Folly Castle About 3/4 Mile North of Wimpole Hall is a Grade II* listed building in the South Cambridgeshire local planning authority area, England. First listed on 22 November 1967. A Georgian Folly. 1 related planning application.

Folly Castle About 3/4 Mile North of Wimpole Hall

WRENN ID
moated-column-hawk
Grade
II*
Local Planning Authority
South Cambridgeshire
Constituency
South Cambridgeshire MP: Pippa Heylings (LD)
Country
England
Date first listed
22 November 1967
Type
Folly
Period
Georgian
OS grid reference
TL 334 520
Coordinates
52.15087, -0.05086
Source
Historic England listing

Also on this page: related consents · flood risk · radon risk · weather exposure · detailed attributes ↓

Description

Folly Castle, located about three-quarters of a mile north of Wimpole Hall, was built between 1768 and 1770 by architect James Essex. The structure is made of red brick with coursed clunch ashlar facing and features three towers connected by curtain walling. The central tower, designed to be an eye-catcher from Wimpole Hall, consists of four stages and originally had an embattled and corbelled parapet. Each stage includes windows with two lights, featuring Y-tracery in the two central arches and crosslet loop lights. On the west side of the curtain wall, there is an original entrance opening adorned with shields of arms and a three-light window with Y-tracery above. The design of Folly Castle is based on drawings provided by Sanderson Miller for the first Lord Hardwicke in 1749-50.

Local climate

Folly Castle About 3/4 Mile North of Wimpole Hall sits in one of the driest parts of the UK, with an average of 690 mm of rain a year. This makes it drier than 97% of listed buildings in the UK. Its exposure to wind-driven rain is lower than that of 87% of listed buildings.

It experiences an average of 33 freeze-thaw cycles a year, fewer than 55% of listed buildings. Of these, 15 follow at least 1 mm of rain in the preceding 48 hours. Average temperatures at this location have risen by 0.3°C per decade since 1991.

Averages for 1991–2020; temperature trend 1991–2025. Figures describe the wider area (a grid cell of roughly 10 km), not the individual site. Contains modified Copernicus Climate Change Service information 2026.

More on this building

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  • No EPC on record for this property
  • No sale records on file
  • Related listed building consents — 1 application
  • Detailed attributes — period, style, materials, features
  • Flood risk assessment
  • Radon risk assessment
  • Weather exposure and heating demand — rain and frost month by month and year by year, wind direction, solar and humidity
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Nearby listed buildings

  1. Thornberry Hill Cottages Grade II 650 m
  2. Gardener's Cottage North Side of Walled Garden at Wimpole Hall Grade II 823 m
  3. Valley Farmhouse Grade II 868 m
  4. Dairy at Park Farm About Half Mile North East of Wimpole Hall Grade II 891 m
  5. Walled Garden About Half Mile North East of Wimpole Hall Grade II 899 m
  6. The Great Barn, at Park Farm, About Half Mile North East of Wimpole Grade II* 915 m
  7. Park Farmhouse, at Park Farm, Half Mile North East of Wimpole Hall Grade II 917 m
  8. Kingston Pastures Farmhouse Grade II 961 m
  9. Cobbs Wood Farmhouse Grade II 1.0 km
  10. K6 Kiosk South East of Park Farm Grade II 1.0 km