Benjamin Flounders - The Folly

The Folly

On his return from his European travels Benjamin started plans to build a folly. (He had inherited the Culmington estate just north of Ludlow, Shropshire, from his wealthy uncle, one Gideon Bickerdike, another very influential Quaker, who died in 1810.) Benjamin's travels with his daughter and his newer connections in Shropshire especially may have influenced his thinking. At this time he was, through his Ludlow estate, a neighbour of Robert Clive, Earl Craven and Sir (Thomas) Richard Swinnerton-Dyer, Baronet.

His agent was instructed to negotiate with several local estates to purchase the land the folly was to be erected on and in 1836 the land was marked out, construction commencing at a time of possibly high levels of unemployment locally; it has been suggested that many local masons, builders and construction workers were happy to be paid to build a folly for an influential man with excellent local connections and the possibility of further contracts resulting. However, many workers were it seems occupied with the building of Ludlow's brand new Assembly Rooms at this time too (finished in 1840). So maybe the folly wasn't meant to be a purely philanthropical undertaking.

The fact that Lord Robert Clive came of age in 1840 was possibly part of the plan, as a party to celebrate this event was held at the folly.

At around this time Flounders daughter Mary was engaged to marry a Major Arthur Lowe in London. Flounders did not wholeheartedly approve of the Major as Mary — his closest relative and family member — was to be 'taken from him' by this marriage.