The construction mania is a fairly well-known mental disorder that many wealthy eccentrics of the past suffered from. One of these originals was Jack Fuller (not to be confused with Richard Buckminster Fuller), who became famous for having built, for example, a real Egyptian pyramid in Great Britain.
Jack Fuller, nicknamed "Mad John" (1757−1834) owned good land in the area of the village of Brightling (East Sussex, England), and with great pleasure he built on his territory everything that his soul desired.
Sugar Loaf
The most famous Fuller story goes like this. Once he argued with a friend that from his house the spire of the Church of St. Egidius, standing in the neighboring village of Dallington, is perfectly visible. The main part of the church was built in the 17th century, but the tower remains from an older structure from the 15th century. The dispute took place far enough from Fuller's house, in London, and the friends agreed to check the statement later - the enemy promised to visit. Here, in fact, is the subject of the dispute:
Returning home, Fuller discovered that he was mistaken - the spire was not visible from any angle from his house. Then, without hesitation, he hired workers and ordered the construction of a spire in the immediate vicinity of the house. The result was a building called Sugar Loaf ("Sugarloaf", so to speak) - because in shape it resembled the cones in which sugar was sold in those years.
Promotional video:
Built by the Sugar Loaf in the 1820s, Fuller hired not just anyone as the architect, but Sir Robert Smurk, the creator of the facade of the British Museum. Until the 1930s, the building was used as housing by various people (with a base diameter of only 4.57 meters!), Inside there were wooden platforms that formed the second floor. Then the "bag" was abandoned, and in 1961 it was restored in the name of attracting tourists.
But Sugarloaf was just one of Mr. Fuller's architectural follies.
Pyramid
More than anything, Jack Fuller wanted to be buried in the pyramid. True, the funds for a full-fledged pyramid, with all his wealth, were clearly not enough, so in 1811, more than 20 years before his death, he ordered to build a Canterbury mausoleum in the shape of a pyramid in the courtyard of the local church of St. Thomas.
Until 1982, the locals told the legend that Fuller, in accordance with his will, was buried inside in a sitting position, fully clothed, at a table on which stood wine and a chicken. But in 1982, for research purposes, the mausoleum was opened - no, a completely ordinary sarcophagus grave was found inside.
Interestingly, the church initially did not give permission for the construction of a grandiose lifetime crypt among the modest graves. But Fuller knew how to bribe - he promised (and kept his promise) to build a good wall around the cemetery. In the wall, he ordered to make two entrances - the main gate with a grate and a small door on the opposite side overlooking his house. He wanted to come and walk around the cemetery at any moment.
Tower
In the late 1820s, Fuller erected another useless structure in his domain - a decorative tower 10.6 meters high. The tower was round, with wooden beams, and there were many legends about it. According to the most popular, Fuller built a tower in order to observe the construction of the railway from it. The problem is that the road to these places was extended at the end of the 19th century, 60 years after Fuller's death.
So nobody knows why he built it. There is no special view from it, except for the fields. Maybe he looked at them at old age.
Obelisk
In the late 1810s, Fuller ordered a 20-meter obelisk to be erected on the hill. Just an obelisk - without any inscriptions or explanations. The obelisk was erected. Fuller never told anyone why he needed it - some said that in memory of the Battle of Trafalgar (in her honor there are many obelisks in England), others - that in honor of the victory over Napoleon in 1815.
In 1985, the obelisk was renovated and strengthened.
A bit more
And here is another Fuller's work - suddenly a 3.6-meter column, crowned with cannons and anchors, sticks out near the forest. Just wanted.
He also built more logical things on his territory - a summer house (in 1803), an observatory (yes, there is an observatory in Brightling, completed in 1818, the work of Robert Smurk), a park rotunda gazebo (also the work of Robert Smirk).
Finally about Fuller
For all his eccentricity, Fuller was a fairly well-known political figure. From 1780 to 1784 and then from 1801 to 1812 he was a member of the British Parliament for Southampton and Sussex. He was also a major philanthropist - the famous physicist Michael Faraday, for example, lived and worked at his expense. He donated huge amounts of money to the Royal Institute of London, equipped Eastbourne beaches (very popular in England) with lifeboats, built several lighthouses, and also bought the famous Bodiam Castle to save it from destruction.
And now little by little tourists travel to Brightling - the former possessions of John Fuller have become a historical park with an original history.
Tim Korenko