This beautiful folly (or sham ruin) was built in 1760 and has quite the sordid history attached to it. Unlike other ruins you come across in Ireland that were originally grand houses or castles, this folly is quite old by today's standards but has always been a ruin. Folly's were architectural larks built for fun or entertainment on grand estates and this particular estate, Belvedere House, boasts three sham ruins (perhaps the most striking one is the Gothic Arch). The Jealous Wall, as this folly is known, was the result of a quarrel between brothers. Robert Rochfort, 1st Earl of Belvedere had the folly built to block the view of his brother's new, neighboring mansion, Tudenham Park House. Jealousy seems to be a theme in Robert's legend as he also imprisoned his wife in the family home of Gaulstown after he suspected her of having an affair with his other brother, Arthur. She was only released from the house after thirty-one years by her son upon Robert's death. Ironically the new (at the time) mansion of Tudenham Park is now in ruins, but the sham ruins of the Jealous Wall still stands outside Belvedere House looking much as they did in the year they were built. This story reminds me of the equally mercenary legend behind Castle Roche (which I wrote about here) and proves that once again history is often stranger than fiction...
wearing a vintage dress
CONVERSATION