{{Short description|Ornamental structure}} A '''folly tower''' is a tower that has been built as an architectural folly, that is, constructed for ornamental rather than practical reasons. Folly towers are common in Great Britain and Ireland, and often do have some practical value as landmarks, or as viewpoints, unlike other types of folly.
==List of folly towers== {| class="wikitable sortable nowraplinks" |+ Folly towers ! Name !! Location !! County !! Year built !! Notes |- | Beckford's Tower || Bath || Somerset || 1827 || built by owner as a library and retreat |- | Bettison's Folly || Hornsea || East Riding of Yorkshire || 19th century || |- | Boot's Folly || Strines Reservoir || South Yorkshire || 1927 || built as a job creation scheme |- | Brizlee Tower || Alnwick || Northumberland || 1781 || |- | Broadway Tower || Broadway || Worcestershire || 1794 || |- | Brown's Folly || Bathford || Somerset || 1848 || |- | Castleboy Tower || Castleboy || Co. Galway || c.1800-1840 || Formerly part of Castleboy country house |- |Charborough Tower |Charborough Park |Dorset |1790 | |- | Clavell Tower || Isle of Purbeck || Dorset || 1830 || used as an observatory |- | Conygar Tower || Dunster || Somerset || 1775 || |- | Cranmore Tower || Cranmore || Somerset || 1860s || |- | Culloden Tower || Richmond || North Yorkshire || 1746 || built to commemorate Cumberland's victory in the Battle of Culloden |- | Faringdon Folly || Faringdon || Oxfordshire || 1935 || |- | Flounder's Folly || Craven Arms || Shropshire || 1838 || |- | Fox Tower, Brough || Brough || Cumbria || 1775 || |- | Freston Tower || Freston || Suffolk || {{circa|15th}}–17th<br />century || |- | Gothic Boathouse || Gunnersbury Park || London || {{circa|1835}} || |- |Hadlow Tower || Hadlow || Kent || 1838 || |- | Hartcliff Folly || Penistone || South Yorkshire || 1856 || |- | King Alfred's Tower || Brewham || Somerset || 1760s || built to commemorate the end of the Seven Years' War and accession of George III |- | Kingfisher Tower || Otsego Lake || New York || 1876 || built as a job creation scheme |- | Luttrell's Tower || Calshot || Hampshire || {{circa|1780}} || possibly built as a landmark for smugglers |- | Nicolle Tower || Mont Ubé || Jersey || 1821 || |- | Paxton's Tower || Llanarthney || Carmarthenshire || 1800s || |- | Penny Tower || Galway || County Galway || 1822 || built as a relief work during the Irish Famine, for which workers were paid a penny a day<ref name=Kenny/> |- | Perrot's Folly || Edgbaston || West Midlands || 1758 || |- | Folly Tower, Pontypool || Pontypool || Torfaen || 1760s || built as an observatory |- | Siddons Tower || near Cork Harbour || County Cork, Ireland || {{circa|1777}}<ref name=Tone1998/> || named for actress Sarah Siddons<ref name=Howley2004/> |- | Stratton's Tower || Little Berkhamsted || Hertfordshire || 1789 || served as a weather station |- | Uig Tower || Uig || Skye || 1860 || |- | Volta Tower || Finedon || Northants || 1865 || |- | Wainhouse Tower || Halifax || West Yorkshire || 1875 || served as a factory chimney |- | Watkin's Tower || Wembley || London || 1895 || not completed |- | Wilder's Folly || Sulham || Berks || 1789 || built as a belvedere, also served as a dovecote |- |}
==Notes== {{Reflist|30em|refs= <ref name=Howley2004>{{cite book |last=Howley |first=James |title=The Follies and Garden Buildings of Ireland |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=xrwOGidTbKgC&pg=PA64 |year=2004 |publisher=Yale University Press |isbn=978-0-300-10225-3 |pages=63–64 }}</ref> <ref name=Kenny>{{cite news |title=Spires House, Shantalla |first=Tom |last=Kenny |date=June 21, 2018 |newspaper=Galway Advertiser |url=http://www.advertiser.ie/galway/article/101430/spires-house-shantalla |url-status=live|archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20180728200000/http://www.advertiser.ie/galway/article/101430/spires-house-shantalla |archivedate=2018-07-28 }}</ref> <ref name=Tone1998>{{cite book |last1=Tone |first1=Theobald Wolfe |last2=Radcliff |first2=John |last3=Jebb |first3=Richard |title=Belmont Castle, Or, Suffering Sensibility |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=emdbAAAAMAAJ&q=%22Cork+in+1777%22 |year=1998 |page=66 n.1 |publisher=Lilliput Press |isbn=978-1-901866-06-3 }}</ref> }}
==References== * {{cite book |last=Barton |first=Stuart |title=Monumental Follies: An Exposition on the Eccentric Edifices of Britain |url=https://archive.org/details/monumentalfollie0000bart |url-access=registration |publisher=Lyle Publications |year=1972 }} * [http://follies.org.uk/index.php/journal/ ''The Follies Journal''] (published annually). The Folly Fellowship. {{ISSN|1474-7669}} * [http://follies.org.uk/index.php/magazine/ ''Follies''] (magazine, published thrice yearly). The Folly Fellowship. {{ISSN|0963-9004}}. * {{cite book |last1=Headley |first1=Gwyn |last2=Meulenkamp |first2=Wim |title=Follies — A National Trust Guide |publisher=Jonathan Cape |location=London |year=1986 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=cZlMAAAAYAAJ |isbn=978-0-224-02105-0 }} * {{cite book |last=Howley |first=James |chapter=Towers |type=chapter |title=The Follies and Garden Buildings of Ireland |chapter-url=https://books.google.com/books?id=xrwOGidTbKgC&pg=PA48 |year=2004 |publisher=Yale University Press |isbn=978-0-300-10225-3 |pages=48–69 }}
==External links== * [http://www.folliesofeurope.com/ Follies of Europe] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140107193551/http://folliesofeurope.com/ |date=2014-01-07 }} * [http://www.follies.org.uk/ Folly Fellowship]
Category:Folly towers