Sarah Beeny told to demolish extension she built on £3m estate ‘without permission’
Sarah Beeny’s ostentatious £3m “mini-Downton Abbey” home has been hit with a demolition order due to an unauthorised extension she documented in a Channel 4 show.
The 220-acre Somerset property has been at the centre of a fierce legal battle after Beeny substantially extended the building without permission, and then applied for the works retrospectively.
Initial permissions were given to construct a new home on the condition that the 1970s farmhouse included on the property, and its adjoining buildings, were torn down. Instead, Beeny decided to expand the existing structure instead, transforming it “into beautiful parkland”.
In May, the retroactive application was refused by the council and an appeal by the Channel 4 presenter and her husband Graham Swift has since been rejected, according to The Sun.
According to the outlet, a demolition has been ordered for the work to be razed to the ground.
The property was the subject of Channel 4 series Sarah Beeny’s New Life in the Country, which saw her and Swift renovate the semi-derelict former dairy farm on primetime TV.
These works transformed the property into a modern stately home with two libraries, a treehouse, boathouse, greenhouse and a boot room “the size of a primary school hall”, according to The Guardian.
It’s been furnished with rare antiques and carefully curated interior design, including sumptuous dark red wallpaper hand-selected by Beeny, who is an artist. It features a secret room, walk-in larder and a Shaker-style kitchen with two dishwashers.
In their Channel 4 series, the couple planted their own vineyard to create their own wine and turned a cloakroom into a “cabinet of curiosities for family heirlooms”. A mini clock tower complete with a bell and unique family flag was also added.
.png)
The Guardian said the unauthorised renovation being documented on TV displayed “a level of chutzpah far beyond ‘hiding in plain sight’”.
Speaking about the renovation in 2024, Beeny told The Telegraph: “The dining room is one of the most convincing new rooms, adorned with highly decorative and gilded plasterwork.
“There are two libraries, a sitting room, a playroom and a music room for the boys, as well as a utility/boot room. When it came to the boys’ bedrooms, the kids were given free rein to decorate them as they wished.
“One of our upstairs bathrooms has two baths because Graham found my bath too hot and I found his too cold.”
.png)
Beeny, who recently recovered from breast cancer, explained: “It’s an amalgamation of properties we’ve lived in, developments we’ve done and houses we’ve visited, but with the added benefit of a farm we’re turning into beautiful parkland.”
She added: “The manor house is classical at the front and back, although I do remember complaining to Graham that his original design was boring.
“It just had a door in the middle and windows at either side. Unfazed, he said, ‘Let’s design a house that looks like it has evolved over time. You wouldn’t have a fully Georgian house because the Victorians would have built an extension.’ So that’s what we did.”
The Independent has contacted Beeny’s representative for comment.
