Woodstock, Conn., castle on 75 acres listed for $35M
It looks like it was taken straight from the pages of a children’s storybook with its stone façade and sky-high spires. The castle on 450 Brickyard Road does not exist in a faraway land, it exists in the northeastern corner of Connecticut, and it’s for sale.
Listed for $35 million, the 18,777 square-foot castle located in Woodstock is a nine-bedroom home with 7 full bathrooms, 12 fireplaces and an “entry hall and public spaces that are indeed fit for a king,” according to the listing. The house has 20 rooms, the listing notes, and more than 25 species of hardwoods are used throughout the home on the doors, flooring and other woodwork.
The castle sits on 75 acres of land, the listing notes, and its next residents can view the pond year-round from the radiant-heated decks and patios that can melt snow in the winter. The castle also includes one distinct fairy tale feature: a moat.
The property has garnered much attention in its 10 days on the market. On Nov. 7, the Woodstock castle was featured on the viral Instagram and TikTok account, “Zillow Gone Wild.” Called “one of the craziest homes” the account has ever featured, commenters on Instagram remarked over the property’s moat, while one wrote that the Zillow Gone Wild account “exists for the purpose of showing this house.” The castle joined other Connecticut homes when it was featured on Zillow Gone Wild, including a Stamford house with a hockey rink and a Greenwich manor featured on the account’s "Mansion Mondays."
According to the castle’s website, the property is known as the “Chris Mark Castle,” after its owner Christopher Mark, a philanthropist and descendent of steel industrialist Clayton Mark. As a teenager, Christopher Mark created Mark Miniatures, the website notes, a collection of handpainted figurines that were sold by retailers like Bergdorf Goodman. According to listing agent John Pizzi, Mark began construction on the castle in 2003 and oversaw the build from start to finish before it was completed in 2010.
Pizzi said the storybook property is replete with equally fabled features.
“There are many interior and exterior doors, fireplace mantles, stained glass windows, and other items that were imported from Europe,” he said in an email. “It was purchased from antique centers and dealers who specialize in saving and selling building materials with unique craftsmanship.”
In the kitchen, there’s a stone fireplace that overlooks Potter Pond, the listing notes, while a walkout lower level that adds another 4,500 square feet of finished living space has a common area with a circular bar. The castle also contains a “raised stage and auditorium” and an in-law apartment, according to the listing.
Unique features and all, the castle home is still looking for its next residents. According to Pizzi, it might require a particular kind of buyer.
“This property is an optimal fit for a person who wants a lifestyle change: not an ordinary run-of-the-mill home or estate, something unique and exceptional,” he said. “Owning a Castle may not be for everyone, but who wouldn't enjoy the life of a king and queen?”