If you are interested in checking out one of the most spectacular American castles, located right outside of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, you will want to visit the Fonthill Castle. The Fonthill Castle, which was created in 1912, was home to Henry Chapman Mercer (scholar, anthropologist, archaeologist, antiquarian, and, ceramicist). It is worth visiting, especially if you enjoy early Americana history.

Fonthill Castle is quite famous because it served as a home to Henry Mercer, and also provided him a unique showplace for his extensive collections, tiles, and prints. He also created the Mercer Museum and Tileworks, which I highly recommend visiting if you are in the area. When you are touring the area, I would set aside one to two hours to truly enjoy the area.

The Mercer Museum

The Tileworks In Bucks County Pennsylvania

You can find the castle at 525 East Court Street, Doylestown, PA, and the parking lot is right off Swamp Road (Rt. 313). Their current visiting hours are Tuesdays through Sundays 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. with the last tour usually starting around 4 p.m. There is a large parking lot next to it as well, which makes it very easy to travel!

(There are also some extended hours around the holiday season if you are interested in seeing the castle in the evening during this time of year.) The tours book up very quickly, so you will want to purchase your tour ticket ahead of time prior to your visit.

https://www.mercermuseum.org/visit/fonthill-castle/plan-visit/

Fonthill Castle is so interesting in its design, because of its early use of utilizing reinforced concrete throughout the building. (You will find a similar use of concrete at the Mercer Museum and Tileworks.)

Henry Mercer found strength in the concrete, and he liked its ability to protect against fires. It was also relatively inexpensive at the time, and he found that it could be formed and shaped to his liking. In all, there is a total of forty-four rooms, eighteen fireplaces, and two hundred windows within the castle.

The building is a mix of Gothic, Byzantine, and Medieval styles. If you have time, take a walk around the castle itself, because it truly is majestic. Also, when you are on the actual tour exploring the rooms, make sure that you remember to look out for the concrete furniture, because some of the actual furnishings are made from this material as well!

When you are exploring the building, you will find that each of the rooms is beautifully decorated in the style of the time that Henry Mercer lived there. Along many of the walls themselves, and even the ceilings, there are so many elaborate tiles, and works of art. (As a side note, you will find many of the tiles in similar style to those at the Tileworks, and it is amazing how he incorporated these into the design of his home.)

Any time of year would be a wonderful time to travel here, but there is definitely something particularly magical about the holidays, and how the Fonthill Castle is decorated. In many of the rooms, you will find gorgeous Christmas trees with their own themes that add to the charm of the building. I do think the next time that we go back, we would try to go around sunset to really see the lights in their full splendor.

If you are traveling to the Philadelphia area, I recommending checking out the elegant Fonthill Castle. It is so unique to the area, and would be an awesome day trip that the whole family could enjoy. I hope that you are having a wonderful day, and remember to click the like and subscribe button!

If you are interested in learning more of the early history of Pennsylvania, one of the most detailed books that I have read so far is Pennsylvania: A History Of The Commonwealth. It takes you back to the colonial times of the Keystone State, and delves right into the cultural and societal impact that this state has had on the United States. It is a great read, and I highly recommend it!

For more information regarding this book, just click on the Amazon affiliate link below!

https://amzn.to/43tu10H

Additional Resources-

https://www.mercermuseum.org/about/fonthill-castle/

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NortheastAllie

For generations, my family has lived in the Philadelphia area, and my writing reflects these influences. This blog explores perspectives on life, encouragement, travel, health, and local living.

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