Fonthill Abbey

Fonthill Abbey was a large mansion in neo-Gothic style, the 1800 two kilometers south-southeast of the small village of Hindon in Wiltshire was built by the British writer and eccentric William Beckford. The nearest major town is located 22 km east of Salisbury. The main feature of the building was his high tower, which collapsed several times due to structural defects and Fonthill Abbey had thus become a well-known example of structural megalomania in technical ignorance.

As a model for the construction could Beckfords own novel Vathek who served from 1786, in which the story of a caliph is described, which wants to build the highest tower in the world to overlook all countries can.

History

Construction

After traveling through half of Europe William Beckford returned in the 1790s to England and be moved more than two square kilometers Fonthill estate with a six- mile-long and 3.65 meters high wall to keep hunters away, on his land foxes recreate and rabbits. Traversed was the park of a about five miles long avenue. Then he decided, a gothic -looking artificial ruin - a so-called Folly - to erect. He hired the then much renowned James Wyatt as chief architect. However, immediately before construction began, he changed his ideas as to prefer a cathedral to the same mansion. As the site for this purpose he chose a meadow, just a half mile away from a Palladian house ( Fonthill Splendens ), which his father instead of an acquired 1744, but burned in 1755 Elizabethan house was built. This building was Beckford only partially and finally completely break off.

When the plans were released, they created quite a stir and were soon talking point in the higher strata of society and architecture circles across the country. Beckford was planning a main tower of 137 meters. This would have outbid the Salisbury Cathedral by 14 meters and would therefore have been by far the tallest structure in the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland. Wyatt, however, was known for not too often to visit his sites, which Beckford had a lot of freedom to the effect that he revised the plans and the workers gave instructions themselves. He employed 500 construction workers in day and night shifts. However, as he said, not fast enough to notice progress, he began recruiting 450 more from the construction of the St. George's Chapel at Windsor Castle, by offering them a substantially increased daily ration ale. In addition, he ordered all the carts and wagons around the transportation of construction materials and compensated the mostly poor owners in inclement and cold weather with blankets and free coal deliveries.

Beckford supervised the work meticulously and endeavored to lead them as quickly as possible to the end. For this reason he ordered - against the advice of the experts - the use of the old foundations of a small summer house, which had been previously erected on the same site, and which he considers sufficient. In order to comply Beckfords desire a quick completion, was used on his orders wood and cement instead of the usual and upon consideration of the targeted size of Fonthill Abbey much more appropriate stones and bricks. In addition, we used for the walls of poor quality Mörtelkalk and rough stone blocks. These were plastered, so that they looked like expensive natural stones. The drying mortar sprayed workers with colored sand to make him act like stone. Over the years it became clear that these walls were not completely waterproof and mortar trickled out of joint. Therefore, it needed a trim with thin stone slabs as protection, which increased the construction cost.

In the absence Beckfords the main tower collapsed in 1801 when they had reached height of 91 meters in together. The client expressed disappointment that he was not able to follow the collapse itself, but was otherwise unimpressed and ordered to immediately begin rebuilding. Six years later, in 1807, the work was so far advanced that the new tower has a height of approximately 90 meters reached, and this collapsed. While it was once again begin immediately with the new building, but this time Beckford opted for the use of hewn stone, which the construct gave a higher stability. He took from his former goal of a 137 meter high tower, distance and explained the construction of Fonthill Abbey in 1813 for completed. Construction costs totaled the then enormous sum of 273,000 pounds sterling ( approximately £ 87.4 million in today's dollars ).

For a long time it was assumed that the old foundations were responsible for the instability of the complex. However, this assumption could be revised by the Lost Buildings of Britain the Channel 4 documentary, which came after extensive investigations to the conclusion that these foundations had actually been very powerful and had passed up to the bedrock. Rather, one is nowadays assumed that the walls, for the most part built of wood, the enormous stresses especially the high tower could not withstand, by arch and most. The architect James Wyatt is criticized: he had assigned the supervision of the construction too intense to this area not very knowledgeable Beckford and also knew himself too little about the vaults and Gothic architecture in general.

More events

William Beckford lived in Fonthill Abbey alone and used as well as only one of the many dorms. He received only rare guests - mostly male friends - and lived otherwise very withdrawn. Nevertheless, he kept his chefs to prepare dishes for daily meals for twelve people, eleven of which he always left untouched. The most prominent visit to the manor house was a visit to the famous Admiral Horatio Nelson, who together with his mistress Emma Hamilton, and the American painter Benjamin West spent the Christmas 1800 there. In the population, the property enjoyed a high popularity, although you could see it usually only from a distance. Eben This circumstance contributed to some legends and some myths. From time to time allowed Beckford occasional tourists visiting the premises. To this end, he had specially print tickets that could be purchased against payment of a guinea. Furthermore, the painter John Constable, John Martin and William Turner of the design were impressed and held them in several images.

In 1822, the owner saw due to a slump in its sugar business in Jamaica and the resulting financial difficulties forced Fonthill Abbey to sell. He offered it to the auction house Christie's and expressed here is that the ongoing cost of maintenance per year 30,000 pounds sterling ( according to the current value of approximately £ 9.6 million ) cheat, so the buyer must either be a particularly reckless and foolish or a very brave man. In August and September 1822 took between 600 and 700 people - not just potential buyers - the opportunity to get the building for free to view. However, Beckford broke the auction of calculus again. He knew that he thereby increasing interest even further stoked and anyone the temptation would eventually not be able to resist the mansion, on the now an entire nation talked to acquire at a much too high a price. In the summer of 1823, he published again a sale request, and this time the message went in September and October, more than 7,000 people according to Hindon. The daily The Times reported in detail on the rush and the non-existent in the rural surroundings sufficiently to stay. Finally, William Beckford of Fonthill Abbey sold for 330,000 pounds sterling ( about £ 105,600,000 in today's dollars ) to the arms dealer John Farquhar.

Nearly two years later, on December 21, 1825, the main tower collapsed a third and final time, destroying a large part of the mansion. An eyewitness described the moment as follows:

Fonthill Abey was not rebuilt and remained a ruin. The debris was Richard Grosvenor, 2nd Marquess of Westminster, eliminate in 1845 and used it to parts for the construction of a new house nearby. Beckfords neo-Gothic building project, the chapel and the small Lancaster Tower are now only preserved, forming the northern end of the north wing. You are to visit. Even the stone archway on the access road is still standing.

Architecture

Fonthill Abbey was considered one of the most remarkable property of the kingdom. The mansion had a cruciform plan with two long north - south wings and and two slightly shorter east and west wings. About the square transept rose the octagonal, slightly tapered to the top main tower, which was based on the Ely Cathedral. The respective edges tower ran out over the top and formed a kind of ornate crown. With a height of 84 meters, the Fonthill Abbey trumped among other things, for example, the nine meters lower Canterbury Cathedral.

The west wing was dominated by the main staircase, which began after a nearly ten -meter-high pointed arch portal, whereas the eastern entrance was flanked by two dominant towers. In the north - south corridor is able to survey the entire length of 95 meters in a sort of line of sight. But as different as the portals and the two ends of the north-south wing were designed. He presented himself in the north and narrow quietly discontinued, but he was in the south very much cantilevered and there also enclosed a courtyard with a fountain. The interior was decorated in shades of gold, red, silver and purple and luxurious beyond measure, but also overweight and ornate dark and depressing in many parts. In addition, there should have been in the building several secret doors.