The Ghost Follies of Castle Hill
Public art commissions for the Castle Hill South Development.
FrancisKnight were appointed by developers, Henley Camland, to manage two lakeside public art commissions for the Castle Hill South Development.
Castle Hill South, the former Eastern Quarry and part of three distinct development areas in Whitecliffe, now forms part of the Garden City of Ebbsfleet within the Ebbsfleet Development Corporation. The Garden City is a modern interpretation of the UK’s garden city heritage, delivering up to 15,000 new homes.
Castle Hill South located on the eastern part of the wider site comprised primarily residential development complemented by a new Primary School and Village Centre.
Planning permission was granted by Ebbsfleet Development Corporation for ‘The Ghost Follies of Castle Hill’ designed by Thomas Hillier and Pascal Bronner from FleaFollyArchitects. The artists collaborated with FrancisKnight, Landscape Architects, Define and Henley Camland. Thomas and Pascal were inspired by the site, which historically housed a timber castle.
FleaFollyArchitects are spatial-storytellers who use narrative and fiction to discover, explore and invent unique architectural propositions encompassing all scales. Operating across, and blurring the boundaries between the fields of architecture, design, fashion, art and installation, they use craft as a key component of their work in trying to bring speculative worlds to the wider audience.
The striking follies were installed in September 2024 on the shoreline of the lake at Castle Hill South. They explore the relationship of the water in its landscape setting and add to the drama of the two piers, visible from one another, stretching out over the water.
The Ghost Follies stand out against the surrounding location as a hub for bringing people together.