Ascentive Around the City- Fonthill Castle

Erica from Ascentive shares pictures of one of her favorite places, Fonthill Castle and Museum

Fonthill was built between 1908-1912 as the home of Henry Chapman Mercer (1856-1930).  Mercer was an archaeologist, anthropologist, ceramist, scholar and antiquarian.  He built Fonthill both as his home and as a showplace for his collection of tiles and prints.  Fonthill is located in Doylestown, PA and is about 20 minutes from the city.

This is the view as you drive onto the castle grounds.  It’s been raining all week in the Philadelphia area so these pictures were taken in March of this year.  As you can imagine, the greenery this time of year makes this view even more spectacular.

This is the view looking at the front of Fonthill.  The castle was designed completely by Mercer himself, he hand picked all of the materials used and architectural style.  The building is an eclectic mix of Medieval, Gothic, and Byzantine architectural styles.

Fonthill does not allow pictures to be taken from inside the castle (unfortunate, I know).  As you step out onto one of the balconies, you can clearly see that the entire castle is built using poured reinforced concrete.  Inside, many pieces of furniture such as bookcases and desks were also built using concrete.  Mercer was big on using recycled materials, he may have even been one of our earliest “green” living advocates.

The balcony above the second story is the same balcony that the previous picture was taken from.  The view of this castle from almost any angle is just amazing.

Fonthill offers tours of the castle and it’s grounds 7 days a week.  For more information about Fonthill or visiting the castle, click here.

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