Fonthill Abbey - Construction

Construction

Construction of the abbey began in earnest 1796 in Beckford's estate of Fonthill Gifford near Hindon in Wiltshire, England. He hired James Wyatt, one of the most popular and successful architects of the late 18th-century, to lead the works. What seems contrasting with his success is that, as several sources seem to confirm, Wyatt was often accused of spending a good deal of his time on women and drink. Consequently, he seems also to have caused the ire of many a client of his—including Beckford—because of his all too common absences from client meetings, for a general disregard for supervising the construction works he was in charge of, and for not delivering the promised results in time, with clients accusing him—in certain instances—of years of delay.

Although suffering from a strained, at times, relationship, Beckford and Wyatt engaged, thus, in the construction of the Abbey, but it stands clear that, due to Wyatt's constant absences from the site, and because of the overt personal interest that Beckford had for this enterprise, he often took on the roles of construction site supervisor, general organizer, patron, and client all at the same time. Indeed, his biographers and his correspondence indicate that, during Wyatt's prolonged absences, he took it upon himself to direct the construction of the Abbey, as well as leading the landscaping efforts in his estate. Furthermore, the evidence suggests that he was not only happy to undertake all of those duties, but Brockman even suggests that Beckford must have lived some of his brightest moments of his adult life managing the construction and landscaping efforts of Fonthill. This is not to say that Wyatt's role in the construction of Fonthill was by any means minor to Beckford's, the former having been not only the author of the design of the building (based on Beckford's ideas), but he was ultimately a master at combining the different volumes and scales in the building, and in doing so he achieved a faux effect of layered historical development in the building by combining different stylistic architectural elements.

Glass painter, Francis Eginton, did much work in the building, including thirty-two figures of kings, knights, etc., and many windows, for which Beckford paid him £12,000.

Beckford's 500 labourers worked in day and night shifts. He bribed 450 more from the building of the new royal apartments at Windsor Castle by increasing an ale ration to speed things up. He also commandeered all the wagons for transportation of building materials. To compensate, Beckford delivered free coal and blankets to the poor in cold weather.

The first part was the tower that reached about 90 metres (300 ft) before it collapsed. The new tower was finished six years later, again 90 metres tall. It collapsed as well. Beckford immediately started to build another one, this time with stone, and this work was finished in seven years.