33-638: The Dunmore Pineapple is a folly in Dunmore Park, near Airth in Stirlingshire , Scotland . In 1995 it was ranked "as the most bizarre building in Scotland ". Dunmore Park , the ancestral home of the Earls of Dunmore , includes a large country mansion, Dunmore House, and grounds which contain, among other things, two large walled gardens . Walled gardens were a necessity for any great house in
66-478: A general term, "folly" is usually applied to a small building that appears to have no practical purpose or the purpose of which appears less important than its striking and unusual design, but the term is ultimately subjective, so a precise definition is not possible. The concept of the folly is subjective and it has been suggested that the definition of a folly "lies in the eyes of the beholder". Typical characteristics include: Follies began as decorative accents on
99-435: A northern climate in the eighteenth and nineteenth century, as a high wall of stone or brick helped to shelter the garden from wind and frost, and could create a microclimate in which the ambient temperature could be raised several degrees above that of the surrounding landscape. This allowed the cultivation of fruits and vegetables, and also of ornamental plants, which could not otherwise survive that far north. The larger of
132-447: A single colour from top to bottom) and are of a consistent width. Together, they draw the eye upwards in a single smooth motion. The height of the building, from the bottom of the lower floor to the top of the pineapple, is exactly half the width of the structure. Additionally, the width of the portico and pineapple matches the height of the south façade. Together, these elements, along with the four equally spaced urn-shaped chimneys, add to
165-536: A use which was lost later, such as hunting towers. Follies are misunderstood structures, according to The Folly Fellowship , a charity that exists to celebrate the history and splendour of these often neglected buildings. Follies ( French : fabriques ) were an important feature of the English garden and French landscape garden in the 18th century, such as Stowe and Stourhead in England and Ermenonville and
198-571: A “later and clumsier,” panel bearing a relief carving of a heart charged with a cinquefoil and inscribed with the motto Fidelis in Adversis . The design and motto are taken from the Douglas-Hamilton coat of arms , and probably commemorate the marriage, in 1803, of George Murray , the 5th Earl of Dunmore, to Lady Susan Douglas-Hamilton, daughter of Archibald Hamilton, 9th Duke of Hamilton . The intricately carved stone pineapple, which
231-475: Is in accord with the general meaning of the French word folie ; however, another older meaning of this word is "delight" or "favourite abode". This sense included conventional, practical buildings that were thought unduly large or expensive, such as Beckford's Folly , an extremely expensive early Gothic Revival country house that collapsed under the weight of its tower in 1825, 12 years after completion. As
264-605: Is often considered one of the greatest follies in the United Kingdom, featuring on lists of the best follies from the news aggregator Huffington Post , environmental television series and magazine Countryfile and gardener-presenter Alan Titchmarsh . In 1995 it was ranked "as the most bizarre building in Scotland ". Folly In architecture , a folly is a building constructed primarily for decoration, but suggesting through its appearance some other purpose, or of such extravagant appearance that it transcends
297-402: Is situated between the two bothies, forms an elaborate cupola atop an octagonal pavilion, with sash windows topped with Gothic ogee arches on seven sides and a door, topped with an ogee transom , on the eighth. The door, on the north side, exits onto the upper level of the garden. Inside the pavilion, the stone walls are gently curved, so that the room is circular rather than octagonal. Even
330-533: Is the family surname of the Dukes of Hamilton and Earls of Selkirk . Anne Hamilton, 3rd Duchess of Hamilton , was the only child of James Hamilton, 1st Duke of Hamilton , who survived him. After the death in 1651 of her uncle, William Hamilton, 2nd Duke of Hamilton , Anne was the duchess in her own right and head of the Clan Hamilton . She married William Douglas, 1st Earl of Selkirk , in 1656. William
363-616: The Caribbean island of Guadeloupe in 1493, pineapples became a rare delicacy in Europe , with associations of power and wealth. Architects , artisans and craftsmen adopted the pineapple as a motif, sculpting it into gateposts, railings, weather vanes and door lintels . The motif also featured prominently in interior decoration , fabrics and furniture . In an article documenting an architectural dig in Glasgow, Geoffrey Stell called
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#1732783847203396-640: The Great Famine in Ireland, were built as a form of poor relief , to provide employment for peasants and unemployed artisans. In English, the term began as "a popular name for any costly structure considered to have shown folly in the builder", the Oxford English Dictionary 's definition. Follies are often named after the individual who commissioned or designed the project. The connotations of silliness or madness in this definition
429-648: The Palladian lower-floor portico on the south side were added after Murray's return from Virginia. The building is a mixture of architectural styles. The south (ground floor) entrance takes the form of a characteristically Palladian Serliana archway, incorporating Tuscan columns . Visitors who step through this archway and into the vestibule below the pineapple face an elaborately framed doorway, flanked, on either side, by pairs of painted wooden Ionic columns, carved with great care, which display perfect fluting and even architecturally correct entasis . The keystone of
462-511: The gardens of Versailles in France. They were usually in the form of Roman temples, ruined Gothic abbeys, or Egyptian pyramids. Painshill Park in Surrey contained almost a full set, with a large Gothic tower and various other Gothic buildings, a Roman temple, a hermit's retreat with resident hermit , a Turkish tent, a shell-encrusted water grotto and other features. In France they sometimes took
495-403: The "stiff serrated edges of the lowest and topmost leaves and the plum berry-like fruits are all cunningly graded so that water cannot accumulate anywhere, ensuring that frozen trapped water cannot damage the delicate stonework." Despite the unconventional design and the mix of architectural styles, the effect is harmonious because the pineapple and the portico are made of the same stone (ensuring
528-698: The Dunmore Pineapple "the ultimate expression of 18th-century pineapple fashion". After remaining in the family for centuries, the Dunmore Estate was broken up in 1970 and sold in lots. One lot, called the "Pineapple Lot", included the folly and the large walled garden, along with some woodlands and a small lake. This lot was purchased by the Countess of Perth , who in 1974 gifted it to the National Trust for Scotland . The "Pineapple Lot"
561-466: The Serliana arch is inscribed with the date "1761." This has caused some people to speculate that the pineapple was constructed in 1761, although there is no clear evidence that the archway and the pineapple were built at the same time, or even designed by the same architect. Others suggest that the pineapple was constructed after Murray's return from America in 1776. Above the Serliana arch is inserted
594-401: The building, was used, among other things, for growing pineapples . The south ground floor, which is now covered in stucco and largely overgrown with vines, was originally covered with glass windowpanes. Additional heat was provided by a furnace -driven heating system that circulated hot air through cavities in the wall construction of the adjoining hothouse buildings. The smoke from the furnace
627-448: The door and the panes of glass in the seven windows are curved, so as to match the curve of the walls in the room. The pavilion is just large enough to house a round table and some chairs. The pineapple is around 14 metres (46 ft) high and constitutes a stunning example of the stonemason 's craft, being a remarkably accurate depiction of a pineapple. Each of the curving stone leaves is separately drained to prevent frost damage, and
660-519: The form of romantic farmhouses, mills and cottages, as in Marie Antoinette 's Hameau de la Reine at Versailles. Sometimes they were copied from landscape paintings by painters such as Claude Lorrain and Hubert Robert . Often, they had symbolic importance, illustrating the virtues of ancient Rome, or the virtues of country life. The temple of philosophy at Ermenonville, left unfinished, symbolised that knowledge would never be complete, while
693-488: The great estates of the late 16th and early 17th centuries, but they flourished especially in the two centuries which followed. Many estates had ruins of monastic houses and (in Italy) Roman villas; others, lacking such buildings, constructed their own sham versions of these romantic structures. However, very few follies are completely without a practical purpose. Apart from their decorative aspect, many originally had
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#1732783847203726-475: The head of the house are: Quarterly; 1st and 4th grandquarters, counterquartered (i) and (iv) Gules, three cinquefoils Ermine (for Hamilton ), (ii) and (iii) Argent, a lymphad Sable, sails furled proper, flagged-Gules (for The Isles (Arran) ); 2nd and 3rd grandquarters, Argent, a man's heart Gules ensigned with an imperial crown proper, on a chief Azure three stars of the First (for Douglas ). Following are listed
759-418: The higher northern side (away from the main house), behind a retaining wall about 16 feet (4.9 metres) high, and 3 ft 3 in (1.0 m) thick, which runs the entire length of the north side of the garden. Walled gardens sometimes included one hollow, or double, wall which contained furnaces, openings along the side facing the garden to allow heat to escape into the garden, and chimneys or flues to draw
792-492: The needy for work on useful projects would deprive existing workers of their jobs. Thus, construction projects termed "famine follies" came to be built. These included roads in the middle of nowhere, between two seemingly random points, screen and estate walls, piers in the middle of bogs, etc. Follies are found worldwide, but they are particularly abundant in Great Britain . Douglas-Hamilton Douglas-Hamilton
825-481: The pineapple summerhouse as a holiday home. The bothy on one side of the Pineapple houses two bedrooms and a bathroom, and the bothy on the other side contains a kitchen and a spacious living room. The rooms have sash windows with a southern exposure overlooking the main (lower) lawn of the estate. Due to their southern exposure, the windows ensure that the rooms are sunlit throughout the day. The Dunmore Pineapple
858-532: The range of usual garden buildings. Eighteenth-century English landscape gardening and French landscape gardening often featured mock Roman temples , symbolising classical virtues. Other 18th-century garden follies imitated Chinese temples , Egyptian pyramids , ruined medieval castles or abbeys , or Tatar tents, to represent different continents or historical eras. Sometimes they represented rustic villages, mills and cottages, to symbolise rural virtues. Many follies, particularly during times of famine, such as
891-514: The sense of Classical order and harmony. The identity of the designer of the folly is uncertain, but it is often attributed to Sir William Chambers who designed similar fanciful structures at Kew Gardens , and who showed a similarly meticulous attention to detail (including curved panes of glass and chimneys disguised as rooftop urns) in his design for the Casino at Marino , just outside Dublin. First brought to Europe by Christopher Columbus from
924-407: The smoke upwards. This particularly benefited fruit trees or grape vines that could, if grown within a few feet of a heated, south-facing wall, be grown even further north than the microclimate created by a walled garden would normally allow. A building containing a hothouse was built into this wall in 1761 by John Murray, 4th Earl of Dunmore . The hothouse, which was located in the ground floor of
957-452: The temple of modern virtues at Stowe was deliberately ruined, to show the decay of contemporary morals. Later in the 18th century, the follies became more exotic, representing other parts of the world, including Chinese pagodas , Japanese bridges, and Tatar tents. The Great Famine of Ireland of 1845–1849 led to the building of several follies in order to provide relief to the poor without issuing unconditional handouts. However, to hire
990-410: The two gardens covers about six acres, located on a gentle south-facing slope. South-facing slopes are the ideal spot for walled gardens and for the cultivation of frost-sensitive plants. Along the north edge of the garden, the slope had probably originally been steeper. To allow both the upper and lower parts of the garden to be flat and level at different heights, it was necessary to bank up the earth on
1023-579: Was a younger son of the Marquess of Douglas . She successfully petitioned King Charles II for her husband to be made the 3rd duke, and the surname at some point became Douglas-Hamilton. Upon the death of a cousin, the Duke of Douglas , in 1761 without heir, his subsidiary titles and the nominal seniority of the Clan Douglas were devolved onto the 7th Duke of Hamilton . These titles are: The arms of
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1056-517: Was expelled through four chimneys, cleverly disguised as Grecian urns. The upper floor, which is at ground level when approached from the raised northern lawn, contained two small cottage-like apartments, or "bothies", for the gardeners. Murray left Scotland after the initial structure had been built, and went on to become the last Colonial Governor of Virginia in America . The upper-floor pavilion or summerhouse with its pineapple-shaped cupola and
1089-472: Was then leased to the Landmark Trust , who restored the building and used it to provide holiday accommodation. The 6.5 hectares (16 acres) of gardens, including woodland , pond and crab-apple orchard , are open to the public year-round. In 1998, the 12th Earl of Dunmore , a resident of Australia, visited the grounds to plant a memorial tree. As of 2024, one can rent the gardeners' quarters and
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