Couple who bought 20-bed mansion for £9k now can't sell it despite £1.2m worth

A fashion designer couple who snapped up a 20-bedroom historic mansion for just £9,000 have watched its value soar to £1.2million - but say they're unable to sell due to devastating landslides. Charles and Patricia Lester MB, who have crafted garments for A-list celebrities including Barbara Streisand and Adele, initially purchased Llanfoist House in Wales back in September 1971.

The Grade II listed country residence is thought to originate from around 1690 and was split into sections during the 1920s. However, despite boasting a hefty £1.2million price tag, the pair say they've been 'trapped in limbo for decades' because of recurring landslides and water damage from a canal that flows beside their property.

The Monmouthshire and Brecon Canal, situated just south of Abergavenny, passes approximately 70ft above the house at the summit of a sharp incline and has triggered severe flooding incidents repeatedly throughout the years, reports Wales Online. Amongst the most devastating were a life-threatening landslide in 1975 and another catastrophic event in 2014.

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Mr and Mrs Lester, aged 83 and 82 respectively, maintain that years of living in terror of the waterway have not only harmed their mental and physical wellbeing but also rendered their property practically impossible to sell. Mr Lester revealed: "We have been trying to sell the house for the last ten to twelve years. It has ruined our retirement.

"We were going to retire to a home that we had built ourselves in west Wales. It was by the sea and it was built for old people. An old couple could have lived in and run it, while still staying in a stunning location. We had been working on it since the 1990s - completely rebuilding it. If you give two designers a blank sheet of paper, you get carried away. Sadly, we eventually had to sell it. It was heartbreaking."

Their property, nestled within six acres of breathtaking grounds, was formerly the residence of Crawshay Bailey, the Newport MP who was a prominent ironmaster, coal industry pioneer, and passionate railway advocate. However, the pair reveal they have both suffered cardiac problems and endured years of "sleepless nights" whilst trapped in a residence too magnificent for a pensioner couple to manage.

They were forced to accept a reduced offer of £850,000 for the home - almost half a million beneath the property's £1.2m assessment - to stand any hope of securing a sale. Yet even that deal collapsed when the couple couldn't locate a company willing to verify the building's safety.

Mr and Mrs Lester have clashed with the Canal and River Trust (CRT), which assumed control of the state-run British Waterways in 2012. They allege the organisation has failed in its duty to maintain the waterway and insist their grievances 'haven't been taken seriously over the decades'.

Mr Lester, who hails from Banbury in Oxfordshire, remembered the devastating landslide in 1975, during which he and his wife nearly lost their lives. He said: "We heard a noise and came out of the house to see great jets of water coming out of the bank.

"A mass of 20,000 tonnes or so of water headed straight for us, bringing a tremendous amount of rocks and trees streaming towards where we were standing. I remember my body just froze. Luckily, the biggest trees came down first and their roots hit a wall and formed a sort of dam and stopped us from getting washed away."

He added: "The canal was closed in 1960. Back then, it was an extraordinary piece of engineering and there had never been a collapse in its 200 year history. That is how it was when we bought it. But then they dredged it for boats with modern propellers and they lined the canal with clay. British Waterways kept working their way down - dredging it deeper. We have had all our problems since then."

The homeowner revealed the pair raised concerns with the CRT following that terrifying episode five decades ago, though he alleged substandard maintenance work persisted. He added: "In the major landslide, the canal's safety gates hadn't worked because they had rotted away.

"Afterwards, they continued to do all sorts of things which any competent engineer would tell you are terrible ideas. They put thick concrete at the bottom of the bank, with concrete slabs on the sides. They didn't even put any seals on the joints." In 2014, the banks above their house began to show alarming cracks. "One of our engineers said that if the canal came down it could sweep us away", Mr Lester said.

Mrs Lester, originally from Buckinghamshire, shared: "I still suffer from sleepless nights. Can you imagine what would happen if it went in the middle of the night? When something as big as the collapse happens and you know it could happen again, it makes you relive the whole thing again and again.

"I think about it every night when I go to bed. It's a nightmare. You become really really stressed, not knowing if you're going to be bankrupt or even killed. It takes your life up completely."

The Lesters have previously tried to take the CRT to court, using their housing insurance policy, which covered legal costs of up to £100,000. A spokesperson for the CRT said: "The canal is an engineering marvel from the industrial age that attracts visitors from around the world.

"Our charity works hard to keep it open and navigable for people to enjoy and for the benefit of wildlife. We will continue our programme of maintenance and repairs, monitoring for leaks or movement in the canal's embankments and acting to remedy them as necessary, along the Monmouthshire and Brecon Canal, including at Llanfoist."

Charles and Patricia have been crafting, designing and producing couture ladies gowns and interior design fabrics for over half a century. Their masterpieces are displayed in various museums globally, including the Victoria and Albert Museum in London, Ohio State University – Wexner Centre, Phoenix Art Museum, and Houston Museum of Fine Arts.