Boughton Park Follies Bike Ride

Entrance to Boughton Park

A quick teatime bike ride was enough time to catch up with two more follies, located within Boughton Park Northampton.

Riding along the A508 heading towards Pitsford lies the entrance to Boughton Park. I've recently seen some of the existing follies including the grotto on a recent walk.
The follies are very diverse and were all built for William Wentworth, 2nd Earl of Strafford.

Several of the Boughton buildings are said to resemble similar ones at Wentworth Castle South Yorkshire, built by his father Thomas.  

The Hawking Tower

The Hawking Tower stands like a gatehouse next to the entrance of the Park. It is said to be a copy of Steeple Lodge at Wentworth Castle.
Built around 1755 it is a Grade II listed building. It is three storeys high with ogee (Gothic architecture) and quatrefoiled windows, also an outer staircase.
The castle style carries on into the Park, although the 1770 Newpark Barn has been decastellated.

Blue skies and tranquility

I head of into the countryside having bagged my first folly of the two. It was a lovely late afternoon with clear skies and a light wind. I pulled into a gateway near Teeton to watch two Red Kites circling a nearby crop of woodlands. No doubt they have a nest somewhere close to the trees
I do a nice circuit of about fifteen miles and cut through the spinney in Boughton on my return to catch my next folly.

The 1764 Obelisk

Obelisk Plaque

The Obelisk is something that I have very much grown up with living on the nearby estate.

The Obelisk is made of white sandstone and is on a plinth. It stands About 100 feet high on ground, highest in the area, about 450 feet above sea level. 
It is a memorial erected in 1764 by William Wentworth 2nd Earl of Strafford of Boughton Hall. In memory of his Grace William Cavendish 4th Duke of Devonshire. A lifelong friend of of Wenworth's.