Folly

From ArticleWorld

An architectural folly is part of a building, its grounds or compound that seems like a 'mistake' or as if it 'doesn't belong'. Often noticed for being extravagant, pointless, silly, or foolish (thus 'folly'), a folly is essentially a structure that is not what it seems to be. Often, a folly was built as a symbolic expression of an idea. Although most follies more than a century old were built in good faith – either the architect or the owner actually thought that, say, a massive sundial garden would be a good idea – in the last century there has been a move towards self-consciously building follies.

Follies can be found around the world, but the usage and tradition of the folly comes from 16th century England, when one Sir Thomas Tresham built a lodge whose primary function was portraying Tresham's views on the secret symbolism of numbers and the Trinity. Patterns were repeated in threes, as were windows, doors, and more. In the 18th century popular follies included fake 'ruins' inspired by the real ones in Greece and Rome, built by young men on their return from their Grand Tours. Today a folly could as well be an ersatz 20th century Taj Mahal, as the gigantic pineapple building at Dunmore Park in England.