Folly Castle

By Crusader1307

With their origins seen around the 16th Century AD, Folly Castles were not defensive/offensive structures. They were in fact forms of decorative buildings and structures that mimicked real Castles and Fortifications. The term ''Folly'' was applied to the wealthy – who could well afford to construct such ''wasteful'' structures out of vanity (if nothing else). Originally such structures (seen throughout Europe) emulated Ancient Roman and Greek structures (Temples, etc), which were placed throughout massive gardens as a form of decoration. Later in the 18th Century, such Folly structures began to emulate 13th Century Castles. It became popular in England and France in the 19th Century to begin to construct massive Folly Castles to live in. Large Castles or single Keeps were built – often spending no expense to built more gaudy and expansive structure. In some cases, many locals assumed (in time) – that these were actual Castles and historical structures (simply modified for the time).