Postcard 3: John Fullers Tomb, Brightling Churchyard

Pub. by T. Croft, Hollingrove, Brightling - undated

Notice that the entrance is bricked up. Wondering when that was done and when the bricks were removed.

Did the Pyramid of Cestius inspire Fuller to build his mausoleum?

Victor-Jean Nicolle (1754-1826)

The Pyramid of Caius Cestius with the Aurelian Walls, Rome

A page about St Thomas a Beckett Church, Brightling  on the Britain Express website states that Jack Fuller's pyramid mausoleum was modelled after the Tomb of Cestius in Rome. The illustration above, by Parisian artist Victor-Jean Nicolle was done during one of his trips to Rome of either 1787–89 or 1806–11. The Pyramid of Cestius dates to about 12 BC and is approximately 120 feet (36 m) high and made of brick and cement, faced with white marble. 

"The pyramid was an essential sight for many who undertook the Grand Tour in the 18th and 19th centuries. It was much admired by architects, becoming the primary model for pyramids built in the West during this period." Source: Wikipedia

Site Unseen The Pyramid, Brightling

This article, by Andrew John Davies, appeared in The Independent on Tuesday 12 December 1995. Davies likens actor Sir Robert Stephens, who died on 12 November 1995, to "those full-bodied and memorable individuals who live life to its utmost and devil take the consequences" .  Mad Jack Mytton, Lord Rokeby,  John Elwes and Mad Jack Fuller are offered as examples of larger than life characters. 

Of Fuller, Davies writes, "His house has an observatory which allowed the servants to peer through a telescope and spot the master returning home from London.". It seems he is confusing The Tower with the Observatory, neither of which are actually in Fuller's house Rose Hill.  He also states the the Obelisk or Brightling Needle was erected to "commemorate the defeat of Napoleon in 1815." Although one may conjecture that this is the case, there is scant evidence to support this claim. 

I wonder what Davies is referring to when he closes with, "Guide books are normally available inside the church". Does he mean the Brightling Church Guide by Diana Boyd?

Postcard 2: The Tower, Brightling

Published by T.P. Croft, Station Road, Robertsbridge
Postmarked 10:35 am, 5 Nov 1927, Vinehall St, Robertsbridge S.O. Sussex

To Mr & Mrs Rachett, Elm Villa, Station Road, Sandown, I of W (Isle of Wight)

Friday Whatlington
Thanks so much for all news delighted to hear Aunt P is getting on so nicey & I am feeling all the better for the change. Fireworks are being practiced & we are jumping out of our skins. Kit the dog jumped right out of the fireplace. I have been to Brightling for one night, this strange Tower is there. We had a car Wednesday & went all round to see the relatives. 35 miles it was very foggy indeed. I missed my bus yesterday & had to walk 5 miles, glad to get back here. Love to Mrs Vince and yourselves from Ida Aunt P & myself. Yours M. K.

Eccentric Folly Builders: William Thomas Beckford

Photo by Annette Lloyd Thomas,2003 

William Beckford has been described as a profligate art collector and writer. His best known work is Vathek a  Gothic novel first published in 1786 in French. He inherited his father's Jamaican sugar plantations, £ 1 million and an income of £100, 000 per year, making him the richest commoner in England. Once on a trip to Portugal he brought a flock of sheep with him so that he could view them from his window and it would remind him of home. He left England, when a scandal broke regarding his relationship with  fifteen year old William Courtney, son of the eighth Earl of Devon, and wandered around the Continent for 13 years. He took his doctor, baker, cook, valet and a small orchestra with him. Beckford also traveled with his own bed and had his hotel rooms wall papered to his own taste. 

Beckford's first attempt at building was disastrous. Fonthill Abbey a massive, Gothic revival structure, complete with 300  foot tower,  was designed by James Wyatt. Beckford was impatient to get the project finished and bribed his workers with alcohol which had a devastating effect. The tower collapsed and was rebuilt three times. After Beckford sold the property in 1822 to John Farquhar the tower collapse again, ruining the abbey in the process. 

In later life, Beckford moved to Bath and built Lansdown Tower (aka Beckford's Tower), just outside of Bath, Somerset. Architect Henry Edmund Goodridge designed the 154 ft stone ashlar tower which was constructed between 1825 and 1827. It has been a Grade I listed building since 11 August 1972. The tower is now owned by the Bath Preservation Trust and can be rented as a holiday home through the Landmark Trust.  For a detailed description see britishlistedbuildings.co.uk