Chesil Cliff House, which starred in one of Grand Designs most popular episodes, is back on the market for £6.5 million with Knight Frank.
The hubris of Edward Short’s project building a fabulous Art Deco-style lighthouse in Devon saw its first appearance on Grand Designs dubbed the “saddest ever episode”.
Short went into £4 million of debt to build his dream home in Croyde, and the stress contributed to his wife leaving him.
But Short completed the build and the house went on the market in 2022 for £10 million.
“I need to sell it, that is all that is left,” Short told the Sunday Times last year. “I couldn’t live in it.”
A year later, the house is back on the market with £3.5 million slashed from the asking price.
The eight-bedroom home, which comes complete with an infinity pool, beach access and a “storm room” is on the market for £6.5 million.
It comes at a time when the owners of UK prime property are having to reduce their asking prices by significant sums to try and attract buyers.
The house is perched on a cliffside, with foundations driven deep into the bedrock to protect it from coastal erosion.
Designed to resemble a lighthouse, the top floor of a circular tower offers 360 degrees of the coastline and was created to allow the occupants to watch stormy weather roll in over the sea.
The principal bedroom looks out over the sea and the infinity pool.
An elaborate private driveway provides access to the remote site from the main road.
There is also planning permission to add a helipad, should a prospective buyer wish to arrive in a more dramatic fashion.
The property comes with 2.8 acres of ground and direct access to the shoreline via steps in the garden.
A three-bedroom annexe, dubbed The Eye, is also available for purchase but the buyer would need to negotiate separately.
Chesil Cliff House has never been lived in, and parts of the house such as the kitchen are yet to be fitted so the new owner can leave their own stamp on the property.
Fans of Grand Designs were able to watch the rocky road it took to realise the project when the Grand Designs episode it starred in first aired in 2019.
Short and his now-ex-wife Hazel bought a 1950s house on the site 2010 before knocking it down and embarking on an ambitious construction project.
Architect Alan Phillips designed the elaborate structure, which includes the lighthouse-like four-storey rotunda.
Having made his money in the music industry, Short budgeted £3.2 million for the project and its elaborate engineering.
He planned to sell off the annexe – originally designed as a recording studio – as a separate property to fund the project.
But delays, spiralling costs and mounting debts saw the seaside dreamhouse become an albatross around its owners’ necks.
When the TV show returned to see their progress, McCloud found an unfinished shell and a newly single Short.
“I put [Hazel] through a horrendous time with this — knocking the family home down, not building another one,” Short told the Channel 4 presenter.
“I don’t think it gets much worse than that for a partner. My ambition and vanity has probably collapsed the marriage.”
But Short soldiered on and completed the project to the point it could be bought to market. He and Hazel now have new partners, and their children are in their 20s.
McCloud made an elaborate metaphor about lighthouses as portents of destruction potentially dooming the project – something he retracted after re-visiting the project for another episode.
"I described it as a “folly” and “a morality tale of overreaching” but it’s not at all,” McCloud told The Sunday Times.
“It is proof that a positive attitude and incredible hard work can prevail. It was absolutely glorious to see it all done,” he added.
“I get quite emotional about it. It’s been ten years of my life and it is such a great relief to see Edward get through this.”
Now for a truly happy ending would be for Chesil Cliff House to finally find a new owner.
