Plate G7.no11: Octagonal Folly near Rickerby (England)

I took this picture without knowing anything about the building. Subsequently, I found out it was built in the 19th Century, by a (successful) banker, and for a time, Mayor of Carlisle, a man called George Head Head.
By all accounts (see what I did there…) he was a respected man of sensible and laudable attributes (he supported the anti-slavery movement). Commissioning this folly (for that is what it is – an octagonal tower, of no apparent purpose) seems hardly to fit with the man’s profile. I cannot know this to be true of course – but I cannot help picturing the scene, when he (presumably) announced his intentions. The response: “You want to do what…?” I’m sure must have resounded……”It’s pure folly……”
Two heads are clearly better than one…