Folly gets some TLC One of the most popular artefacts in the Wood is the folly that stands in what was once the gardens of the house called Fairwood. This house was built in the early 1860s for David Henry Stone, who eventually became Lord Mayor of London. The folly was built sometime between 1863 and 1866 by James Pulham and Son, who specialised in the construction of grottos and romantic ruins to adorn the gardens of the well-to-do. The folly was built with a brickwork core and then covered with " Pulhamite ", the company's proprietary cement, which was fashioned to look like stone. Next to the folly was a cascade, also made from Pulhamite and its remains are still to be seen today. Originally the villas that lined Sydenham Hill were offered by the Dulwich Estate on 99 year leases, so by the inter-war years they were already in decline, as people were unwilling to take on large houses with extensive gardens on a short lease. Consequently from the 1950s onwards they wer...