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.
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.