An early 19th century Lincolnshire folly: The Jungle, at Eagle

Image: © Stefan Czapski Taken: 13 Jul 2008

This is a very, very eccentric building. Few images seem to be available on the web, so it seemed worth posting this one, despite its limitations. The façade of the house was built of burnt bricks - not so much laid in courses, but heaped up higgledy-piggledy (perhaps in partly fused masses). Door and window frames are formed from rough crucks of timber - resulting in curious boat-shapes http://www.britishlistedbuildings.co.uk/en-192135-the-jungle-eagle-and-swinethorpe. The overgrown state of the building seems to have been part of its image for a very long while - and may account for the name, though it is also recorded that the original owner kept his own private zoo (see the Lincolnshire volume of 'The Buildings of England', Pevsner and Harris). Part of the original structure was, I believe, demolished during the 1970's, and a modern rearward extension built. When the property changed hands in 2000, the new owners changed the name to 'Silverburn', which (to my mind) didn't do the place justice. I was glad to hear from Richard Croft that - following a recent change of ownership - the original name has now been restored. To my mind, this is a building whose place in architectural history has yet to be fully recognised - an English forerunner of the works of Gaudi.

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