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All the United Kingdom England London Ruined Victorian Folly
AO Edited

Ruined Victorian Folly

Remnants of a Victorian garden feature sitting in public woodland.

London, England

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Ruins of a Victorian folly in Sydenham Hill Woods, London, UK. (Mark Bowler/Atlas Obscura)   Facebook771620304 / Atlas Obscura User
Ruins of a Victorian folly in Sydenham Hill Woods, London, UK. (Mark Bowler/Atlas Obscura)   Facebook771620304 / Atlas Obscura User
Detail from ruined Victorian Folly in Sydenham Hill Woods, London, UK. (Mark Bowler/Atlas Obscura)   Facebook771620304 / Atlas Obscura User
  SEANETTA / Atlas Obscura User
  SEANETTA / Atlas Obscura User
Folly upper right   SEANETTA / Atlas Obscura User
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About

Hidden in a small inner city wood are the remains of a lavish Victorian garden feature. The concrete faux-stone archways, rockery, and ornamental stream were once in the former grounds of the house Fairwood at 53 Sydenham Hill, built in about 1864. First occupied by Alderman David Henry Stone, who in 1874 was Lord Mayor of London. Shortly after moving to Fairwood Alderman Stone commissioned James Pulham & Son to build the folly.

A folly is described an expensive ornamental structure that serves no practical purpose other than it is decorative. especially a spire or mock-Gothic ruin constructed in a large public space or garden.

The site can be accessed all year via several of the muddy paths that snake through the woods, adjacent to Sydenham Golf Course. Google Maps shows the area as Dulwich Woods (the two areas of woodland interlink).

Related Tags

Follies Architectural Oddities Follies And Grottoes Architecture

Know Before You Go

Wear sensible and practical shoes. Though the path at times is paved, there are sections that be quite muddy. There are information boards and maps dotted around, especially at various entrances. Highly suggested to take a photo of  one of the maps to use should one become disorientated.

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Facebook771620304

Edited By

Akki14, SEANETTA, simesgreen

  • Akki14
  • SEANETTA
  • simesgreen

Published

March 21, 2011

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Sources
  • Wikipedia: Sydenham Hill Wood: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sydenham_Hill_Wood
  • Geograph: Sydenham Woods - A Folly: http://www.geograph.org.uk/photo/2208729
  • 3D model: https://sketchfab.com/3d-models/sydenham-hill-folly-7f975345e4f34692ae0c3f0efa7723c1
Ruined Victorian Folly
51 Sydenham Hill
Sydenham
London, England, SE26 6TU
United Kingdom
51.43448, -0.067419
Get Directions

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