Robert Fidler had a dream; like a lot of people (me), he wanted to live in a castle.  As a farmer, he had plenty of land to build on, but for some reason, he could never get the permission of local government to undertake his project and build his perfect home.  So he studied the law books, and found a potential loophole.  He could build, hide his property for four years, then live there free and clear.  You think he’d be safe after having lived there for eight years, but the government of Surrey wants to destroy Robert’s mock Tudor home.  He’s defending his castle in court.

According to the law, there’s nothing illegal about what he did.  “There is no law against building a house anywhere on your own property,” Fidler told NPR.  “But you take a risk.  If the local authorities don’t like it, they can ask to have it demolished. Now, there is another provision that they only have four years in which to make that order.  Interestingly, there is no rule or no law or no clause which prevents you from concealing the property, or hiding it.”

So, technically, he got away with it, but the local government is mad enough to pursue this.  Robert believes his home is protected by God, because, well, how else could he hide a castle behind bales of hay for so long?

Tags: man builds secret castle, Robert Fidler, Surrey, Great Britain, mock Tudor home, real estate, unusual crimes, property law, law and order, loopholes, castle hidden by hay bales, secret homes

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