A farmer in England who built a secret castle on his property behind bales of straw received an order by the court to demolish his home.

Robert Fidler, a 61-year-old man, built his castle at Honeycrock Farm in Redhill, Surrey.

Fidler constructed the mock-Tudor without planning permission, and hid the construction site behind 40-foot high walls of hay bales and tarps.

The Borough Council, which controls building regulations in Fidler's town, requires that all new construction must pass a review and not receive any complaints for four consecutive years.

Upon completion of the house in June 2002, Fidler, his wife and their nine-year-old son moved in. The family lived in the home, including bales of straw, for four years before removing the coverings. He kept his home hidden so as not to bother his neighbors with the home's appearance, which included ornate battlements and turrets.

Fidler had hoped to take advantage of the law stating that the owner can keep a property not receiving complaints for four years.

However, the Borough Council ordered the castle demolished in 2007, claiming that Fidler failed to follow protocol with the town's construction guidelines.

Fidler appealed the Council's decision a year later, which was refused by planning officials. The officials claimed that the building works were only completed when the bales of straw were removed, and thus the four-year rule did not apply.

Fidler continued his appeals all the way to the High Court, but a judge upheld the order to have the castle torn down.

Deputy High Court Judge Sir Thayne Forbes stated that Fidler did not intend for the bales to be part of the permanent structure of the castle, and therefore the house must be demolished.

Forbes added, "From [Fidler's] own evidence and submissions it was always his intention to remove the bales once he thought that lawfulness had been secured.  It is therefore quite obvious he never intended to continue to live within a straw stack and until the straw was removed he could not enjoy a reasonable level of residential amenity, consistent with normal expectations of what a dwelling house should provide."

However, Fidler is not giving up on his secret castle. He will continue to appeal the demolition order all the way to the European Court of Human Rights, if necessary.

"This house will never be knocked down. This is a beautiful house that has been lovingly created. I will do whatever it takes to keep it," Fidler read in a statement.

When Fidler was asked why he built the secret castle in the first place, he replied, "They say an Englishman is entitled to have his castle. I thought that maybe I could claim this to be my castle and see if there was any mileage in that."