Imagine a building constructed purely for decoration, an extravagant and fanciful piece of architecture that beguiles and befuddles the eye of the beholder. Welcome to the wonderfully eccentric world of the folly. Whether a tower, temple, castle, or mock ruin, most of these edifices serve no other purpose than to show off.

Browse this gallery and be puzzled by this collection of architectural follies.

(Photo: Wikimedia/CC BY 2.5)

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Soloman's Temple, England - Standing near the town of Buxton, Derbyshire is this late 19th-century tower. A staircase to the top rewards visitors with fine views of the Peak District National Park. (Photo: Flickr/CC BY 2.0)

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Folly Tower, Wales - A well-known South Wales landmark, the aptly named Folly Tower stands near the town of Pontypool. The original tower was demolished during WWII. What stands today dates back to 1994, with the renovated building being opened by the Prince of Wales.

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Clavell Tower, England - Sitting on top of Hen Cliff in Dorset is this Tuscan-style tower, built in 1830. It was originally used as an observatory. (Photo: Flickr/CC BY-NC 2.0)

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Racton Monument, England - Crowning a hill in Racton, West Sussex is this isolated watch tower. Reputedly haunted, the monument is popular with paranormal investigators. (Photo: Wikimedia/CC BY-SA 4.0)

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Wainhouse Tower, England - At 84 m (275 ft), Wainhouse Tower is the tallest folly in the world. Completed in 1875, it was originally built as a factory chimney but later served as an observatory, visually enhanced by a series of elaborate galleries and the corona dome at the top.

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Paxton's Tower, Wales - Erected in honor of Lord Nelson and completed in 1809, the tower originally stood as part of the Middleton Hall estate near Llanarthney, Carmarthenshire. (Photo: Wikimedia/CC BY-SA 4.0)

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Freston Tower, England - With traces of construction dating back to the 15th century, Freston Tower is arguably the oldest folly in England. It's located in the village of Freston, Suffolk.

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Broadway Tower, England - One of the most recognized follies in the country, eye-catching Broadway Tower rears up near the village of Broadway, Worcestershire. It's a popular tourist attraction. (Photo: Wikimedia/CC BY 2.5)

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Stainborough Castle, England - Set in the grounds of Wentworth Castle, a grand 18th-century country house located in South Yorkshire, "Stainborough Castle" is an early example of a mock ruin. (Photo: Wikimedia/CC BY-SA 3.0)

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Uig Tower, Scotland - Constructed as a show of wealth rather than for any defensive purpose, the 19th-century Uig Tower squats on the Isle of Skye near a spot where local tenants would part with excessive rental fees, grabbed by notorious landowner William Fraser. (Photo: Wikimedia/CC BY-SA 3.0)

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Castell Coch, Wales - Closer in design to European castles rather than native British fortifications, Castell Coch (Welsh for Red Castle) is a grand, late 19th century example of ostentatious wealth that never served any defensive purpose.

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Perrott's Folly, England - Rising needle-like over Rotton Park in Birmingham, this 29-m (96-ft) mid-18th-century tower was built by a man called John Perrott, apparently so that he could see his wife's grave 24 km (15 mi) away. (Photo: Flickr/CC BY 2.0)

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Penshaw Monument, England - A half-sized replica of the Temple of Hephaestus in Athens, Penshaw Monument stands incongruously in the countryside near Sunderland. Built in 1844, it's dedicated to British statesman John George Lambton, 1st Earl of Durham and first Governor of the Province of Canada.

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Mow Cop Castle, England - Built in 1754 to resemble a medieval fortress with its round tower, Mow Cop Castle served as a summerhouse for eccentric local resident Randle Wilbraham. It's located in aptly named Odd Rode, Cheshire. (Photo: Flickr/CC BY 2.0)

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Pelham's Pillar, England - Built for a wealthy nobleman, ostensibly in order to survey everything he owned, Pelham's Pillar in North Lincolnshire was completed in 1849. (Photo: Flickr/CC BY 2.0)

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King Alfred's Tower, England - Completed in 1772, this imposing 49-meter-high (161 ft) triangular tower stands near Brewham, Somerset, close to Egbert's Stone, a historic location associated with Alfred the Great, King of Wessex. (Photo: Flickr/CC BY 2.0)

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Rushton Triangular Lodge, England - Built between 1593 and 1597, this unusual and highly ornate folly was designed by Sir Thomas Tresham (1543–1605). A Roman Catholic, Tresham endured a lengthy jail term for refusing to become a Protestant. After his release, he designed the building as a protestation of his faith.

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Hadlow Tower, England - Hadlow Tower, also known as May's Folly, remains an impressive example of Victorian Gothic architecture. At 52 m (170 ft) high, it's one of the tallest of its kind in Britain. (Photo: Flickr/CC BY-NC 2.0)

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Garrick's Temple, England - Set on the River Thames near Hampton, this small garden folly was commissioned by celebrated thespian David Garrick (1717–1779) to honor playwright William Shakespeare. (Photo: Flickr/CC BY-ND 2.0)

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Facetower, England - Quirky Facetower is a centerpiece attraction of the award-winning Forbidden Corner folly garden at Coverham in the Yorkshire Dales National Park. (Photo: Wikimedia/CC BY-SA 4.0)

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Ashton Memorial, England - One of England's grandest follies, the early 20th-century Ashton Memorial dominates the city of Lancaster skyline in Lancashire. (Photo: Wikimedia/CC BY-SA 4.0)

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Old John, England - Head for Leicestershire's highest hill, located in Bradgate Park, to admire this brooding late 18th-century folly, built as a mock ruin.

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Conolly's Folly, Ireland - With its imposing arches, stone pineapple and eagle flourishes, and its monumental obelisk pillar, this folly at Maynooth, County Kildare still manages to turn heads 230 years after it was built. (Photo: Wikimedia/CC BY-SA 2.0)

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The Jealous Wall, Ireland - Ireland's largest folly is an 18th-century limestone eye-opener named for a wealthy nobleman's jealously of his wife and his two brothers. The wall makes up part of Belvedere House and Gardens in County Westmeath. (Photo: Wikimedia/CC BY-SA 2.0)

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Casino at Marino, Ireland - Not a gambling establishment (the name "casino" is the diminutive form of the Italian word "casa," meaning "house"), this small but decorative folly was completed in 1775 and stands in the Dublin suburb of Marino.

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Dunmore Pineapple, Scotland - Architects and historians concur: this is the most bizarre building in Scotland! Head for Dunmore Park in Stirlingshire and feast your eyes on this strange building. In fact, it's a greenhouse that was set into a wall in 1761 and used, among other ways, for growing pineapples.

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Severndroog Castle, England - A rare example of an urban folly, the misnomer that is Severndroog Castle is actually located on Shooter's Hill in south-east London. The Gothic-style anomaly was built in 1784.

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Flounders' Folly, England - Clearly visible punctuating the skyline between the towns of Craven Arms and Ludlow in Shropshire, Flounder's Folly dates back to 1838.

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Sham Castle, England - Effectively a screen wall embellished with a central pointed arch flanked by circular turrets and square towers, this mid-18th-century "castle" was only ever intended to be viewed from the front.

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Clytha Castle, Wales - With its crenellated walls and Gothic windows, landmark Clytha Castle is as fanciful as it is ostentatious. It can be admired near Raglan, Monmouthshire. (Photo: Wikimedia/CC BY-SA 2.0)

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Beckford's Tower, England - William Beckford (1760–1844) was one of the richest men in England. Among other things, he lavished his wealth on this neo-classical style folly, which stands near Bath, Somerset. (Photo: Flickr/CC BY-NC 2.0)

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