The Jealous Wall

This beautiful folly (or sham ruin) was built in 1760 and has quite the sordid history attached to it. Unlike other ruins you come across in Ireland that were originally grand houses or castles, this folly is quite old by today's standards but has always been a ruin. Folly's were architectural larks built for fun or entertainment on grand estates and this particular estate, Belvedere House, boasts three sham ruins (perhaps the most striking one is the Gothic Arch). The Jealous Wall, as this folly is known, was the result of a quarrel between brothers. Robert Rochefort, 1st Earl of Belvedere had the folly built to block the view of his brother's new, neighboring mansion,...