Painshill Park Follies – Cobham, England - Atlas Obscura
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Painshill Park Follies

Cobham, England

Amazing collection of folly buildings in Cobham, Surrey. 

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Turkish Tent, Painshill Park. mondoagogo (Atlas Obscura User)
Turkish Tent, Painshill Park. mondoagogo (Atlas Obscura User)
Gothick Temple, Painshill Park. mondoagogo (Atlas Obscura User)
Gothick Tower, Painshill Park. mondoagogo (Atlas Obscura User)
Grotto detail...builder definitely had a sense of humour! petrahudson (Atlas Obscura User)
View over the lakes - several follies in sight petrahudson (Atlas Obscura User)
Approach to the Lookout Tower - very "fairytale" petrahudson (Atlas Obscura User)
Views from one folly to another are part of the attraction... petrahudson (Atlas Obscura User)
Waterwheel close-up petrahudson (Atlas Obscura User)
Painshill Park is great in any weather...lends itself to the moody look! petrahudson (Atlas Obscura User)
Gothick Temple close up petrahudson (Atlas Obscura User)
There is also some sculpture in the park, related to the viewing axes... petrahudson (Atlas Obscura User)
The Mill at the Cascade petrahudson (Atlas Obscura User)
The ruined chapel (all the ruins were built as ruins!). petrahudson (Atlas Obscura User)
Another double view - Grotto with Gotick Temple in background petrahudson (Atlas Obscura User)
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Considered one of the best remaining examples of an 18th-century English landscape park, Painshill is a popular tourist destination.

Owned by the Elmbridge Borough Council and managed by the Painshill Park Trust, Painshill Park has been around for well over two hundred years: It was created by Charles Hamilton between 1738 and 1773.

Born in Dublin in 1704, Hamilton was the 14th child of the 6th Earl of Abercorn. Educated at Westminster School and Oxford, Hamilton spent much of his time on grand tours of the world. Over the years, he built Painshill up to more than 200 acres. His influence was such that his park helped to launch the Landscape Movement in England in 1730.

Many of the trees that you will find in Painshill were shipped in all the way from Philadelphia by the naturalist John Bartram. The Great Cedar tree in the park is thought to be the largest of its kind in all of Europe.

Know Before You Go

Painshill Park can be reached via the M25 / J10 / A3 towards London. Exit at Junction with A245 towards Cobham.

follies follies and grottoes parks architectural oddities architecture
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Annetta Black, petrahudson, nbj914, Blindcolour
Published
October 20, 2010
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