A DOYLESTOWN TRADITION: Fonthill Castle, the historic home of Henry Chapman Mercer, is festively decorated for the holidays. Tours are offered throughout the season. (Photo courtesy of Kevin Crawford imagery LLC)

By Anne Levin

With its dark, concrete walls, inlaid ceramic tiles, spooky hallways, and shelves of antique objects and books, Fonthill Castle in Doylestown, Pa., is a particularly atmospheric location for evoking the feeling of holidays past. The castle, which is currently decorated for the holidays and open for visitors, was the home of Henry Chapman Mercer, an archaeologist, anthropologist, ceramicist, and scholar who lived from 1856 to 1930.

The neighboring Mercer Museum is filled with Chapman’s collections of some 50,000 tools and objects from pre-industrial America. This past Tuesday, the museum held its first open house in three years. “It has a long tradition in the community,” said Karina Kowalski, director of education and community services for Mercer Museum and Fonthill Castle. “Returning to this legacy program is very exciting for us.”

Back at the architecturally distinctive — some might say eccentric — Fonthill, guided tours and “meander days” are available throughout the season. On weekdays, there are “Winter Wonderland” guided tours of the castle, showing off the holiday decorations while sharing the history of Mercer and the construction of the property. Tours take 60 minutes.

Holiday Lights Meander Days are on Saturdays and Sundays from 10 a.m. to 7:30 p.m., with time slots beginning every 10 minutes. The tours are offered through the end of December. Guides are stationed along the route to answer questions. Guided evening tours, which might be the best time to see lights in windows and on trees, are Thursdays in December and Wednesday, December 28, beginning at 5 p.m. (last tour is 6:45 p.m.).

“In the evening, it just glows,” said Kowalski. “We have fake candles all around, and we have added more outdoor lights than ever before. It just twinkles.”

Built between 1908 and 1912, the castle is considered to be an early example of reinforced concrete architecture. It is a mix of Gothic, Medieval, and Byzantine architectural styles. Mercer designed the home as a showplace for his collection of tiles and prints. His collection of handmade ceramic tiles was designed at the height of the Arts and Crafts movement. There are 44 rooms, 200 windows, and 18 fireplaces in the home.

According to the Mercer Museum and Fonthill Castle website, Mercer left his “castle for the new world” in trust as a museum of decorative tiles and prints. He gave life rights to the castle to his housekeeper and her husband, who lived there and led occasional tours until she died in 1975. Since then, Fonthill has operated as a historic house museum, overseen by the Bucks County Historical Society.

Kowalski and colleagues extended hours for tours this year, and added the self-guided option. “We want people to be able to spend time seeing the trees and exploring,” she said. “We’re giving them more time to do that.”

Fonthill Castle is located at 525 East Court Street; the Mercer Museum at 84 South Pine Street. For more information, tour prices, and specific times and dates, visit mercermuseum.org.