A home modelled after a lighthouse, which featured in what was labelled the ‘saddest ever’ episode of Grand Designs, has finally found a buyer after 12 years of renovations. The notorious Chesil Cliff House left its owner, Edward Short, 57, sinking in £7m of debt.
The construction of this distinctive property spanned over a decade and went several million pounds over budget, worsened by a recession and ultimately leading to the end of Edward’s marriage to his wife Hazel.
The house gained infamy when it appeared on Channel 4’s Grand Designs, with viewers dubbing it the “saddest episode ever” following its broadcast in October 2019.
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The programme followed Edward and his family’s journey as they faced numerous setbacks, leaving the house in Croyde, Devon, unfinished and the family saddled with millions of pounds in debt. The five-bedroom property was put back on the market in 2024 for a hefty £5.25m and has now found a buyer.
On 19 August 2025, Edward expressed his relief that the property had been sold, joking that he would still be buying lottery tickets in hopes of one day reclaiming it.
Edward 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.
Edward Short at the home in 2019
“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.”, reports Devon Live.
The property was originally listed for sale in February 2023, but struggled to attract a purchaser.
Then in late 2024, the five-bedroom residence was placed back on the market, with Savills marketing it on behalf of joint receivers at a reduced price of £5.25m.
Rumours circulated that famous faces including Harry Styles and Michael Jackson’s former bodyguard Matt Fiddes had expressed interest in the dwelling – but no deal came to fruition.
Chesil Cliff House in Croyde, Devon
Speaking in November 2024, Matt said: “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 disclosed that he still looks back on his time constructing the property with fond memories.
He said the period he spent building the house was amongst the finest times of his life. Edward said: “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.”
It has been described as one of the saddest episodes in Grand Designs’ history
Costs spiralled far beyond what owner Edward had anticipated as he tried to transform the property into an art deco lighthouse.
The home was originally put on the market through Knight Frank for £10 million and boasts an infinity pool plus three acres of land.
A purchase almost completed before a mystery buyer pulled out at the eleventh hour, forcing it to be re-advertised and split into two individual lots – the primary home valued at £7.5 million while the adjacent seaside development called ‘The Eye’ had a £2.5 million price tag.
The show also revealed how the bold scheme had placed tremendous strain on Edward’s marriage, eventually resulting in his split from wife Hazel.
Despite the obstacles, Edward remained committed to finishing the project.
Edward previously said: “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 property has been anchored into the cliff’s bedrock. Edward, a father-of-two, previously explained he had little choice but to put it on the market to cover the substantial sums he’d borrowed, with total expenditure expected to hit £6 million.