Follies – those whimsical buildings in the form of towers, temples and faux-castles – were built for reasons as quirky as the structures themselves. One was constructed to commemorate a horse that saved its owner; another to win a bet; and, during the 17th and 18th centuries, many were built to recreate a corner of ancient Greece or Rome in the grounds of country piles when sons of the family returned from their grand tours of Europe.
“Alternatively, they could be built from a desire that overwhelmed all reason: the rarer and much more wonderful folly of passion,” says Gwyn Headley, a fanatic and author of several books on the subject. Most of the eccentric constructions were not built to be lived in – indeed they are often described as being buildings without purpose. In reality, however, even the most bizarre-looking folly has a practical use. Jack the Treacle Eater, for instance, one of several follies built by George Messiter in Somerset, has the function of marking land boundaries.
