| Browne's Folly | |
|---|---|
 The Folly was once a prominent feature of the area, but has become obscured by the surrounding woodland | |
| Location | Bathford |
| Coordinates | 51.39321,-2.29636 |
| Height | Approx. 12 metres (39 ft) |
| Built | 1845 |
Browne's Folly is a folly tower on the Farleigh Rise near the village of Bathford in Somerset, England. The Folly was designated a Grade II listed building in 1988. [1] It gave its name to Brown's Folly, a 100 acre Site of Special Scientific Interest, notified in 1974. [2]
The tower was built in 1845 by Colonel Wade Browne, the squire of Monkton Farleigh Manor, to provide employment during an agricultural recession. [2] It replaced a semaphore tower which had previously stood on the site. [3] In 1907 the tower was renovated by the owner of the estate, Charles Hobhouse, who had his shooting parties meet at the tower. [4] [5] Demolition was suggested in 1938 but did not take place. [6]
A depiction of the Folly appears on the unofficial coat of arms of Bathford Parish Council. [7]
The tower is made of coursed rubble stone, has a square plan and tapers as it rises. Inside, there is a spiral staircase in some degree of disrepair and with no handrail. The upper stage has round-arched openings but the balustraded handrails are missing the entire way up the staircase. [8] The Folly is structurally sound. While dangerous to climb, the tower is currently open to the public. Since 1998 it has been maintained by the Folly Fellowship, which replaced the roof. [4]
Stairs are a structure designed to bridge a large vertical distance between lower and higher levels by dividing it into smaller vertical distances. This is achieved as a diagonal series of horizontal platforms called steps which enable passage to the other level by stepping from one to another step in turn. Steps are very typically rectangular. Stairs may be straight, round, or may consist of two or more straight pieces connected at angles.
Easton Grey is a small village and civil parish in north Wiltshire, England, on the county boundary with Gloucestershire. The village lies just south of the B4040 road between Malmesbury and Sherston, about 3.5 miles (6 km) west of Malmesbury. The Church of England parish church has a 15th-century tower and was rebuilt in 1836.
Sulham is a village in West Berkshire, England. The larger village of Tidmarsh is adjacent to Sulham on the west side, with Tilehurst on the east side.
Bathampton is a village and civil parish 2 miles (3 km) east of Bath, England on the south bank of the River Avon. The parish has a population of 1,603.
Bath Stone is an oolitic limestone comprising granular fragments of calcium carbonate originally obtained from the Middle Jurassic aged Great Oolite Group of the Combe Down and Bathampton Down Mines under Combe Down, Somerset, England. Its honey colouring gives the World Heritage City of Bath, England, its distinctive appearance. An important feature of Bath Stone is that it is a 'freestone', so-called because it can be sawn or 'squared up' in any direction, unlike other rocks such as slate, which form distinct layers.
Bathford is a village and civil parish 3 miles (4.8 km) east of Bath, England. The parish, which includes Warleigh, has a population of 1,759 and extends over 1,800 acres (7.3 km2).
Barwick is a village and parish in Somerset, England, about 2 miles (3.2 km) south of Yeovil and on the border with Dorset. The parish, which includes the village of Stoford, has a population of 1,221.
Atworth is a village and civil parish in west Wiltshire, England. The village is on the A365 road between Melksham and Box, about 2.5 miles (4 km) northwest of Melksham and 4 miles (6 km) northeast of Bradford on Avon. The hamlet of Purlpit lies east of Atworth village, and in the south of the parish are the small village of Great Chalfield and the hamlet of Little Chalfield.
Beckford's Tower, originally known as Lansdown Tower, is an architectural folly built in neo-classical style on Lansdown Hill, just outside Bath, Somerset, England. The tower and its attached railings are designated as a Grade I listed building. Along with the adjoining Lansdown Cemetery it is Grade II listed on the Register of Historic Parks and Gardens of special historic interest in England.
Monkton Farleigh is a village and civil parish in west Wiltshire, England, on high ground 3 miles (5 km) northwest of Bradford-on-Avon, and a similar distance east of the city of Bath. The parish includes the hamlets of Farleigh Wick and Pinckney Green. In the west and northwest the parish is bounded by Somerset.
Farleigh is a village and former civil parish, now in the parish of Chelsham and Farleigh in the Tandridge district of Surrey, England. It is located in the North Downs AONB and the Metropolitan Green Belt, 4.5 miles (7.2 km) south east of Croydon, 13.4 miles (21.6 km) south of London and 25 miles (40 km) WNE of Surrey's county town, Guildford. In 1961 the parish had a population of 1285.
Browne's Folly, or Brown's Folly, is a folly tower sitting within a 39.9 hectare biological and geological Site of Special Scientific Interest (SSSI) near the English village of Bathford in Somerset, notified in 1974: the site itself is known as the Farleigh Down Stone Quarry and is managed as a nature reserve by the Avon Wildlife Trust (AWT). The tower was built in 1848 and is a Grade II listed building.
Temple Church, also known as Holy Cross Church, is a ruined church in Redcliffe, Bristol, England. It is on the site of a previous, round church of the Knights Templar, which they built on land granted to them in the second quarter of the 12th century by Robert of Gloucester. In 1313 the Knights Hospitaller acquired the church, following the suppression of the Templars. By the early 14th century, the church served as the parish church for the area known as Temple Fee. From around the same time, the rebuilding of the church on a rectangular plan started. This was completed by 1460, with the construction of a leaning west tower. The Hospitallers would lose ownership of the church in 1540 during the Dissolution of the Monasteries.
Wainhouse Tower is a folly in the parish of King Cross, on the south-west side of Halifax, Calderdale, West Yorkshire, in England. At 275 feet (84 m), it is the tallest structure in Calderdale and the tallest folly in the world, and was erected between 1871 and 1875. The main shaft is octagonal in shape and has a square base and 369 steps leading to the first of two viewing platforms which is open to the public, and a total of 405 to the top viewing platform which is usually closed to the public. The tower is open to the public during bank holidays, and is a Grade II* listed building.
Monkton Farleigh Manor is a Grade I listed country house close to the village of Monkton Farleigh in Wiltshire, England. Built on the site of a Cluniac priory founded in 1125, the house is about 3 miles (5 km) northwest of Bradford-on-Avon and 4 miles (6 km) east of the city of Bath.
All Saints' Church is a Church of England parish church in West Dulwich, South London. It is a red brick building designed in a Gothic Revival style by George Fellowes Prynne and built 1888–91. It is Grade I listed.
Chilton Polden is a rural village and civil parish, situated close to Edington on the Somerset Levels to the north of the Polden Hills in Somerset, England.
Eridge Park is a village and historic park located north of the parish of Rotherfield, to the north-east of Crowborough in East Sussex, England. The adjoining home of the same name is the seat of the Marquess of Abergavenny. The area is a biological Site of Special Scientific Interest.
St. Peter and St. Paul, known commonly as Dagenham Parish Church, is a Church of England parish church in the London Borough of Barking and Dagenham, England, formerly part of Essex. It is of medieval origin, largely rebuilt at the beginning of the nineteenth century.
St Mary the Virgin, Mortlake, is a parish church in Mortlake, in the London Borough of Richmond upon Thames. It is part of the Church of England and the Anglican Communion. The rector is The Revd Canon Dr Ann Nickson.