• Severndroog Castle, Shooter's Hill, south-east London
• Rushton Triangular Lodge, Northamptonshire (16th century)
• Stowe School, several follies in the grounds
• The Ashton Memorial, Lancaster, England
• Broadway Tower, The Cotswolds, England
• Hawkstone Park, follies and gardens in Shropshire, England
• King Alfred's Tower, Stourhead, Wiltshire, England
• Williamson's tunnels, probably the largest underground folly in the world, Liverpool, England
• Flounder's Folly, Shropshire, England
• Beckford's Tower, Somerset, England
• The Dunmore Pineapple, Falkirk, Scotland
• McCaig's Tower, Oban, Scotland
• Portmeirion, Wales
• Watkins' Tower, London
• Bettisons Folly, Hornsea, England
• Sway Tower, New Forest
• Old John, Bradgate Park, Leicestershire, England
• Faringdon Folly, Faringdon, Oxfordshire
• Wentworth Follies, Wentworth, South Yorkshire

France

• Désert de Retz, folly garden in Chambourcy near Paris, France (18th century)

Italy

• The Bomarzo Gardens

Russia

• Ruined towers in Peterhof, Tsarskoe Selo, Gatchina, and Tsaritsino
• La Chapelle, Peterhof
• Creaking Pagoda and Chinese Village in Tsarskoe Selo
• Dutch Admiralty in Tsarskoe Selo

United States

• Belvedere Castle, Central Park, New York
• Big Duck, Flanders, New York
• Lucy the Elephant, Margate City, New Jersey
• Winchester Mystery House, San Jose, California
• Ypsilanti, Michigan water tower
• Kasimira’s Castle, Wichita, Kansas (Photo of "Lady Kasimira", with her castle)
  • This should not be confused with The Castle Inn Riverside, a.k.a., Crumm Castle, a.k.a. Campbell Castle, also located in Wichita.

Unclassified

• "The Cage" at Lyme Park
• Peckforton Castle
• Wentworth Woodhouse, several follies in the grounds

See also

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dubbed structures

• "Tesla's million-dollar folly"

External links

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• Follies in the English Landscape
• Follies and Monuments - A comprehensive catalogue of Follies within the UK
• Images of follies on Odd-stuff!
• European Follies - Book to be published 2007

Folly buildings

Folly