The Follies and Garden Buildings of Ireland (1993)

The subject of this book is the varied group of fanciful buildings which feature regularly in the landscapes of Ireland. Although there have been several previous books on follies, this is the first to concentrate solely on Ireland. Most of the buildings examined in this book were built in the 18th and 19th centuries simply to enhance the landscape: they serve no practical purpose other than that of pleasing the eye. Howley covers all these buildings from the sophisticated temples designed by the architectural giants of the period, to the crude attempts of the enthusiastic amateur. He looks at all the different types of building – obelisks, grottoes, monumental columns etc – and how their designs evolved, and places them with the architectural and historical context of the time. To do so, Howley examines the eighteenth century changes in garden design, as well as the social and philosophical ideas behind the building and design of follies. The book concludes with an appendix which lists over 500 follies and garden buildings on a county-by-county basis throughout the whole of Ireland