Belvedere's Follies

The Jealous Wall is one of the most celebrated and most spectacular follies in Ireland.
The word 'Folly' is commonly used to describe an ornamental building serving no useful purpose - some were designed as 'sham ruins' while others were built simply to adorn the landscape.

Robert Rochfort for whom Belvedere was built in 1740 devoted considerable thought and effort into improving the landscape of this demesne and towards the end he was responsible for building a cluster of follies which still survive.
These include the Jealous Wall, the Gothic Octagonal Gazebo and The Gothic Arch.

There is also a Seventeenth Century Ice House on the estate which had a functional rather than an ornamental role.

As ice from the lake was brought there by the servants in winter and stored for use during the summer months.