Moravian Tile Works & Fonthill Castle

Photos from 3/13

I drove by this a few times on the way to New Hope and was curious what exactly it was. After being assigned a paper for a Museum Studies class and randomly choosing Fonthill Castle from a list of local museums, I got my answer. Henry Chapman Mercer, who owned both Fonthill Castle and the adjacent Moravian Tile Works (as well as the Mercer Museum elsewhere in Doylestown) was a wealthy archaeologist, anthropologist, and lover of history. Fonthill Castle was his home and now serves as a museum. Unfortunately, it was closed the day we stopped by, but the Moravian Tile Works were open. The Tile Works are a living history site, with workers making products as they were made nearly 200 years ago. I was intrigued by the architecture of the place, which consists of a mix of several styles from previous civilizations.

I’m aware I’m not really providing all that much information or history here. Again, I didn’t get to tour the castle, and I really don’t know much about Moravians. I just thought the place looked cool and was interested in the living history aspect of it. I encourage you to research Mr. Mercer on your own and perhaps visit the 3 places related to him.

The tile works are closest to the road and what originally caught my eye. Fonthill Castle is found behind the tile works.