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Henry Mercer's concrete castles instruct, inspire and amaze
by Susan Brimo-Cox
Fonthill’s 44 rooms, 32 stairways, numerous hallways and 18 fireplaces all serve as canvases to display and teach about history, architecture, archaeology, anthropology and art. Its 200 windows pierce the structure like holes in a tin lantern, while towers, turrets and chimneys dance on the rooftop. The house isn’t a medieval building, it combines Greek columns, Roman arches, Gothic vaulted-ceilings, and styles from other countries and periods of history.
Concrete furniture, from desks to bookcases and dressers to a key cupboard for 66 keys, illustrates the “form follows function” philosophy. Colors from nature were used to create harmony between the home’s furnishings and the decoration.
 Every room and space in Fonthill is unique. After entering through a cave-like passage, you see the saloon (living room) ceiling soaring two-stories high. In the room no two columns are alike, nor are they evenly spaced. They were located randomly, like trees in the woods. And they reach up to beams that spread out like branches. Moravian stove plates, which inspired Mercer’s decorative tiles, are on display. Delft tiles, from about 1600 to the late 18th century, are mounted in chronological order to decorate walls near the windows. Babylonian tablets amid decorative tiles line columns.
In other rooms and passageways you’ll find Persian tiles, Chinese roof tiles, historical prints and some 6,000 books. The history of pottery is displayed in a frieze behind chicken wire in the study; artifacts include prehistoric, Etruscan, Roman, Native American, African, medieval, German and American. The paw prints of one of his beloved dogs, Rollo, ascend the concrete stairs to the terrace. Alcoves, nooks and interesting spaces abound.
 Mercer’s tiles, however, steal the show. In the Columbus Room the discovery of the New World is illustrated. In the West Room, tiles illustrate Charles Dickens’ Pickwick Papers. Ceiling tiles in the Yellow Room are designed after a Spanish monastery and tiles telling the legend of Bluebeard are used as wall decoration. The Mexican Room’s decoration pertains to that country, including a map of Mexico City and the coat of arms of Cortez and Spain.
Even in the staff side of the house, decorative tile was used and the names of everyone on the construction team are immortalized in tile.
As Lou Fleck, a Bucks County Historical Society volunteer and Mercer expert, explains, “The whole house was a new concept in construction, shape and form… Mercer was very unconventional in his methods, but very successful in the results.”
Mercer’s goal to make a home that was art form and museum was achieved in his lifetime. But he didn’t stop there.
He built his next all-concrete project, the Moravian Pottery & Tile Works, on property adjacent to Fonthill. The Spanish mission-style building was constructed between 1911 and 1912, while Fonthill was being completed. Lucy the horse helped on this project, too.
Mercer’s third concrete castle was the Mercer Museum, built to house and display his collection of pre-industrial tools and implements — more than 15,000 items representing more than 60 early American crafts and trades. The museum also houses the Spruance Library. Again, Mercer worked from sketches to create a mammoth building. The museum was completed in 1916.
Truly a Renaissance man, Mercer lived at Fonthill until he died in March 1930.
Now, nearly 100 years after they were begun, Mercer’s home, pottery and museum are treasure chests of inspiration and wonder that illustrate the extraordinary genius and accomplishments of this fan of concrete. If you are in the neighborhood —or even if you’re not — it’s worth a trip to Doylestown to see Mercer’s masterpieces. All three “castles” are now National Historic Landmarks and open to the public.
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