On my first trip to England in 1974 I headed straight for Broadway in the Cotswolds. This structure is often called England's Smallest Castle, but the Broadway Tower is really a folly. You can get a commanding view of the surrounding countryside from the top. photo ©Al Cooper
In architecture, a folly is a building constructed primarily for decoration, but either suggesting by its appearance some other purpose, or merely so extravagant that it transcends the normal range of garden ornaments or other class of building to which it belongs. In the original use of the word, these buildings had no other use, but from the 19th to 20th centuries the term was also applied to highly decorative buildings which had secondary practical functions such as housing, sheltering or business use.
5 comments:
What a beautiful and interesting thing to visit while in equally beautiful England.
Your site is truly one of my favorites. I visit almost daily and am always delighted with your pearls of wisdom and the incredible images you post.
Thank you!
Karen
We name our homes, we named our last one "The Folly," not because it was decorative but because it was a "foolish action" to buy a house just a few feet from a golf course. I like your FOLLY better than the one we owned.
Our visit to the Broadway Tower is one of my family's favorite stories to tell - especially when my kids want to make fun of me!
I had planned our trip down to every detail and knew everything I wanted to visit in the Cotswolds. Even though our home is in Miami, the kids were used to the cold since we always traveled during the Easter vacation. When we finally reached the Tower, parked and started walking to it, we were stopped by a huge gated fence with a sign stating that it is only open during the Summer months! Well, I wasn't going to let that stop us, so I told the kids (one teenager and two younger ones at the time)to just jump over the fence, which they did. Then, it was my turn. I had left the B&B that morning thinking I was so fashionably dressed for the freezing temperature with my turtleneck, blazer, boots, gloves and my mid-calf leather skirt, all foreign to me who live in year-round Summer. Well, I got stuck! I couldn't go over the fence nor could I go back! Finally, I had to hike up my skirt (there wasn't a single soul around) and jump! I received a round of applause! What had appeared to be so near us was really quite a way off, it was freezing and there were strong winds, but we made it up the hill to the Tower. It is beautiful, and since it was a clear day the views were spectacular. Then we raced downhill and headed for a pub. I ordered hot tea for the kids and a glass of red wine for me. We sat around a lovely fire and played cards. I remember offering up a prayer and thinking it had been one of the best days in my life!
This has to be one of the best photos of the Tower I have ever seen! I visited the Cotswolds every summer when I lived in the UK... miss it so much. Thanks for the lovely reminder... and lovely eye candy I see on your blog each week :O)
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