Fonthill Castle | |
| |
Location | Doylestown, Pennsylvania |
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Coordinates | 40°19′16″N75°07′22″W / 40.321158°N 75.122902°W |
Built | 1908 |
Architect | Dr. Henry C. Mercer |
Architectural style | Mixed (more Than 2 Styles From Different Periods) |
Part of | Fonthill Castle, Mercer Museum, and Moravian Pottery and Tile Works (ID85002366) |
NRHP reference No. | 72001094 |
Significant dates | |
Added to NRHP | June 1, 1972 [1] |
Designated NHLDCP | February 4, 1985 [2] |
Fonthill, also known as Fonthill Castle, was the home of the American archeologist and tile maker Henry Chapman Mercer, in Doylestown, Pennsylvania. [3]
Fonthill Castle was the home of the archaeologist and tile maker Henry Chapman Mercer. Built between 1908 and 1912, it is an early example of poured-in-place concrete and features 44 rooms, over 200 windows, 18 fireplaces, 10 bathrooms and one powder room. The interior was originally painted in pastel colors, but age and sunlight have all but eradicated any hint of the former hues. One room in the Terrace Pavilion (built on the site of the former home's barn), has a restored paint job so visitors can view the home's former glory. The castle contains built-in furniture and is embellished with decorative tiles, made by Mercer at the height of the Arts and Crafts movement. The castle is filled with an extensive collection of ceramics embedded in the concrete of the house, as well as other artifacts from his world travels, including cuneiform tablets discovered in Mesopotamia dating back to over 2300 BCE. The home also contains around 1,000 prints from Mercer's extensive collection, as well as over six thousand books, almost all of which were annotated by Mercer himself.
The Castle was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1972, [1] and was later included in a National Historic Landmark District along with the Moravian Pottery and Tile Works and the Mercer Museum. [2] These three structures are the only poured-in-place concrete structures built by Mercer. The Moravian Pottery and Tile Works is located on the same property as Fonthill Castle, and the Mercer Museum is located about a mile away.
Fonthill Castle and the Mercer Museum are operated by the Bucks County Historical Society, whereas the Moravian Pottery and Tile Works is operated by the County of Bucks.
Fonthill Castle is open Tuesday- Sunday for guided one-hour tours. [4] Due to its historic nature, Fonthill Castle has limited accessibility with steep stairs and narrow, uneven passages throughout the site. Personal photography is permitted during tours; commercial, wedding, or event photography permits are available. [4]
Throughout the year, community programs are held at Fonthill Castle as enrichment activities and/or fundraisers for the Bucks County Historical Society. These events have included Winter Wonderland Tours, Shakespeare in the Park, Candlelight Holiday Tours, Tower Tours for Families, Mercer's Night Tales, Behind the Scenes Tours, and Escape Rooms.[ citation needed ]
The house is featured (by name and description) in Lewis Shiner's 1990 novel Slam, although in the book it has been relocated to Galveston, Texas.
On the Viva La Bam Seasons 2 & 3 DVD, it is revealed that Bam Margera shot the video for "And Love Said No" by HIM at Fonthill Castle. In 2007, Margera filmed parts of Minghags at the Fonthill Castle.
Bucks County is a county in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania. As of the 2020 census, the population was 646,538, making it the fourth-most populous county in Pennsylvania. Its county seat is Doylestown. The county is named after the English county of Buckinghamshire.
Doylestown is a borough and the county seat of Bucks County in Pennsylvania, United States. It is located 20 miles (32 km) northwest of Trenton, 25 miles (40 km) north of Center City, Philadelphia, 27 miles (43 km) southeast of Allentown. It constitutes part of the Delaware Valley.
Henry Chapman Mercer was an American archeologist, artifact collector, tile-maker, and designer of three distinctive poured concrete structures: Fonthill, his home; the Moravian Pottery and Tile Works; and the Mercer Museum.
The Mercer Museum is a museum located in Doylestown, Pennsylvania. The Bucks County Historical Society operates the Mercer Museum, as well as the Research Library, and Fonthill Castle, former home of the museum's founder, archeologist Henry Chapman Mercer.
The Moravian Pottery & Tile Works (MPTW) is a history museum which is located in Doylestown, Pennsylvania. It is owned by the County of Bucks, and operated by TileWorks of Bucks County, a 501c3 non-profit organization.
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Henry Chapman was an American politician from Pennsylvania who served as a Democratic member of the U.S. House of Representatives for Pennsylvania's 7th congressional district from 1857 to 1859.
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