FONTHILL LIBRARY TABLE

Fonthill Abbey was one of the most remarkable houses ever built in Britain. A romantic folly, it was designed for the eccentric collector William Beckford (1759-1844). With money largely acquired from West Indian sugar plantations Beckford was fabulously wealthy. Newspapers at the time described him as the 'wealthiest commoner in England.' Although his family origins were distinctly middle class, he was keen to claim an honourable lineage stretching far back into the Middle Ages. Beckford therefore invented a large and noble family tree and decided to use the Gothic Revival style when rebuilding his house. 

The most fashionable architect of the day, James Wyatt (1746-1813), was commissioned by Beckford to design his new house. Wyatt looted medieval England for ideas and the scale of his building was immense. The house gained celebrity status, with the phenomenal 225 foot tower at its heart, based on Ely Cathedral’s octagon.

The cost of building Fonthill Abbey was enormous and in 1823, Beckford was forced to sell the abbey and most of its contents. This sale saved Beckford from suffering the consequences of Wyatt’s notoriously slack supervision of his buildings. The tower, built with completely inadequate foundations, collapsed in 1825. The ruins were cleared away 20 years later. All that remains of this extravagant Gothic fantasy is the surviving furniture, a gatehouse and a small remnant of the north wing. Made specially for Fonthill Abbey's Library this beautiful oak table captures some of what remains of Beckford's vision, long since now demolished. Below is an Engraving of how the Abbey once looked.