VANCOUVER, British Columbia—The front yard of a house in a tony British Columbia neighborhood is a little less welcoming for pirates now.

Architect Andrew Dewberry and a crew of friends spent Saturday dismantling the pirate ship tree house he’s had in his Vancouver yard for two years. He said he had no choice after a court ordered it to be removed for not complying with city bylaws.

Dewberry had to explain the situation to his sons Jack, 9, and Sam, 7, before the tree house came down. He said, “They’ve had a lot of joy with the tree fort.”

Jack, who stood with a friend and watched the dismantling, said, “We wanted to sleep in it over the summer one time, but we didn’t get around to it and now we can’t.”

In July, the judge in the case admired the workmanship of the ship, complete with plastic cannons, in a perch 6 1/2 feet up a large, leafy tree in front of the family’s home. But the judge said its merits were irrelevant to whether the tree house violated city bylaws.

Dewberry said the tree house would be auctioned for the Boys and Girls Club of Vancouver. The benefit is set for Oct. 16.