UNKNOWN CASTLE ??
I received E-Mail that said:
There is a small castle on a hill outside of
Englishtown, New Jersey. I grew up watching this structure develop.
It was always on and off. Rumor has it that as the owner became
older, the castle started taking shape. As I grew up the outside was
completed but not the interior. It was like this for years. About 20
years ago I drove by to find it occupied.
Later, I received E-Mail that said:
I have some info on the unknown castle in
Englishtown NJ. It sits up in the woods on a hill, on Iron Ore Rd. It
was abandoned last I knew ( I was up there about a year ago), there
was a foreclosure notice on the door, that had been broken down. The
house was completely open, and leaves and stuff from outside was
blowning in, it looked like neighborhood kids had been using it as a
hangout. The story I heard was the former owner was very ill, and was
hospitalized.
The house has a tower, where all the bedrooms
were located, one on every floor. It has a hillside pool with a
waterfall, a jacuzzi and a 3 or 4 car garage. It was what looked to
be an amazing place at one time, I hope somebody finally buys it and
does something nice with it.
Later, I received E-Mail that said:
My brothers friend lives next door to the unkown
englishtown castle. I asked my brother if he could ask his friend if
he new anything about it. My brother told me that his friend said
that no one hears from the person that lives there and that long ago
a women was murdered in that castle. I'm not sure if it's true but
that's the information I got from the castles neighbor. I tried to
find a road to get up there but I couldn't find any road or way of
getting to the house since it is on a high hill.
Later, I received E-Mail that said:
I wrote to you over the winter and told you about
the castle on Iron Ore Rd, in Englishtown NJ. I see you added the
info I passed along and that someone has sent you a pic. That's
Great, but as far as a women being murdered, it didn't happen, a guy
actually committed suicide. He found out his girlfriend cheated on
him and he shot himself while he was on the phone with her. I'm going
up there to take pictures for a magazine article- I'll be sure to
forward them on when I get them done.
Later, I received E-Mail that said:
The tower was built the same time as the house
structure, when my father bought it , it was only a shell, marble
block walls and sandstone block and fire places (3), sandstone
exterior, no electric, no water or plumbing and no interior design.
He designed each room with it's own personality.
My sister and I shared the top tower room as
teenagers growing up and were the "talk of the town" we
were known as the girls "princesses" who lived in the
castle. My two brothers shared the lower tower room which we called
the dungeon, it had a nautical design complete with ships wheel.
Actually me and my sister were married here at the castle also, we
were able to seat 100 guests in the living room alone! And every
Christmas we would have an 18 foot Christmas tree in that same living
room.
To my knowledge the gentleman who started
building this castle in Englishtown NJ was a frustrated lawyer who
really wanted to be an architect. He traveled throughout the world
and everytime he returned home he came with a new idea for this
castle. I purchased the property from his daughter who inherieted the
castle. At the time I purchased it approx. 1977 was an incomplete
shell vandalized by many who liked to party there. The castle was
very well built in my opinion, as a contractor/remoldeler of homes.
It sits at the highest point in Manalapan-Englishtown NJ on a hill
backed by a Quial Hill boy scout retreat.
In 1977 Description:
It had 4X4 footings, it
was done in concrete blocks and exterior sandstone. The interior had
one wall in marble and stair way to rec room was marlble wall also,
window sills marble, windows measured 8X8 thermal glass. It had three
large fireplaces; one in the lower "rec"room was marble,
the other was in the kitchen was sandstone, the one in the liviing
room was sandstone. The living room measured was a cathedral ceiling
all in redwood. The 1500 sq. foot living could fit the house at the
bottom of hill in it, and it seated 100 guests comfortable at my
daughter's wedding. Each room in the lower level had a steel gurder
in the middle of it. the man that designed it was like the "old
saying", it is a small difference between a genious and a nut!
He was ahead of his time. In the mid winter the sun would set exactly
inbetween the three large windows in the livining room. His roof was
perfect pitch for solar heat. I would like to give credit to his
genious of design since I have not met him or even know his name. But
he did intrique me, and I set on a quest to continue his dream and
made it my own.
1977-1980
I stuggle trying to find blue
prints, designs or even a clue of what he intended for the castle to
be completed as, I heard he was designing it for a "gentlemens
club". I was forced to take this challange on my self. I decided
to design each room different. The top of the tower was designed in
sugar pine and full bath and dropped staircase to go on top of the
terret. From this room you traveled down the tower by spiral
staircase to the music roome which was the 3rd room in the tower,
this was designed with a sun-burst ceiling of redwood. This room
opened to a stepdown arch of 15 ft. wide into the massive living
room, which opened to the step down kitchen, the kitchen ceiling was
done in rough cut fur and walls with barn wood, above the kitchen are
was a storage area with a spiral staircase to enter it. Then to head
down stairs you followed a stair case of marble wall which I had to
design several times to create the lower portion of the house. This
was called the rec room it was done in hardwood plank flooring with a
wet bar in the corner and laundary room and bath .
Off the rec room you stepped up to the 3rd level
of the tower and this was the "boys" room called the
dungeon. It was designed in mahogany in a nautical fashion with a
ships wheel center in the middle of the out looking windows. Also off
of the rec room was the master bedroom suite. This was designed in an
oriental fashion complette iwth jacuzzi tub, breakfast nuck, shower
and toilet and private patio . The first level of the tower consisted
of the utitlity room, we had a 400 electrical service and wood buring
pre heating water system. The exterior fininshings I added was a
sidewalk around the periemeter and forgot to mention the massive
front patio that was tiled slate stone different colors that extended
the complete length of the house itself, approx. 50X20ft. All walls
are double sheet rocked and in the tower the sheet rock had to be
molded by a water process to complete.
During my remoldeling process and involvment of
my children ,the newspapers (New Tribune and Asbury Park Press) wrote
articles on our quest to complete this castle. The rumors that have
surrounded this place have been around for many years, they are not
true to our knowledge, Just a little FYI after the castle was
completed we had several parties all invited attended just to be in
the castle, so you can imagine how rumors would develop. PS: I Al
Levandoski firmly believe that the person that started it, "spirit"
still exists in the house and felt it while working on it!
And let me add that when we sold it , the next
owner added several exterior features like built in swimming pool
with water slide and rock formations and beautiful landscaping and a
full 10 car garage and paved the driveway.
On 1-16-25, I received E-mail that said:
I stumbled upon your page
accidentally while looking for any info on the castle I used to live
near in Millstone/Englishtown NJ 30ish years ago, and was wildly
delighted to see it featured on your page.
I wish I remembered more about it
but for several years in the 90s it was owned by Wayne Passoff, the
eccentric owner of then (but now probably many, many years defunct)
produce company, Waynebow’s Tomatoes out of Englishtown NJ.
From what I remember he was the owner that added the lavish pool with
its water slide and hidden grotto (and it was just awesome.) Unclear
as to exactly how our family and our neighbor’s family came to
know him but we went to many a pool party there and my neighbor and I
would often go there just to hang at the pool. (Although the
waterslide was rarely open because they kept having issues with the
finish and it would tear your bathing suit to shreds.)
I have no idea what happened to
Wayne or when he got rid of the property (we moved out of that area
in 1995) and best I can tell is that he moved to Chicago at some
point, but I hope this gives you a little more info on the Unknown
Englishtown NJ castle ☺
Does anyone have more
information about it? Does it have a name?
Back to "Castles
of the United States"
A special thanks to Alyssa for
taking and sending the photo.