Home sweet castle: $2.3M buys a medieval marvel near Monroe

MONROE — For $2.3 million, this home is your castle, complete with four heated thrones.

Porcelain thrones, that is.

What’s up with that?

The cultured stone castle, built in 1993, mixes modern conveniences with medieval times.

Gargoyles mark the entrance with a wooden drawbridge that crosses a dry moat.

Inside are bidets, Alexa devices and a fancy stove imported from France. Outside is a gun range and a 9-foot metal dragon made in Switzerland.

Dozens of weapons, heraldic flags and curios come with the house. Five suits of wearable knight armor also stay, lest you want to dress the part.

“It’s turn-key,” said Barbara Orr, broker with Bellevue-based RSVP Real Estate ERA Powered. “It has all the bells and whistles.”

The exterior of the $2.3 million Monroe castle in Monroe. (Olivia Vanni / The Herald)

The home, co-listed with John Logue of Windermere R.E. Northeast, Inc., is shown by appointment.

“I’ve been doing this for 35 years and except for one other property on Lake Washington I’ve never seen another home with this level of craftsmanship, from the tile roof to the siding to the wood walls and wood flooring,” Logue said.

The contents have drawn interest from collectors.

“There’s a bunch of people who have been calling me who are dungeons and dragons people. Boy, they want all of that stuff,” Orr said.

Sorry, it’s a packaged deal with the house.

Gargoyles mark the entrance to the castle along with a wooden bridge that crosses a dry moat. (Olivia Vanni / The Herald)

The owners, a couple who bought the place in 2004, asked their names not be used. The husband was a nuclear physicist who turned his attention from explosive devices in New Mexico to cancer research in Seattle.

The wife envisioned a Craftsman rambler for their move to Washington. The turreted castle on the hillside spoke to him.

“It had heavy vegetation, like somebody had actually built a castle in the woods,” she said.

He went gung-ho curating the great hall with artifacts. Flags hang from the high cathedral ceilings. On the shelves, thousands of sci-fi and fantasy books, along with swords, knives and axes.

She transformed the upstairs bedrooms into royal quarters with burgundy carpet and palatial drapery.

Now, it’s time to downsize.

The castle is behind a gate at 21632 High Rock Road, about 15 minutes from the Monroe fairgrounds and halfway to Duvall. It sits on nearly 19 acres and overlooks a pond with rainbow trout and a fountain. The grounds have been extensively cleared and landscaped.

Inside the Friendship Bedroom at the Monroe castle. (Olivia Vanni / The Herald)

“You can entertain all over,” Orr said.

There was ample parking for a party with 200 people for the unveiling of the dragon statue several years ago.

A Swiss sculptor created it from motorcycle parts. It took three months to make and arrived in five pieces.

A friend’s wedding in medieval costumes was held on the property, though it’s not zoned for a commercial venue.

Bonus items are a diesel fuel tank, two tractors and a Polaris Ranger. The four-wheeler takes guests around the property to the pergola with fire pit and waterfall. Camouflaged shipping containers built into the hillside add storage.

The castle has 3,161 square feet, plus a 399-square-foot finished basement/dungeon.

The main floor has custom cabinetry, hand-hewn beams and pegged hickory floors. The massive pantry room is a Costco shopper’s dream.

A view of the dragon statue and pond from the Romeo and Juliet balcony. (Olivia Vanni / The Herald)

There are hidden passageways for cats or small dogs (not little kids) and a pet napping station.

The home has three bathrooms, four if you count the private litter box chamber with the cat door. The cat doesn’t have a heated toilet seat. The fourth heated throne with bidet is in the detached 630-square-foot shop.

The four bedrooms have names: the honeymoon suite; the friendship with two twin beds; the Romeo and Juliet bedroom with balcony; and the primary suite with a loft and ceiling constellations that glow at night.

It’s not the most expensive house for sale in Monroe. There are two higher, at $2.75 million and $2.5 million.