[MR] British Follies, and Their Relation to SCA Interests

[Garth Groff via Atlantia]

Noble Friends,

Lately I've been thinking about follies in England, Wales and Scotland. 
Follies are not really an SCA-period topic, but may be in great of 
interest to some of us because follies often imitate medieval structures.

A folly is/was usually a building or other construction of artistic, 
whimsical, or downright eccentric style added to gardens or landscapes. 
These often represented structures from past periods. The craze for 
follies was mainly among the British rich, but it leaked down to the 
middle classes who also wanted to show off their artistic taste. Follies 
were also widely seen in the United States. Most of the great follies 
were erected in the 18th and 19th centuries, but continue to be built 
even today. Some claim concrete garden gnomes are a low-cost, modern 
extension of the folly tradition.

Among the most popular follies were Grecian or Roman-style temples, and 
these still adorn the great gardens of England. Faux ruins were also 
popular, and may estates were decorated with crumbling castles built 
especially to amuse the owners and guests. Towers and even small-sized 
castles built as functional buildings were also seen. Castle Coch in 
Wales, which I mentioned here a few days ago is an excellent example (in 
case you missed the post: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Castell_Coch ). 
Another is the Citadel, an 1830 dower house, now run as a B&B (Lady 
Sarah and I stayed there, and we highly recommend it): 
http://www.thecitadelweston.co.uk/ . One should not overlook Scottish 
baronial architecture (and its English equivalent), in which manor 
houses were built or rebuilt in a faux-castle style, often with bizarre 
results. The ultimate folly has to be Portmerion in Wales, a complete 
village of delightfully eclectic/eccentric buildings. You've all seen 
this one--it's "The Village" where THE PRISONER television series was 
filmed: http://www.portmeirion-village.com/ and 
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Portmeirion .

One of the most famous folly builders was John "Mad Jack" Fuller, an 
eccentric Sussex squire: 
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/John_%27Mad_Jack%27_Fuller . Mad Jack 
built a number of follies on his estate, the most famous being the 
"sugar loaf", so called because it resembles a cone of sugar, the way 
this sweetener was sold at the time. Jack boasted to the minister of a 
nearby church that he could see the church's steeple from his estate. 
The cleric claimed this was impossible. A small bet was made, with the 
affair was to be settled when the churchman next dined at Mad Jack's 
home a few days later. When Jack returned to his home, he discovered the 
cleric was right--the steeple could not be seen. So Jack had his workman 
erect the sugar loaf building on the horizon to mimic the steeple. Mad 
Jack collected his bet, though no doubt the churchman later learned how 
he had been gulled. The sugar loaf is still standing. The Wikipedia 
article shows Mad Jack's tomb, a pyramid, which is a folly in itself. To 
add to the oddness, supposedly there is no casket inside. Rather Mad 
Jack is said to be seated in a chair with a bottle of port and a glass 
at hand (likely true), and broken glass strewn around the body so the 
Devil couldn't come for him (probably folk legend). Whether this is 
really true or not doesn't matter, it fits right in with Jack's crazy 
lifestyle.

Follies even extended to living people. In the 19th century there was a 
craze for "garden hermits" (which actually dates to France in the 15th 
century). These were often employees of rich estate owners, paid to live 
in follies or grottoes, portraying recluses for the amusement of guests: 
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Garden_hermit . Hawkstone Park near 
Shrewsbury once boasted a live garden hermit who lived in a grotto on 
the property. When the hermit died, he was replaced by a cleaver 
automaton that continued to entertain guest for years.

In the SCA we have had several members who have built castles, or 
castle-like buildings. Elchenburg Castle, on the site where War of the 
Wings is held, is most certainly a folly: 
http://warofthewings.com/index.html .

Yours Aye,


Lord Mungo Napier, Who Wants a Castle of His Own