Fonthill Lake
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Fonthill Lake () is a
lake A lake is often a naturally occurring, relatively large and fixed body of water on or near the Earth's surface. It is localized in a basin or interconnected basins surrounded by dry land. Lakes lie completely on land and are separate from ...
in southwest
Wiltshire Wiltshire (; abbreviated to Wilts) is a ceremonial county in South West England. It borders Gloucestershire to the north, Oxfordshire to the north-east, Berkshire to the east, Hampshire to the south-east, Dorset to the south, and Somerset to ...
,
England England is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It is located on the island of Great Britain, of which it covers about 62%, and List of islands of England, more than 100 smaller adjacent islands. It ...
. It lies just to the south of the village of
Fonthill Bishop Fonthill Bishop is a small village and civil parish in Wiltshire, England, to the north of the Nadder valley and south of Warminster. The Fonthill Park estate extends into the south of the parish. Landscaping which included the creation of F ...
, east of the village of
Fonthill Gifford Fonthill Gifford is a village and civil parish in Wiltshire, England, to the north of the Nadder valley, west of Salisbury. History The name of the village and parish derives from the Giffard family, landowners, beginning with Berenger Gif ...
, and northeast of
Fonthill Abbey Fonthill Abbey—also known as Beckford's Folly—was a large Gothic Revival country house built between 1796 and 1813 at Fonthill Gifford in Wiltshire, England, at the direction of William Thomas Beckford and architect James Wyatt. It was ...
. The lake is long and approximately wide at its maximum breadth. The Fonthill Brook flows out of the southern end of the lake and joins the
River Nadder The River Nadder is a tributary of the River Avon, Hampshire, River Avon, flowing in south Wiltshire, England. Course The river flows north from Ludwell, Wiltshire, Ludwell to West End where it is joined by the Ferne Brook, close to the Lower Co ...
at Tisbury, to the southeast. The lake was created in the mid-18th century by building a weir below fish-ponds fed by the brook, for Alderman William Beckford, the builder of the house later known as Fonthill Splendens. In 1987 the extensive landscaped park, including the lake, was recorded as Grade II* on the
Register of Historic Parks and Gardens #REDIRECT Register of Historic Parks and Gardens of Special Historic Interest in England #REDIRECT Register of Historic Parks and Gardens of Special Historic Interest in England {{R from move ...
{{R from move ...
. A sizeable population of the introduced
Mandarin duck The mandarin duck (''Aix galericulata'') is a perching duck species native to the East Palearctic. It is Sexual dimorphism, sexually dimorphic – the males are elaborately coloured, while the females have more subdued colours. It is a medium- ...
is resident at Fonthill Lake (and on surrounding rivers) together with a number of wild swans. The lake was used as the location for the filming of the river scenes in the 2000 film ''Chocolat'', which starred
Juliette Binoche Juliette Binoche (; born 9 March 1964) is a French actress. She has appeared in more than 60 films, particularly in French and English, and has been the recipient of List of awards and nominations received by Juliette Binoche, numerous accolades, ...
and
Johnny Depp John Christopher Depp II (born June 9, 1963) is an American actor and musician. He is the recipient of List of awards and nominations received by Johnny Depp, multiple accolades, including a Golden Globe Award as well as nominations for ...
. It is also where the ashes of pioneering
Everest Mount Everest (), known locally as Sagarmatha in Nepal and Qomolangma in Tibet, is Earth's highest mountain above sea level. It lies in the Mahalangur Himal sub-range of the Himalayas and marks part of the China–Nepal border at its ...
mountaineer
Eric Shipton Eric Earle Shipton, CBE (1 August 1907 – 28 March 1977), was an English Himalayan mountaineer. Early years Shipton was born in Ceylon (now Sri Lanka) in 1907 where his father, a tea planter, died before he was three years old. When he was e ...
were scattered."On 28 March 1977, at 7:30 in the evening, Eric Shipton died peacefully. He was cremated in Salisbury and his ashes were scattered on the Fonthill Lakes 'sic'' overlooking the part of England he loved above all else." (Peter Steele, ''Eric Shipton: Everest and Beyond'', p. 254).


See also

* Fonthill Grottoes


References

Lakes of Wiltshire {{Wiltshire-geo-stub