Did Hermitages really house hermits? What was the point of a sham castle or Gothic ruin?Though Georgian garden buildings often seem monuments to rich men's folly and whimsy, in fact they always had a purpose, whether functional or ornamental, and today are valued for their social meaning and their place in the history of architecture and landscape design, as well as often for their sheer beauty or quirkiness.This overview of Georgian garden buildings examines their place in architectural and landscape history, and explains the purpose and form of individual types in the context of the English landscape garden. It looks at more than twenty types, from arches to towers via columns, grottoes and rotundas.
