Controversial Castle

Campbelltown has a well known medieval castle that was recently sold after initially going to auction. The castle in Leumeah was built in the 1970s by a local with a passion for the subject. However this is not the only medieval castle that Campbelltown has been home to.

In the mid 1980s a castle was constructed by Commonwealth Employment Program labour on NSW Housing Department land. It was specially designed as a community project and novel tourist attraction. The castle was built with sandstone and mud bricks. It was located on Rixon's Hill at Ambarvale near the corner of Woodland and Appin Roads.

The sandstone and mud brick castle on Rixon's Hill at Ambarvale in the 1980s

Unfortunately the castle soon became a haven for vandals. Local residents hated it from the time it was first built and regularly lobbied council to have it demolished. One local resident claimed that the crumbling castle provided vandals with a source of stones to pelt neighbouring houses.

Alderman Jim Merry branded the landmark "Folly Castle". It was also known as "Rixon's Folly" or "Rixon Hill Folly". The structure was bulldozed on the 18th of July, 1988.

Written by Andrew Allen

Sources:

McGill, Jeff 1993
Campbelltown Clippings

Macarthur Advertiser, July 13 1988 p1