Like many young boys, I grew up pretending to be a medieval knight, fighting dragons and rescuing damsels in distress. My castle was usually a cardboard box or a pile of couch cushions. Mike Newman had the same boyhood fantasies but was brave enough to turn them into a royal reality.
Nestled in the woods outside of Bellville, a town of about 4,200 residents about an hour west of Houston, lies the architectural wonder known as Newman’s Castle. Newman started the project in 1998, and over the next decade, the local baker personally constructed the castle that would make any fairy tale king jealous. There’s a moat and fortified walls protecting the place Newman built as his private home powered by San Bernard Electric Cooperative.
Sadly, the hero of our tale died in March, but his castle is still open for tours, which can be reserved by calling Newman’s Bakery. My tour started at the Bellville bakery, followed by a group caravan to the castle, where we were given wooden swords and knighted into the king’s court. After crossing the moat, I was tasked with raising the drawbridge by running inside a human-sized hamster wheel. I immediately regretted the extra kolach I had eaten on the drive over.
Once inside the walls, we toured the chapel, ate in the banquet hall and climbed to the top of the 60-foot bell tower. We even got to try out the castle’s dungeon of medieval torture devices, including a mythical iron maiden, stocks and a bed of nails. As the grand finale, we launched stones at imaginary dragons using a massive historically accurate trebuchet.
It felt like a real trip into the depths of Newman’s ingenuity. His lasting legacy helps us realize that the make-believe doesn’t always have to stay in our imagination.
