Audley End House, follies and folly towers at follytowers.com (original) (raw)

A u d l e y E n d

( T o o M u c h f o r a K i n g )

"Too much for a King, but it might do very well for a Lord Treasurer". These words were reputed to have been said by King James 1, about the Jacobean Audley End house, built to supposedly entertain the King, by the first Earl of Suffolk. The Earl was the Lord Treasurer to James I, and he built Audley at the start of the 17th century between the years of 1603-1616, at a reputed cost of £200,000.
Originally the site of Walden Abbey, a Benedictine monastery (closed when Henry VIII dissolved the monasteries), Audley End grew to be one of the largest houses in Europe at the time, the present house though is now only a third of its original size, after the rest was demolished in the early 1700's, see the difference here.
Interestingly the Lord Treasurer and his wife were later found guilty of embezzlement, involving a sum similar to the cost of the construction, maybe the funding for this magnificent 'Palace' came from the taxpayer initially ?

The Follies:-
The park that the house resides in has several interesting follies, as was the fashion of the time.

The Temple of Concord. Designed by Robert William Brettingham in 1790

Photograph By Dr Stephen Hiles of Bournemouth

This marvellous structure was built to celebrate the recovery of George III, who appeared at the time to be suffering from bouts of madness - now known to have most likely been the effects of a disease called Porphyria. For another example of a folly erected to commemorate King George's recovery and an explanation of the disease, see my page on the Ailesbury Column.

Celebration it seems is a central feature for the follies here, as we also have the Ionic Temple of Ring Hill, built to celebrate our victory in the Seven Years War. This was designed by a certain Robert Adam, more known for his famous fire-places that are to be found in many of the country's grand houses. He also built a nearby bridge over the river Cam, and a splendid teahouse cum summer house, perched on a Palladian bridge.

Photograph By Dr Stephen Hiles of Bournemouth

As would be expected of any great folly collection, we also have the obligatory column, in this case the Doric style, Springwood Column erected in 1774 to the memory of Lady Portsmouth. The landscape around this structure has definitely changed over the intervening years as it is now situated on the edge of the adjoining golf course.
How this situation occurred is unknown, although Mark Twain obviously had the right idea to my mind, when he said

"Golf is a good walk spoiled".

Photograph By Dr Stephen Hiles of Bournemouth

Co-Ords: 552840 238130 / TL 528381 Temple of Concorde

551550 238330 / TL 515383 Ionic Temple

552680 238940 / TL 526389 Obelisk

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