William Beckford (1760–1844): part two

The extravagance of building Fonthill Abbey and purchasing the finest items to fill it, combined with the loss of two of his sugar plantations in a legal dispute, plunged William into debt. In 1822 he was forced to auction the Abbey and some of its contents. The estate was sold to Scottish millionaire and gunpowder dealer John Farquhar (1751–1826) for £330,000, and other items from his collection were divided amongst wealthy buyers, although William and his son-in-law Alexander Hamilton (1767–1852) did manage to re-purchase some items. The tower collapsed for the final time in 1825, causing considerable damage to one of the wings, and the majority of the Abbey was demolished by the mid-1840s.

By the time the tower finally collapsed, William was living in Bath and had started his next extravagant project. On moving to Bath he used the profits of the Fonthill sale to purchase 2 properties: one in Lansdown Crescent (no. 20) and one in Lansdown Place West (no. 1), which he connected with a stone archway across the drive. He also purchased several farms around Lansdown Hill and commissioned local architect Henry Goodridge (1797–1864) to build a 47m-high tower. The tower was essentially a large garden folly and was connected to Beckford’s home in Lansdown Crescent by an area of gardens known as Beckford’s Ride. It housed his library and he would retreat to the tower for privacy and relaxation. He furnished the house with what was left of his collection from Fonthill and continued to purchase art, books, furniture and beautifully crafted objects like this silver jug, which, like much of his collection, he had engraved with the Beckford and Hamilton crests.

In 1836 he purchased the two houses next door in Lansdown Crescent (nos. 18 and 19), with the intention of leaving number 18 empty as a way of securing his privacy – something which had had been much harder to maintain in the busy environment of Bath. Following the abolition of slavery in 1833 and the Slave Compensation Act of 1837, William was paid thousands of pounds in compensation, which he continued to spend on his collection. Beckford was one of 40,000 claimants who were given a total of approximately £20 million. Further details of this compensation can be found on University College London’s Legacies of British Slave-ownership website.

William died at his Bath home on 2 May 1844. His will left his estate to his only surviving daughter Susan, now the Duchess of Hamilton. She inherited approximately £80,000 and what remained of his collection of art, furniture and books. William had requested that his remains were interred near Lansdown Tower, and Susan presented the tower and land to Walcot parish so that it could be consecrated for his burial.

In future blog posts we’ll explore William Beckford’s collection at Brodick Castle in more detail but, in the meantime, keep an eye out for next month’s article where we’ll look at the life of William’s youngest daughter Susan and her marriage into the Hamilton family.

This series of blogs would not have been possible without the expert knowledge and generosity of internal and external colleagues. Particular thanks are due to Dr Godfrey Evans for his extensive research on the Hamiltons and their collections; Dr Amy Frost for taking the time to discuss her work on Beckford, his Jamaican plantations and their enslaved workers; Dr Bet McLeod for sharing her knowledge on William Beckford and the Hamilton ceramics; and to Sue Mills, Education Officer at Brodick, for always being patient and generous with her knowledge of the castle.