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Hay presto! Farmer unveils the 'illegal' mock-Tudor castle he tried to hide behind 40ft hay bales
Last updated at 17:37pm on 25.01.08Hiding a needle in a haystack is easy enough.
But Robert Fidler kept something much bigger concealed among the piles of straw down on his farm... a castle.
Over the course of two years, he managed to secretly – and unlawfully – build the imposing mock Tudor structure in one of his fields, shielded behind a 40ft stack of hay bales covered by a huge tarpaulins.
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The family hid the house behind hay bales 40ft high for four years while it was being built - in a failed bid to avoid having to apply for planning permission
An Englishman's home is his castle: The Fidlers dream home complete with ramparts and cannons
Once it was finished, he and his family moved in and lived there for four years before finally revealing the development – complete with battlements and cannons – in August 2006.
Mr Fidler claims that because the building has been there for four years with no objections, it is no longer illegal.
But he is under siege from council planners, who say the castle at Honeycrock Farm, Salfords, Redhill, Surrey, will have to be knocked down.
"I can't believe they want to demolish this beautiful house," said 59-year-old Mr Fidler. "To me they are no different than vandals who just want to smash it down."
Mr Fidler, a farmer, erected the disguise in 2000 out of hundreds of 8ftx4ft bales of straw and covered the top with blue tarpaulin.
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The Fidler's country kitchen is located in the turret of their 'castle'
After building the castle on the site of two grain silos at a cost of £50,000, he and his wife Linda went to extraordinary lengths to keep it secret. That included keeping their son Harry, now seven, away from playschool the day he was supposed to do a painting of his home in class.
"We couldn't have him drawing a big blue haystack – people might asked questions," said 39-year-old Mrs Fidler.
Mr Fidler, who has five children from a previous marriage, said: "We moved into the house on Harry's first birthday, so he grew up looking at straw out of the windows.
"We thought it would be a boring view but birds nested there and feasted on the worms. We had several families of robins and even a duck made a nest and hatched 13 ducklings on top of the bales."
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But neighbours were unimpressed.
One said: "Nobody thought anything of it when the hay went up. It was presumed he was building a barn or something similar.
"It was a complete shock when the hay came down and this castle was in its place. Everyone else has to abide by planning laws, so why shouldn't they?"
Problems began last April when Mr Fidler, thinking he had beaten the planning system, applied for a certificate of lawfulness which is given if a property is erected but nobody objects to it after four years.
But Reigate and Banstead Council says the four-year period after which the building would be allowed to stay is void – because nobody had been given a chance to see it.
The matter will now be decided in February by the council's planning inspector, who could give the Fidlers as little as six months to tear the castle down.
The family are not alone in falling foul of planning laws.
Last November pensioners Eileen and Eamonn Kelly were told they would face prison unless they demolished the one-bedroom extension on their semi-detached home in Swanley, Kent after planners said it was "out of keeping" with the area.
More recently around a dozen Britons living in Spain have had their homes torn down after a clampdown on illegally built properties built on the coastline.
A spokeswoman for the Reigate council said: "Mr Fidler has built the house without planning permission, not sought retrospective planning permission and now claims it is legal because it has been up for four years.
"We don't think the four-year rule applies because it had been hidden behind bales of hay."
Reader views (28)
I love this - what a brave family! Keep up your fight with the council. Find out every loop hole you can and show them what for. We need to show we are the bosses and pay their wages and huge pensions.
Personally I am in a discrimination situation with the council and it is causing untold misery. When I heard David Cameron saying he wanted to give councils more power it sent shivers up my spine.
It's time the councils were brought into line. They have FAR too much power. There's no compassion in them at all. The towns in the West Midlands are ruined by empty shops boarded up because the councils charge so much in rates they put people out of business. They seem to be happy with the situation and it never enters their heads that they're the cause of the shops being left empty. They draw yellow lines outside the shops to stop shoppers parking outside to go and shop. They hound motorists who park for just a second where they shouldn't. They should be forced to take lessons in kindness and compassion (and pay for them out of their own pockets of course) The country would be a much nicer place to live then.
- H Whitehurst, Midlands
I think the house/castle is amazing and whilst I agree that greenbelt land should be protected, the council seem to build whatever they like, wherever they like and we simply have to put up with it. I hope Mr. Fidler manages to keep his home, its a great example of what can be done by one family with determination and imagination. Its certainly better than a motorway, airport or shopping centre.
If he has any plans available I would love a copy of them.
- Anne, Suffolk, UK
i think that people need to get a grip, that house is amazing i would love to live in that house. that guy is a legand for doing it, its a fantastic idea. i dont see why its a prolem to people its not doing anyone any horm what so ever its just jealousy. why can't he live in the casle happy with his family.
- Nick Barratt, preston england
All I can say is if I build a house...sorry a castle like that they better bring the army to tear it down because I would fight to the death to protect it! I would use everything in my power and die trying to keep that magnificent beauty up...
- Drew Alexander Pollock, Edmonton Canada
The law does NOT say the building must be visible, the council have dreamt up those words. I say, if they go to court and Mr. Fidler loses, he loses a lot, but if the decision goes the other way, then the councillors involved should also lose, they should pay the costs out of their own money, instead of expecting council tax-payers to foot the bill for their sour grapes.
- Colin Withers, Darmstadt ,Germany
I'd be interested in the exact wording of the law that supports the council's decision?
- Terry, Bridgnorth, UK
Excuse me but when did we all agree to government bodies dictating what, when and where you can build? Where and when did this permission become law? Is it a valid law? And why do we go all go along with it? When houses and castles were built in the 15th century, did they have permission? It's just another silly law we all go along with without questioning every day. I'd build an entire city if it would be classed free from any government intervention, taxes, big brother surveillance and control.
- Phil, London, England
This man built a beautiful house entirely within the law - definitely not the spirit of the law, but he obeyed the letter of it - and now they are trying to change the law so they can tear it down. I don't know about English law, but in America ex post facto punishments are illegal, as they should be everywhere simply out of fairness. Let him keep his castle!
- Jesse, Milwaukee, USA
Well done it looks fabulous. Just goes to show councils can do what they want if you pledge money to the council they will turn a blind eye.... they do at Chester-le-street and Sunderland council
- Perry, Durham
The area is hardly green belt, take a look with Google Earth.
Mr Fidler has built his dream within the law, has he not?
What if he did hide the construction, I doubt that the law that he complied with stated that you can build what you like providing you don`t hide it. Isn`t it amazing that no one complains about a straw eye sore but get the jealous head out when a wonderful structure appears.
- Peter, Sussex UK
Mr Fidler used the loop in the law to construct his home in good faith. For the Council to tighten the loop by adding that the house has to be visible for four years is putting words into the law that were not there. By all means tighten the loop to prevent others following his example but don't destroy this man by forcing him to tear down this beautiful home. Surely this will be a glorious example of English eccentricity for generations to come.
- Caroline Phillips, Minehead. England
I saw this reported on the T.V. He deserves to keep it as is. I mean look at the strokes the councils pull, when they want to build anywhere. The woman from the council was just behaving like a sore loser which is exactly what they are,losers
It's coming to something,in this country has to resort to such measures in the first place. The council should back off.
- Jeff Noble, Wakefield,West Yorkshire
Surely questions were being asked when the cannon's and knights started rolling up.
- Mike, Birmingham, UK
Funny how the council can build where they like without permission - especially on green belt - just to get their quota's in.
- Minime, South East England
Neighbours jealous I say
- Rogue, England
The point is, Mr Fidler has chosen to build on Green Belt land - land which is under enough pressure as it is in Surrey. It may be the thin end, but I can definitely see the wedge. Right or wrong, quaint castle or not, there's a planning process that we all have to go through.
- Bunny, Salfords, UK
It'd be of interest to know exactly why this structure was not approved to be built in the first place, i.e., how does it violate existing codes. Anyone know?
- D.Shay, USA
A wonderful house, I love the style and the bravado in building it. I hope that the council sees sense and grants the legal consent required.
- Graham, Reading, England
So let me see if I have this straight. The neighbors and the government planners have no problems with bales of hay and blue tarps.
But their noses are tweaked out of joint by a house.
Why not just collect all the permit fees and taxes you normally could have, inspect the place to make sure it safe, and laugh all the way to the bank?
It's a nice looking house compared to some others I've seen...
- Wayne, Reno, Nevada, USA
He should be able to keep his castle. I mean the man built a castle. How many people can say they've done that?
- Tim, St. Paul, MN U.S.A.
Seriously we need to stop making it so hard for people to build homes. Council members are power hungry and look for any reason to assert their power. Let these people build their home and live in it, this isn't the USSR in the eighties. What I am upset about is how did he manage to build this home for fifty thousand pounds? How did he manage to do it that cheaply? This home is nice, I like it, but I understand that it is not to everyone's taste, but I don't like what a lot of people choose to wear, we don't force these people to change outfits. Let this family live in the home they want, I would like the freedom to live in the home I want and others should have that right too.
- Chris, Lincoln, England
His property he should be able build what he pleases. I like it!
- Mike, Stoughton, ma, usa
It is unfortunate that a community could be so structured that someone would feel they have to build a home and HIDE it for 4 years in order to have the approval necessary to KEEP the home.
It's not like it is a covenant and he is choosing to leave his garage open or paint his house bright orange. It is a beautiful CASTLE! Gorgeous even. Leave the family alone already.
- Chelle', USA
Surely it should be torn down on the grounds of bad taste alone!
- Mn, London
Suppose they could put the straw bales back up!
- Tony, London
Let the poor guy keep his house. He deserves it after going to such extreme lengths to realise his dream. Good luck to you mate!
- Jay, London
"To me they are no different than vandals who just want to smash it down."
And to them, you are undoubtedly a fraudster who believes he doesn't have to follow the same rules and regulations as every other citizen of this country. The sooner it comes down the better.
- Nick Defarmer, London
Robert "Fidler"? You couldn't make it up!
- Roger, London
