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You are here: Home / Glossary

Glossary

Eyecatcher; Eye catcher

A building, sometimes a folly, erected in a prominent position overlooking the parkland or estate of a country house. It may be that the gardens of the country house narrow down the distant views obtainable to only the eye catcher or folly. They are similar to follies in that they may be only temporally, if at all, used. They may have been designed as ruins to start with - like follies to give a false appearance of age or grandeur. These were placed at a distance to the main country house so as to draw the eye across parkland or a demesne. Most examples in the northeast are of the 18th century AD. There are clusters around Wallington and Alnwick of Northumberland.

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