“Aha! That’s got to be Luna’s house, who else would live in a place like that? It looks like a giant rook!”
-- Ron Weasley (DH20)
On a hillside some miles from the Burrow in south Devon lies a cylindrical house shaped like a giant chess rook – the home of Xenophilius and Luna Lovegood, and also the main office of the Quibbler. Predictably, the place is rather, er, eccentric, with perfectly circular rooms and curved furniture painted in “bright primary colors.” The first floor is the kitchen; the second, a living room (DH20); and at least part of the third floor is Luna’s bedroom (DH21). Harry, Ron, and Hermione visited Xeno here in 1998, where they learned about the Deathly Hallows (DH20). When Xeno tried to turn them in, though, his Stunning Spell hit an Erumpet horn instead and all but blew the place apart (DH21).
Commentary
Notes
The description of the Lovegood House brings to mind an architectural "folly" -- a building constructed as decoration, typically as part of the landscaping of English or French gardens. Follies can take the form of Roman or Chinese temples, Egyptian pyramids, ruined castles or abbeys, and other structures. Interestingly, a few miles from the likely location of the Burrow in Devon stands a folly called The China Tower. The Tower with its crenelated battlements certainly looks like a chess rook. Constructed in 1839 by Lady Rolle, whose family owned the Bicton estate, the tower, originally called the Belvedere, gained the nickname The China Tower when Lady Rolle used it to store her collection of fine china from around the world. It is currently leased by the Landmark Trust, and is available for rental.
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