Friday, October 03, 2008

The Shedworker's Bookshelf - Follies, Grottoes & Garden Buildings

Of all the books on follies and other shedlike atmospheres, this one (from Aurum Press but sadly out of print) by Gywn Headley and Wim Meulenkamp - who founded The Folly Fellowship - is my favourite. Follies, Grottoes and Garden Buildings is a gazeteer of follies, pavilions, gazebos, pagodas and the like all around Scotland, Wales and England written in a very personal (and I think it's fair to say sometimes pleasantly quirky) style. The book, illustrated throughout, is divided into counties with details of when the folly was built, its map reference and then a short description of its history. It also has a useful glossary and a highly impressive bibliography. While lovely to browse through, it is nicely sized for the car where it really should live while you're driving around. Who, for example, could pass up the chance to see Jack the Treacle Eater if they were in the neighbourhood.

1 comment:

  1. Anonymous7:54 PM

    Thanks for the plug! I do the website for the Folly Fellowship, and Shed fans are welcome here, even though the buildings on show are generally grander than sheds. I'm presently building a shed which aims to combine the style of a corrugated iron chapel and the Pump Rooms at Tenbury Wells. I'll send a picture when it's finished.

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