Oakley Folly

Oakley Folly is a ruinous structure, likely built in the late 18th century. It is constructed from red brick and coursed sandstone rubble, featuring ashlar dressings and plain tiled roofs. The building is designed in the style of a late 18th-century church, consisting of a nave and a tower.

The tower is made of brick and divided into three short stages, topped with a moulded stone cornice and a brick parapet, which extends as a chimney stack at the southeast corner. It has brick corner pilasters with blind lancet decoration on each stage and broad lancet windows on each face, though these are now much damaged. The east face has the foundations and outline of a former brick lean-to.

The nave is built from coursed sandstone and has a rectangular plan with two levels. It features wide round-arched entrances on the long sides, complete with raised keystones and imposts. The ends of beams that supported a former first floor can be seen through put-log holes.

Inside, a staircase in the northeast corner of the tower provides access to the basement and the second and third stages. There is also a doorway in the north face of the tower that leads to the former first floor of the nave. Remnants of fireplaces can be found in the southeast corner of the tower, including one on the third stage that has a classical pediment.

Originally, the nave was used as a field barn. Later, in the late 19th century, the tower was used by Sir Philip Chetwode as a viewing point for his racing horses. The folly was subsequently converted into domestic accommodation but is now in poor condition due to neglect and was reportedly struck by lightning, as noted during a re-survey in 1984.