Talk:Fonthill (house)

message: Having visited both Fonthill and the museum I think I can add some pertinent information to what you already have.  
First is that mercer had this huge black dog that was his constant companion for many years.  I believe he went about on horseback and he and the dog would race going to and from Fonthill and the museum.  I don't remember the dogs name.(Dogs name was Rollo)  But there is at least one paw print left in a set of stairs.  Also when I visited there was a small painting of the dog in the waiting area.  
Secondly, upon his death Fonthill was left in the charge of his housekeeper who was reputed to be rather capricious about opening the house to visitors.  This was mercers intent, but the housekeeper supposedly regularly sent people away.  
Third, amongst the built in furniture are the shelves for his extensive collection.  Concrete isn't a preferred material for books but since the books have hardly been touched since mercer's death there is only slight cause for concern.  
Fourth, while you mention the  cuneiform tablets which are set in little niches and sealed behind glass set in cement.  There are also tiles from around the world.  One I remember was a single tile with words written on it in German.  There is more than this though.  As I've mentioned Fonthill was to be open to the public and to this end mercer set pieces of tile to spell out legends and messages to his future guests.  Another example of the tile he brought back with him was this elaborately roofed pagoda which he built around a staircase.  
Fifth, and finally the windows have been a problem since I visited in the late 70's.  As I recall they had just installed an air conditioning system.  Aside from the windows functionality were concerns about the buildings security and the buildup of humidity within the building damaging the items therein.  
Well one more thing.  
Between mercers death and my visit there were several ham fisted attempts to catalog the collection at Fonthill.  So one of the sad disappointments is how every item is defaced with numbers, sometimes several times over.  
It's my hope that you can track down this information  —Preceding unsigned comment added by 206.252.160.20 (talk) 14:41, 5 March 2008 (UTC)
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message: Why is it called Fonthill? Is it a local place name? Or is it named after Fonthill Abbey? 81.132.73.138 (talk) 07:30, 16 August 2022 (UTC)
replies: text: There's a nearby river which I'm pretty sure he stated the name is in reference to (the house is on top of the hill from which the font/fount flows). But he was definitely aware of the lofty Gothic/Victorian associations the name would carry. In the visitor's center you can see a scan of some manuscript where he tests out a dozen potential names for the house.  PalmyranRealness (talk) 18:32, 18 September 2022 (UTC)
thread_title:  Name