1.25.2008

Covert castle

When the town council rejected Robert Fidler's plans to build a home on his farm in Surrey, England, he went ahead anyway, building a stone castle complete with turrets (built around two grain silos), ramparts and a cannon. He hid it behind a gigantic wall made of hay bales. After four years, he removed the bales, hoping the structure would be deemed legal since it'd been around so long. Local officials say it should be bulldozed.

1 comment:

acommonman said...

By building this beautiful building under the noses of the public and especially the building and zoning commissions, Mr. Fidler usurped their power. Most people in those positions thrive on the little bit of power they derive from those lowly public offices. Now it is a matter of flexing their power even if it makes them look stupid. The point will be "I am a small person but I am in charge! Roar!" Hopefully the town fathers will see this for the tourism opportunity it could be, instead of the narrow power struggle it has become. You know if the public didn't complain about those ugly bails stacked up then why should they mind the wildly beautiful castle that now adorns their neighborhood.