The Medieval Castle In Bucks County, PA - Foothill

House Museum

May 6

Built between 1908 and 1912, Fonthill Castle was the home of archaeologist, anthropologist, ceramicist, scholar and antiquarian Henry Chapman Mercer. This was his Doylestown, Pennsylvania home and served as a showplace for his famed Moravian tiles that were produced during the Arts & Crafts Movement. The castle was designed by Mercer with an eclectic mix of medieval and gothic architecture styles and an early example of poured reinforced concrete.

Mercer never married and had no children. He was a very private man and destroyed much of the information that might have shed some light on his personal life. When Mercer died in 1930, he left the castle in trust as a museum of decorative tiles and prints, to his housekeeper and her husband. In accordance with his will, she resided in the castle and conducted tours until her death in 1975.

From 1976 to the present, Fonthill Castle has evolved into a unique museum with a strong commitment to preservation and conservation of the building and its collections.

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The central portion of the castle is the original farmhouse that was on the property. The laborers had encased it in cement.

Fonthill Castle is a designated National Historic Landmark.

Mercer built his house of concrete, on 60 acres, because in 1872 his aunt’s armor collection was destroyed by fire and he vowed never to allow his collection to suffer the same fate.

Fonthill Castle has 44 rooms, 18 fireplaces and over 200 windows in varying sizes and shapes.

The main entrance to the house

Tall window

The castle was Mercer’s unique architectural and artistic vision.

Intricate tilework

This is the Library ceiling with intricate tile work.

Tiles and books on shelves

Stairway, niche, column and window

The interior walls, floors and ceilings are elaborately decorated with Mercer’s handcrafted tile work.

Decorative wall with arched doorway

There are some 7,000 prints he collected from around the world.

All books are individually numbered.

The multi-story library

The home’s built-in bookcases throughout the castle hold more than 6,000 books.

The interior remains pretty much the way Mercer last left it.

Mercer hung an 18-in-long stuffed alligator from the ceiling in his study. The tour guide mentioned that an alligator would be used to hang outside to mark a dentist office.

He covered his home, floor to ceiling, with his hand-crafted tiles and made intricate mosaics with thousands more he had collected from Persia, China, Spain and Germany.

He had all the modern conveniences.

More of the intricate tile work

Each room is unique.

This one, of the 10 bathrooms in the castle, has Moravian-tiled floor and backsplash.

Henry Ford created his own museum after being inspired by Mercer’s collection.

Fonthill Castle is considered, by some, to be Pennsylvania’s most underrated treasure.

On each level, there are smaller exhibits in each of the alcoves, niches, as well as rooms.

The castle contains 32 stairways.

Tiles embedded in the concrete walls

The entire interior of the house is a work of art.

Staircases coming and going throughout the house

One of the entrances to the house

The original gatehouse with red doors, is now the Visitors Center.

Fonthill Castle across the lawn

The tiled outbuilding, called the springhouse

The springhouse with the main house in the background

Another entrance door to the castle

The Moravian Pottery and Tileworks building

The Moravian Pottery and Tileworks has continuously produced tiles for over a century.

Another view of the Tileworks building

Between 1911 and 1912, Henry Chapman Mercer built the Moravian Pottery and Tileworks to master the potter’s art.

The Moravian Pottery and Tileworks building

Many arches of the Tileworks building

Today, Fonthill Castle is operated by the Bucks County Historical Society and is a designated National Historic Landmark.

Here is what you need to know:

Restrooms are available.
Tickets can be bought online or in person.
Mansion tours are guided.
You could spend a couple of hours.
There is limited access inside the castle due to the steep stairs and narrow, uneven passages.

Location:

525 E. Court Street, Doylestown, PA 18901

For more information: Fonthill Castle and Mercer Museum