The Folly Fellowship is a UK charity and company limited by guarantee. It was created in 1988 by Gwyn Headley, Wim Meulenkamp and Andrew Plumridge as an amenity society to protect, preserve and promote awareness of
Britain's follies
''Follies'' is a Musical theater, musical with music and lyrics by Stephen Sondheim and a book by James Goldman.
The plot takes place in a crumbling Broadway theater, now scheduled for demolition, previously home to a musical revue (based on t ...
,
grotto
A grotto is a natural or artificial cave used by humans in both modern times and antiquity, and historically or prehistorically. Naturally occurring grottoes are often small caves near water that are usually flooded or often flooded at high ti ...
es and
garden building
A garden building is a structure built in a garden or backyard.
Such structures include:
* cabanas
* follies
* garden offices
* gazeboes
* gloriette
* greenhouses
* nymphaea
* orangeries
* pavilions
* pergolas
* Scandinavian grillhouses
* ...
s. It organises trips throughout the year to follies and holds an annual garden party at a follied garden where the highlight is the cutting of a cake formed in the shape of one of the follies in the garden. Members also receive a range of publications, including three Magazines, each giving information about follies in different depths. Folly Fellowship members include architects, people who live in follies, people who build follies and other interested persons.
The Folly Fellowship has recorded around 1,800 follies and grottoes. It maintains a substantial library of books and papers, a slide collection, and a collection of measured surveys of many follies. They believe that it is difficult to draw a line between architectural extravagance and "true folly", and that a builder does not intend to craft a folly. Even Lord Berners commented of his tower at
Faringdon
Faringdon is a historic market town in the Vale of White Horse, Oxfordshire, England, south-west of Oxford, north-west of Wantage and east-north-east of Swindon. It extends to the River Thames in the north; the highest ground is on the Rid ...
(Oxford): "The great point of this tower, is that it will be entirely useless", but the distinction of 'folly' was awarded later by others.
The Fellowship is regarded as an authority on follies. They are also the caretakers of some notable follies.
References
Sources
* The folly of other
- ''The Times'' October 6, 2007
*Fabulous Follie
- ''BBC Countryfile Nov 7 2007
External links
The Folly Fellowship websiteSimilar organizations:
The (Irish) Follies TrustDe Donderberggroep (Netherlands)
Folly buildings in the United Kingdom,
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