Wilder's Folly (also known as Pincent's Kiln, Nunhide Tower and Flint's Folly
) is a
folly
In architecture, a folly is a building constructed primarily for decoration, but suggesting through its appearance some other purpose, or of such extravagant appearance that it transcends the range of usual garden buildings.
Eighteenth-cent ...
and
dovecote
A dovecote or dovecot , doocot ( Scots) or columbarium is a structure intended to house pigeons or doves. Dovecotes may be free-standing structures in a variety of shapes, or built into the end of a house or barn. They generally contain pige ...
at Nunhide, near the village of
Sulham
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.
Governance
The two villages of Sulham and Tidmarsh share the combined civil parish council of ...
in the
English
English usually refers to:
* English language
* English people
English may also refer to:
Peoples, culture, and language
* ''English'', an adjective for something of, from, or related to England
** English national ide ...
county of
Berkshire
Berkshire ( ; in the 17th century sometimes spelt phonetically as Barkeshire; abbreviated Berks.) is a historic county in South East England. One of the home counties, Berkshire was recognised by Queen Elizabeth II as the Royal County of Berk ...
.
History
![Wilder's Folly from the south](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/4/40/Wilder%27s_Folly_from_the_south.jpg)
The brick tower or
belvedere Belvedere (from Italian, meaning "beautiful sight") may refer to:
Places
Australia
*Belvedere, Queensland, a locality in the Cassowary Coast Region
Africa
* Belvedere (Casablanca), a neighborhood in Casablanca, Morocco
*Belvedere, Harare, Zi ...
on Nunhide Hill was built in 1769 by Reverend Henry Wilder (1744–1814) while he was courting Joan Thoyts (c. 1748–1837), younger sister of John Thoyts of
Sulhamstead House.
Wilder constructed the tower so that it could be seen from Thoyts' home as well as from his own residence,
Sulham House. Sulham House can still be seen through the south arch of Wilder's Folly looking north, but Sulhamstead House is no longer visible from the top of the hill. Wilder and Thoyts were married on 13 June 1769, and had eleven children.
The building featured an open ground-level
arcade
Arcade most often refers to:
* Arcade game, a coin-operated game machine
** Arcade cabinet, housing which holds an arcade game's hardware
** Arcade system board, a standardized printed circuit board
* Amusement arcade, a place with arcade games
* ...
. The painted first floor room was accessed by an exterior wooden staircase.
The two floors above ground level featured glazed
ogive
An ogive ( ) is the roundly tapered end of a two-dimensional or three-dimensional object. Ogive curves and surfaces are used in engineering, architecture and woodworking.
Etymology
The earliest use of the word ''ogive'' is found in the 13th c ...
windows. The
castellated
A battlement in defensive architecture, such as that of city walls or castles, comprises a parapet (i.e., a defensive low wall between chest-height and head-height), in which gaps or indentations, which are often rectangular, occur at interva ...
top contained a flat lead roof.
In the late 19th century the building's windows were bricked up and the tower became a
dovecote
A dovecote or dovecot , doocot ( Scots) or columbarium is a structure intended to house pigeons or doves. Dovecotes may be free-standing structures in a variety of shapes, or built into the end of a house or barn. They generally contain pige ...
.
Footnotes
Sources
*
External links
{{Commons category-inline, Wilder's Folly
Towers completed in 1769
Buildings and structures in Berkshire
Folly towers in England
Towers in Berkshire
West Berkshire District