What was the most outrageous house of a strange rich man in England (5 photos)

Each of us at least once in our lives wanted to become the owner of a luxurious country house. But dreams often remain dreams, because such plans require large financial investments.





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However, very rich people can face big problems when building a house. Historical evidence speaks to this. Today we will tell you about Fonthill Abbey, the dream home of perhaps the wealthiest and most eccentric Briton of the 18th century.

A very rich and very peculiar young man

As the sole heir of the Lord Mayor of London, William Beckford was literally swimming in money from the cradle. His father left the world when the boy was ten, and his mother devoted the rest of her life to her son, paying full attention to his development. The best teachers, the best education, any desires - all this was in the childhood of young Beckford. Relatives, especially his godfather, were eager to see William become a political figure, but the young man was more attracted to dreams, solitude and fantasies.

Light and politics were alien to him, he did not consider it necessary to hide it. However, such ephemerality did not prevent the young man from getting deeply involved in two high-profile scandals related to his personal life. Omitting the dirty details, we’ll just say that as a result, Beckford’s reputation was thoroughly damaged, and he even had to leave the country. It cannot be said that this greatly upset the young rich man: he traveled, wrote several books and generally enjoyed life. The works he wrote did not give William fame, but the mansion he built for himself half by himself, half with a hired architect, did. And there are reasons for this.



William Beckford preferred dreams to real life and thus disappointed all his relatives

Hurry home and get to construction

The flamboyant traveler, writer and collector William Beckford once decided to return to England and build himself a house called Fonthill Abbey. Not being short on funds, the rich man hired a very talented and popular architect, James Wyatt, for his grandiose plan. He was, unfortunately, not only a genius, but also experienced an irresistible craving for alcohol, and also suffered from extreme disorganization. Therefore, when the construction of the abbey began, its future owner eventually had to manage all the work himself.

The 500 workers he hired worked day and night, but soon the same number of people arrived to help. Beckford requisitioned all the carts in the district for the needs of his construction, and in return he supplied the poor with coal and blankets in the cold. Construction was in full swing. The Abbey, designed by Wyatt, was a stately home with an octagonal tower in the center. Moreover, the height of the tower should have been as high as a 16-story building. Mesmerizing long windows, giant doors, many staircases inside, as well as a 100-meter corridor - at that time this was the design of the most impressive private house.





Fonthill Abbey stood out from other mansions with its unusual architecture

The first damn thing is lumpy

It’s not for nothing that it takes several years to study to become an architect. Beckford, directing the work, sincerely tried to do everything better, but did not succeed in this endeavor. For example, the most important part of the building - the majestic tower - collapsed twice. When William ordered his workers to hurry so that he could quickly prepare food in the new kitchen, they did so. But the moment the tower was finally rebuilt for the third time, it collapsed again and buried the kitchen under its rubble.

Strange housing for an eccentric

Nevertheless, the construction, albeit with difficulty, was completed. The new house was definitely an unusual and memorable building, but there was no comfort or warmth in it. The grandiose mansion was barely heated, with only a few candles burning. The bedrooms were suitable for monastic cells, but the owner did not like guests. He ate alone and was lost in his dreams. Servants glided through the rooms like shadows, the cook continued to prepare lunch for 12 people every day. For what? Who knows.

Beckford spent every day alone and only once during his stay in the new house, at Christmas, made an exception. The rich man who loved solitude was visited by Admiral Nelson and Lady Hamilton.



This is what the main hall of the deserted abbey looked like

The strange millionaire was nevertheless forced to face reality, emerging from his dreams. He lost two of his sugar plantations and sold his beloved abbey. The mansion was completely dilapidated.

So one day the tower, on the construction of which so much effort was spent, finally collapsed. And this time there was no one to restore it. Beckford changed his place of residence and settled in Bath. The dreamer asked a local, not so fashionable and expensive architect to build him a new tower.



Beckford's Tower in Bath

Of course, she could not compete with the old one, but still, the former millionaire who loved loneliness was in some way happy. The realized dream, albeit in a truncated form, still remained in his life, and he could again be alone all day long, what more could he want?

Do you sometimes like to be alone?