The Spire, folly in County Laois

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Freestanding single-bay two-stage folly, built 1740, on a circular plan. Part repointed coursed rubble stone conical roof. Part repointed coursed rubble stone walls retaining sections of rendered surface finish. Destroyed pointed-arch or pointed segmental-headed opposing door openings with remains of buff brick block-and-start surrounds. Blind lancet loops (second stage). Set in wood on hill. NOTE: Erected by William Henry Dawson (1712-79) 'to give employment to the poor in the year of the great frost [1740]' (Coote 1801, 136). The folly was illustrated and labelled as "Spirehill" by Taylor and Skinner (1778, 159) and was later depicted in an idealised pastoral setting in a lithograph (1852) by William C. Forster (d. c.1911) of Dublin [NLI ET C328].

From the Buildings of Ireland (National Inventory of Architectural Heritage) record 12800501

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Photo credits

Mike Searle, Wikimedia Commons
National Inventory of Architectural Heritage
Maker not stated on source page, tr.pinterest.com
Maker not stated on source page, commons.wikimedia.org
Portarlington GAA Club; photographer not named, portarlingtongaa.ie
Maker not stated on source page, en.m.wikipedia.org
Maker not stated on source page, www.pinterest.com
Maker not stated on source page, www.dreamstime.com
Maker not stated on source page, www.flickr.com
Golfing in Ireland; photographer not stated, Source publisher
Mike Searle, Geograph · CC BY-SA 2.0

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