Ebbsfleet Development Corporation has granted planning permission for ‘The Ghost Follies of Castle Hill’ by FleaFolly, to be displayed in the Castle Hill neighbourhood of Ebbsfleet.
The two follies, one large and one small, are designed as twins that complement one another.
The larger of the two follies will be located at the end of the new Linear Park Esplanade that sits over the Castle Hill Lake, against a backdrop of chalky white cliffs. Its form is inspired by the timber castle keep that may have sat atop the nearby motte at Sweyns Camp.
At ground level, the structure rises on a forest of 16 timber columns creating a framed view of the surrounding landscape. The columns support a series of different canopy-like layers that have a have an opening to frame the view to the sky above.
The folly’s smaller sibling, to be located at the start of the Eastern View Jetty, is a totem like piece that is ‘quarried’ directly from the centre of its bigger brother to create a direct and visual connection between the two pieces that are identical in all but scale. Its base acts as a seat or ‘throne for one’ to overlook the growing and changing landscape.
Pupils from Northfleet Technology College and Manor Community Primary School in Ebbsfleet took part in workshops with FleaFolly to help design patterns for the de-bossed concrete form at the centre of the follies. This artwork is the result of public consultation conducted throughout 2021/22 by Henley Camland.