Walking towards Wimpole Folly, March 2021
Yes, I’m a fan of folly. As was Sanderson Miller, an English pioneer of Gothic revival architecture in the eighteenth century. He was regarded by many as the follies architect of the day. In 1751, he was commissioned by Philip Yorke, 2nd Earl of Hardwicke, the then owner of Wimpole Hall, to design a folly ruin on the slopes above the Hall. His sketches were then used to build the ruin under the supervision of the great landscape designer Lancelot ‘Capability’ Brown from 1768-72.
It is now a pleasant stroll across the grounds at Wimpole to explore the recently renovated folly of a medieval castle, stretching for about two hundred feet and embellished with a four-storey Gothic tower. It is still a ruin, as it always has been, but it is now a smart and safe ruin. In fact, it was one of the winners of the 2016 European Union Prize for Cultural Heritage, with the judges remarking, “This is an extraordinary example of a restoration of an iconic ruin which has served as an example for the construction of similar structures in Europe.”
Wimpole Folly, Cambridgeshire, March 2021
Copyright Debbie Smyth, 22 March 2021
Posted as part of Fan Of…
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Travel with Intent 
Love this! I do miss these gorgeous little places you find around the UK. I live in oz not but originally from Manchester.
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Oh, I love Manchester. And it has changed massively in recent years. I was born in Sale, my older sister studied in Manchester in the 1960s, and my daughter was at uni there just a few years ago.
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Awesome pics, Debbie 👏 I find the whole idea behind follies fascinating 😃
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Yes, a long-running fascination with castles, armour and heroism, I reckon 🙂
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i would so love to see that place! Thanks for the lovely pics.
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Me too! Our nearest was at Hardwick Hall country park in Sedgefield. 🙂 🙂
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I just love this, Debbie. Maybe he was the Father of Folly. 🙂
janet
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A good name 🙂
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What a beautiful ruin and very photogenic too.
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It looks like a beautiful place to walk.
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Oh, I’m a Folly Fan too. Here’s one to add to my list of Follies to Find.
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Looked after by National Trust 🙂
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Oh, what a great folly!
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Yes. Amazing what people thought to build for their amusement. That said, I’m sure you’d have one built if you had a mansion and a few acres 🙂
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Hahaha!
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I reckon I could be a fan of follies too Debbie. Only one around here
http://yulgilbarcattle.com.au/about/thearchives/
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That looks like a wonderful building. And what a solid business they have managed to build over time. A great example of determination
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A wonderful property and a great part of the community. One of the new wings in the Grafton Regional Art Gallery is called the Yugilbar Gallery so there must have been a sizeable donation
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