If that of Wyatt's, we can but be
thankful that he did not live long enough to have the commission for
building the present Palace of Westminster. A pile that as it is, is
only too reminiscent of the florid imaginings of the Gothic revival.
The expensive eccenticities of Beckford--he was a collector of
everything costly--brought about the sale of Fonthill and a retirement
to Bath. Not long after the new owner, a millionaire named Farquhar,
had entered into possession, the central tower fell and ruined most of
the "gingerbread" beneath. Perhaps the best thing Wyatt ever did was
his architectural work in the foundations of this sham "abbey."
The present Fonthill House has a small portion of Wyatt's building
incorporated with it. Half a mile away is the new Fonthill Abbey
(so-called). It was erected by the Marquis of Westminster in 1859 and
is in the Scottish Baronial style. The situation, overlooking a sheet
of water formed out of one of the feeders of the Nadder, is beautiful
in the extreme. To the north-west is Beckford's Tower--one of the many
he built (he is buried under one of them at Bath)--from which there is
a glorious view of the hills, woods and waters of this fair country
side.
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