Folly
June 20, 2006
Can you see something odd in the photo below?
Let’s get closer.
You might think, from this distance, that this building could actually be useful in some way. Then you walk there (thanks Alison for the arty shot!) :
And you realise it’s an arch, on top of a hill. It is called a folly, which, according to the OED, is a popular name for any costly structure considered to have shown folly in the builder. This particular one is in Slindon, West Sussex, but there are a lot of them all around Britain. They were built for various reasons: to enhance the landscape, for contemplation, banqueting, and to provide work to the local population.
Catalogue of follies all over the UK
Posted by céline, in Words, on June 20, 2006"A folly" what a great name...really nice scenic photos...first and second ones look like a Trojan horse of sorts...then you realise hmmm...your blog is so insightful! Merci
Posted by Lizzle on June 20, 2006 4:03 PMThere's a really beautiful folly in Dublin called 'Casino at Merino'. It was built to look like a temple, and from the outside appears to be just one room. But inside there are actually 16 rooms. If you are ever in Dublin it is worth checking out--you can read more at http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Casino_at_Marino
Posted by Brent Hill on June 29, 2006 7:28 AMPrevious: June 16, 2006
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