Folly
The best
plan is to profit by the folly of others.
Pliny the Elder (23/4
AD-79 AD)
Folly,
from the French folie, is a synonym for foolishness, often involving
poor judgement, or recklessness.
Was it
folly that led to the fashion for constructing decorative but apparently
purposeless buildings?
Follies were frequently built in the grand gardens
of English and French estates.
Some
ancient estates had genuine ruins in their grounds, but others designed their
own, as a romantic expression.
The
fashion for follies began in the 16th century, and by the 18th
century they were extremely popular. They took many forms, including exotic temples,
ruined castles, and other unexpected manifestations. Some, in France for example,
were romantic cottages and mills. Others found their inspiration in landscape
paintings.
Follies
are found across the world, but they are particularly numerous in the United Kingdom,
which has thousands. However, England is known as the country in which more were
built than anywhere else.
Famine Follies
refers to the works built during the 1845-1849 Great Famine of Ireland. In an
effort to provide relief for desperately impoverished people, projects were devised
that would not take work away from existing workers. Famine follies included deliberately
pointless structures like roads which went nowhere, piers built in bogs, and arches
leading to nothing.
While the Famine Follies might appear useless, at the time it did get people working that might otherwise have sat at home brooding and possibly suffering mentally because of that brooding and feeling useless. Some follies, like gazebos etc might even be useful for things like garden parties.
ReplyDeleteIt was a way of helping without being seen to provide 'charity.'
DeleteI learned about follies by watching British mysteries.
ReplyDeleteFollies of all sorts . . .
DeleteThis is making me think about our trip to Europe this summer...will there be enough jet fuel to return home...what folly awaits us fools for planning a trip at the same time the orange shitpile started a war to distract from his illegal behaviour. Yes...I'm a bit bitter. Sorry.
ReplyDeleteI think anyone who's planning a big trip is thinking about the wisdom or feasibility of it.
DeleteI can understand your bitterness - you're not alone.
I never heard of the famine follies. Sounds like a pointless version of the later wpa, of the Roosevelt administration, which at least provided useful work to save people from starvation.
ReplyDeleteMany projects prove to be useless eventually, whether planned that way or not. HS2 springs to mind - not entirely useless, perhaps, but unfinished and over budget.
DeleteHS2?
DeleteHS2 is Britain’s high‑speed railway project, designed to create a faster rail link between London, the West Midlands, and, originally, further north. It began construction in 2019, after years of planning and enabling works.
DeleteStourhead looks amazing, partially because of the pantheon and also because of the lake, lawns and gorgeous trees. The site facing the water was certainly made for a monument of some sort, but imagine if they had built a plastic hamburger stall :(
ReplyDeleteThere are a number of follies at Stourhead, all located around that beautiful lake. Please, no hamburger stands . . .
DeleteWe had a grand view of Corrin's Folly from our previous house. It was visible for miles around.
ReplyDeletehttps://www.visitisleofman.com/experience/corrins-folly-p1295731
That's quite a view from your previous house. What a sad tale, though, of Thomas Corrin.
DeleteFountains Abbey and Studley Royal is a good example for both: genuine ruins (the abbey, of course) and several follies dotted around the vast parkland. I love them all, but nothing compares to the atmosphere of a genuine ruin.
ReplyDeleteYou're right, of course, but some follies were built as places to rest and reflect, or to grant a grand view, rather than faux ruins.
DeleteMaybe our new garden room we are creating should be called our folly, unlike the ones in your post ours is very close to our house. We are calling it our garden room!
ReplyDeleteOoh, exciting!
DeleteI suppose it was just to look out on something pretty. Though forgetting of course that may be whole villages had been removed as eyesores. The follies blended in well with the landscaping of the grounds, of which we should be grateful, not forgetting the ha-ha to keep the animals from the gardens. Thelmax
ReplyDeleteYes, the hoi-polloi were not always treated sympathetically.
DeleteI find this interesting. During the Depression here in the 1930s the president created what was called the CCC. To put men to work and earn money even though they were usually very far from home.
ReplyDeleteIt's necessary to feel that money is being earned through proper work. Pride and self-worth are important.
DeleteWilliam Lyon McKenzie King, one of our prime ministers, maintained an estate in Gatineau, Québec, and filled the grounds with follies. It is now open to the public.
ReplyDeleteInteresting.
DeleteI'm thinking some follies around a big estate may be practical as shelters from rain (or sun)... In Sweden they're more commonly made of wood, so not all that many are preserved for centuries.
ReplyDeleteI quite like the idea of arches leading to nothing, there is one of that kind in the Narnia books, and of course it only *seems* to lead to "nothing"... ;)
Some were definitely practical. You make a good point about arches leading 'nowhere.'
DeleteI quite like the idea of spending money on something quite purposeless, but ultimately money is better spent on the starving Biafrans and the local cat and dog care shelter. Says he who has just bought a new car, but I do donate ad hoc to animal welfare charities.
ReplyDeleteEnjoy your new car. You deserve it.
DeleteSeems odd to construct a building with absolutely no purpose. But interesting all the same. The famine follies were a good plan though
ReplyDeletePeople with money find ways to spend it!
ReplyDeleteA road to nowhere aptly describes folly.
ReplyDeleteI sometimes feel we're all on the road to nowhere . . .
DeleteThanks for the photo of Stourhead, I used to live fairly close to it and it bought back memories x
ReplyDeleteAlison in Devon x
What a lovely place to live near.
DeleteInteresting. When I first saw the image in your post, I thought it was a fancy mausoleum.
ReplyDeleteI can see why you thought that.
DeleteThere is a public park in the city where my husband lived for part of his childhood that was once an estate and it has some structures I would call follies. I never knew about their history and certainly did not know about the Famine follies. I don't even know what to think about the latter.
ReplyDeleteI wonder how the men felt, building something useless. That cannot have made them feel good about themselves.
DeleteI've come across a few Follies when visiting various places within the UK and they can look quite beautiful.
ReplyDeleteAll the best Jan
They can. Apparently, Kew Gardens has a folly trail!
DeleteThis is so interesting and well written. Thank you.
ReplyDeleteThank you, Nicole.
DeleteSeveral of the older grand neighborhoods in my area have decorative stonework that I guess could be described as a folly.
ReplyDeleteIt's extraordinary, really, how people will spend their money.
DeleteThey tend to exist on large estates/stately homes owned by very wealthy people.
ReplyDeleteSorry, this is Addy, I forgot to delete the anonymous !!
Delete😍
DeleteI've never heard of "famine follies" -- how bizarre!
ReplyDeleteIt would have been better to give them meaningful work.
DeleteOnce again you've found an interesting subject on which to educate me. I love and can only agree with Pliny's sentiment.
ReplyDeleteI think we can do a lot of profiting from the folly of others right now!
DeleteI only know of follies from Agatha Christie. They turn up in a few of her stories, usually with a body close by
ReplyDeleteThey're good places for bodies, as they're usually remote on vast estates!
DeleteI know of several follies here in the the States but Europe puts us to shame...unless, of course, you are speaking of follies such as the California high speed rail and other colossal wastes of taxpayers' dollars of the same ilk.
ReplyDeleteWe have such grand follies, too - a waste of taxpayers' money and nothing to be done about them.
ReplyDelete