Chesil Cliff House became infamous after the homeowners faced 12 years of construction and seven million in debt following a lengthy and costly house renovation effort
A lighthouse-inspired property, which featured in what was dubbed the ‘saddest ever’ episode of Grand Designs, has finally been sold after 12 years of renovations. Chesil Cliff House gained notoriety after its construction left owner Edward Short, 57, with a staggering £7m debt.
The building process took 12 years and went several million pounds over budget – a situation exacerbated by the recession and ultimately leading to the end of his marriage to wife Hazel. The house was showcased on Channel 4’s Grand Designs, with many viewers labelling it the “saddest episode ever” following its broadcast in October 2019.
The episode chronicled Edward and his family’s journey as they faced numerous setbacks, leaving the house in Croyde, Devon, incomplete and the family burdened with millions of pounds in debt. The five-bedroom property was put back on the market in 2024 for £5.25m and has now found a buyer.
And now Edward has expressed his relief that the property has been sold, joking that he’ll still be buying a lottery ticket in hopes of reclaiming it one day.
He said: “It is definitely the closure of a long chapter of my life – there is no doubt about that. I mentally moved on from the property a while ago as the writing was on the wall. I am relieved it is sold; it gives me closure.
“I put everything I could as a person to make it work, but it didn’t. It is not the end of the world, but it was a financial failure. I will still be buying a lottery ticket and dreaming that I can buy it back.”
The property first hit the market in February 2023, but failed to find a buyer. Fast forward to late 2024, and the five-bedroom residence was back up for grabs, this time listed by Savills on behalf of joint receivers at a slashed price of £5.25m.
Rumours swirled that celebrities like Harry Styles and Michael Jackson’s former bodyguard Matt Fiddes were eyeing the property – but no deal ever materialised.
In November 2024, Matt commented: “It is in a very valuable part of Croyde. It is a great corner but absolutely knocking it down and building something more modest would make much better financial sense. It would make the locals happy and give a safer access.
“That is definitely an option and is what the locals want. If my bid is successful, I will listen to the community and hear them out. All I hear at the moment though, is that it is getting vandalised and the locals just want rid of it.”
Edward reminisced about his time constructing the property with a sense of nostalgia. He fondly recalled the period he spent building the house as some of the best times of his life.
Edward reflected: “I do look back at lots of elements of building that house that I enjoyed. There were moments that were amazing. All the time I spent building the house was amazing – that never leaves you.”
Owner Edward found himself in a financial quagmire when costs skyrocketed as he attempted to convert the house into an art deco lighthouse. The property initially appeared on Knight Frank’s website with a £10 million price tag and features an infinity pool alongside three acres of grounds.
A potential sale nearly went through before a mysterious purchaser withdrew at the last minute, forcing it back onto the market where it was subsequently divided into two separate lots – the main residence now priced at £7.5 million whilst the neighbouring beachfront development known as ‘The Eye’ carries a £2.5 million asking price.
The programme also disclosed that the lengthy build had put enormous pressure on Edward’s marriage, ultimately leading to his separation from wife Hazel.
Yet despite the numerous setbacks, Edward stayed determined to see the project through to completion. Edward previously stated: “I’ll always be proud to have finished this. I owe it to my family to have a real end result, but the time has come to move on.
“I will have achieved what I set out to do, never deviating from the plans, and for that I’ll always be proud.”
The dwelling has been secured directly into the cliff’s bedrock foundation. The father-of-two had previously acknowledged he had little choice but to sell the property to cover the substantial borrowing required, with total expenditure expected to hit £6 million.
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