Published by Bodmin Town Museum in 2011, 48 pages. Small rectangular paperback - c.15cm by 21cm (N7733)
From the rear side cover: This book is the first of a series on the history of the buildings of Bodmin and of the people connected with them. It covers the years from 1840 to 1939 with a few earlier records (1822 & 1831) and a few post WW2 entries. The data set is not comprehensive as it comes from census data (every 10 years) and Kelly's Directories. A number of names from the census data cannot be allocated to an individual property with any confidence. The book contains many photographs of individual buildings, including a few from the 1860s & 1870s.
From the introduction: The objective of this book is to review the history and images of the buildings and some of their occupants in the area known as Mount Folly, Bodmin. The name Mount Folly and/or Mountfolly appears in many history books but a precise meaning of the name has not been found. Polsue stated that 'Mountfolly, in front of the Assize Court, was the burying ground' and Maclean wrote 'In the open space on the north, known as Mount Folly" human remains and stone coffin-lids have been frequently found, together with a quantity of oyster-shells '. Long gave the following definition of the name Mount Folly: 'Mountfolly, 1691. Follies, architectural features with no particular function, seldom date from before the 17th century. One kind is an artificial mound, sometimes with steps leading up from below. ' Willmott stated that Mount Folly, (is) a name which is a corruption of the old name for a garden or shrubbery. Mount Folly has long been the venue for a great many activities and for many colourful events both civil and military. Contents include:
Butter Market & 'London Inn'
'The Fountain Inn'
Mount Folly House
Plot 122
Plot 120-121
Parish Poor House
Plots 245-249
Cornmarket
Frieries
Plot 171
Mayoralty House and Gardens
Plot 168
Bank
Assize Hall
Features on Mount Folly
Friary Buildings pre 1837
Condition of the book is generally very good. The covers are clean and bright, the spine is intact, and all pages are clean, intact, unblemished and tightly bound.