Fonthill Splendens was a country mansion in Wiltshire, built by Alderman William Beckford; building began in 1755 and was largely complete by 1770.[2] The construction followed the destruction by fire of the previous Fonthill House. The new mansion had a life of only fifty years, being demolished in 1807.
Beckford is usually referred to as Alderman Beckford to distinguish him from his better known son, William (Thomas) Beckford of Fonthill Abbey. Fonthill Splendens was a major country house of its time, but knowledge of it has largely been eclipsed by the story of his son's Gothic edifice, Fonthill Abbey.
As with the earlier building, the mansion was in its time just known as Fonthill House. The name Fonthill Splendens may have been used colloquially but only appeared in print in 1829, some twenty years after the house was demolished.
- ^ Hoare, Sir Richard Colt (1829). The History of Modern Wiltshire; Volume 4: Hundred of Dunworth and Vale of Noddre. London: John Bowyer Nichols and Son.
- ^ Dakers, Caroline, ed. (2018). Fonthill Recovered – A cultural history. London: UCL Press. pp. All Chap 4, 'The Beckford Era' pages 59–93.