Collecting has always been a popular hobby but only a few people are lucky enough to have the time or the money to make their collection really world class. One man who did lived just over 200 hundred years ago and he is still celebrated as one of the greatest and most unusual collectors this country has ever know. His name was William Beckford.

William’s Father, twice Lord Mayor of London, was the richest man in England. But he died when William was only 9 and although he was now known as “England’s wealthiest son”; he didn’t get on very well with his mother, who was stern and religious.



He was a very clever boy learning French, Latin, Greek, Italian, Spanish, Portuguese as well as science and law.



Legend has it that his private piano teacher was the young musical genius Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart.



But, bright though he was, William found life dull and to brighten up the boredom of his life he became interested in objects and artefacts from other ages and cultures – and so the seeds of his collecting mania were sown.

In those days it was the custom for rich young men to go abroad travelling so that they could complete their education.



It was called the Grand Tour and William’s Grand Tour was so lavish that when he was travelling across Europe, he was mistaken for the Emperor of Austria! He went everywhere and saw everything.



It’s said that while on a visit to the zoo in Paris, William spoke softly to a lioness, enchanting the animal so much that the keeper invited him to step inside the cage to play with her claws!



The Grand Tour was the perfect chance for him to begin collecting and with his enormous wealth, William threw himself into buying beautiful furniture, paintings, books and ornaments. The only thing his purchases had in common was that they had something mysterious, exotic or romantic about them – and they had to be of the finest quality.



William loved anything dramatic and stylish. He celebrated his 21st birthday with a three-day party. As a backdrop to the extravagant party entertainment’s, the most famous stage designer of the day created a fairy temple at his family home. William was entranced!



When he was 23, he wrote a strange and fantastical book called the Vathek. But his luxurious and unusual lifestyle began to cause gossip and scandal. His family home was called Fonthill and some of his critics nicknamed him “The Fool of Fonthill”. King George the III so disapproved of the glamorous young man that he refused to grant him a peerage, which was a terrible blow to William’s pride. He left Britain and went abroad for several years.

It was a good time to be a great collector. France had just had a bloody revolution and hundreds of rich and royal palaces were being stripped of their contents. William was there to buy many of the choicest items for his collection.



But when he eventually returned home, despite his vast wealth, he found that there were still few people who would have anything to do with him.

Perhaps remembering his family motto – “secret and happy”, now William shut himself away from an unfriendly world. He planted a wood of one million trees to shield his home from public view.



A passionate animal lover, he hated blood sports and so he built The Barrier – a seven mile long, 12 feet high wall topped with spikes to keep fox hunters out of his land.



William once said – “Some people drink to forget unhappiness. I do not drink. I build!” And he was true to his words. Always searching for the beautiful and dramatic, now he decided to embark on a hugely ambitious building plan. He tore down his family home and started again on what was to become his most famous creation – Fonthill Abbey.

Its crowning glory was a tower, which loomed nearly 300 feet high. Fonthill was to be a truly awe inspiring creation, magnificent in its scale and grandeur. And it was to be built fast – at one point 500 men were employed at Fonthill as William ordered the work to carry on day and night – no matter what the cost.



As his vision took shape, William gave a rare lantern lit tour of his creation to Admiral Lord Nelson, one of the very few men brave enough to go against public opinion and show him friendship. No one could fail to be impressed by the sheer scale and drama of the project.



But such was his impatience to move in that William rushed the builders and the quality of their work suffered badly. The foundations on which the tower rested were dangerously inadequate for its height and weight.

Thirteen of the eighteen bedrooms were unusable because they were so cold and damp. Soon mould and mildew began to attack William’s treasured collection.



At night, throughout the dark and damp Abbey strange creaking sounds could be heard coming from the walls and ceilings.



William lived there with a curious collection of servants and followers. The few visitors allowed into Fonthill were greeted by his doorman Perro, a Swiss dwarf, dressed in a suit of gold, who he had rescued from a life of poverty.



Fonthill Abbey quickly became one of the wonders of the age and “Fonthill Fever” swept Britain.

Many people were curious to see this wonder, but William had mantraps laid and specially trained bloodhounds to put of sightseers. Rumours about the strange secret life he led inside his huge and gloomy mansion kept him the talk of society.



But, although people disapproved of William, and attacked him, they copied him too. It was because of William that the gothic look with its towers, spires and cloisters became all the rage. It’s a look you can still see across Britain today.

Unfortunately, the building of Fonthill Abbey cost such a fantastic amount of money that even “England’s wealthiest son” began to feel the pinch and eventually he was forced to sell it. It was just as well.

Only three years after moving out a deep groaning sound was heard echoing through the countryside around Fonthill.

Then, in one devastating moment of destruction, William’s fabulous tower collapsed in a cloud of plaster and dust – gone forever.



By now William had retired to Bath where he set about building another tower. “Higher!” he would command as the tower took shape, though it never matched the dizzying heights of Fonthill.

His mania for collecting beautiful and bizarre objects never ceased and when he died in 1844 at the age of 84, he had influenced the style and fashion for decades. Today when items that belonged to him come up for sale, they often reach twice their usual price, just because of their connection to him.

Building, designing, buying and hoarding, William Beckford, “England’s wealthiest son”. “The Fool of Fonthill” left a legacy of literally thousands of beautiful objects and a lasting reputation as Britain’s greatest ever collector.