Fonthill Abbey was an extravagant neo-gothic country home built on William Beckford's Fonthill Gifford estate in Wiltshire between 1796 and 1813. In 1771, the 10 year old Beckford inherited a vast sum of money from his father and once he reached his majority, began to pursue a lavish lifestyle. Following a scandal in 1784, Beckford fled into exile in Europe. Upon his return to Britain, Beckford hired the renowned architect James Wyatt, uncle of Jeffry Wyatville to design his new home. The house was arranged in a cruciform pattern with a large octagonal space in the centre which supported an enormous cathedral-like tower. Following numerous delays and tower collapses, in 1813, Beckford declared the house complete. In paying for the venture, Beckford squandered vast sums of money and the haste with which the construction was finally completed meant that the building was incredibly unstable. In 1822, the house and estate was sold to the Scottish arms dealer James Farquhar and Beckford settled in Bath where he died in 1844. Rutter began writing while Beckford was the owner but the book was published after the sale. The tower collapsed for a third and final time in 1825 and the house was eventually demolished. This copy is complete and includes the ‘South West View of Fonthill Abbey’, facing page 100, which is unlisted in the description of illustrations and is frequently not present. A nice copy in a suitably decorative binding. Also included is a copy of Rutter’s Description of Fonthill Abbey and Demesne, Fifth Edition, (1822) in original printed wraps.