A property described as the 'saddest ever' Grand Designs home has finally been sold after 12 years of renovations that left its owner with £7 million in debt. The Chesil Cliff House in Croyde, Devon, was inspired by a lighthouse and featured on Channel 4's Grand Designs in October 2019, an episode viewers labelled the 'saddest ever'.
Owner Edward Short, 57, saw his marriage to wife Hazel end amid the financial strain. The five-bedroom property was initially listed for £10 million but failed to sell. It returned to the market in late 2024 at a reduced price of £5.25 million and has now found a buyer.
Speaking on August 19, 2025, Edward expressed relief at the sale, saying: 'It is definitely the closure of a long chapter of my life. I mentally moved on from the property a while ago. I am relieved it is sold; it gives me closure. I put everything I could to make it work, but it didn't. It is not the end of the world, but it was a financial failure.' He added he would still buy lottery tickets hoping to one day reclaim the house.
The property had attracted interest from celebrities including Harry Styles and Michael Jackson's former bodyguard Matt Fiddes, but no sale materialised. Fiddes had suggested knocking down the house and building something more modest. Edward, however, looks back fondly on the building process, calling it 'amazing' and saying those times 'never leave you'.
The house features an infinity pool and three acres of grounds, secured into the cliff's bedrock. Edward, a father of two, said he had little choice but to sell to cover the substantial sums borrowed, with total expenditure expected to hit £6 million.
