The couple say they have been ‘stuck in limbo for decades’
A fashion designer couple who bought a 20-bed historic mansion for £9k have seen its value rocket to £1.2m – but say they can’t sell it due to landslides. Charles and Patricia Lester MB, who have made clothes worn by stars such as Barbara Streisand and Adele, originally bought Llanfoist House in Wales in September 1971.
The stunning Grade II listed Country House is believed to date back to around 1690 and was divided up in the 1920s. But despite its lofty valuation of £1.2M, the couple say they have been ‘stuck in limbo for decades’ due to regular landslides and leaks from a canal running adjacent to their home.
The Monmouthshire and Brecon Canal, just south of Abergavenny, runs past around 70ft above the property at the top of a steep bank and has caused serious leaks repeatedly over the decades. Among the most serious was a near-fatal landslide in 1975 and another major incident in 2014.
Mr and Mrs Lester, who are 83 and 82, claim that decades of living in fear of the canal have not only damaged their mental and physical health but also made their home virtually unsellable. Mr Lester said: “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 house, set in six acres of stunning grounds, was once the home of Crawshay Bailey, the MP for Newport, a leading Ironmaster, pioneer of the coal industry, and keen promoter of the railways. But the couple says they have both developed heart issues and have had years of “sleepless nights” at being stuck in a house too grand for an elderly couple to maintain.
They had to accept a low offer of £850,000 for the property – nearly half a million below the house’s £1.2m valuation – to have a chance at selling. But even that fell through after the couple failed to find a firm that would certify the property as being safe.
Mr and Mrs Lester have taken issue with the Canal and River Trust (CRT), which took over the state-owned British Waterways in 2012. They claim the trust has been negligent in maintaining the canal and say their complaints ‘haven’t been taken seriously over the decades’.
Mr Lester, who is originally from Banbury in Oxfordshire, recalled the worst landslide in 1975, in which he and his wife were almost killed. 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.”
According to Mr Lester, the couple complained to the CRT around the time of that incident, five decades ago, but he claimed poor maintenance practices continued. 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, deep cracks appeared once again in the banks above the house. “One of our engineers said that if the canal came down it could sweep us away”, Mr Lester said.
Mrs Lester, who is originally from Buckinghamshire, said: “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 attempted to took the CRT to court, using their housing insurance policy which covered legal costs of up to £100,000.
Mr Lester added: “They took on a top legal firm against us because they couldn’t afford to lose. If they did, it would set a precedent all over the country. “They just ran us out of money.”
A spokesperson for the CRT said in response: “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 & Brecon Canal, including at Llanfoist.”
Charles and Patricia have been hand painting, designing and creating couture ladies gowns and interior design fabrics for over 50 years. Their creations can be seen in a variety of museums around the world, including the Victoria and Albert Museum in London, Ohio State University – Wexner Centre, Phoenix Art Museum, and Houston Museum of Fine Arts.
In recognition of their work, King Charles and Queen Camilla visited their Studio in 2015. They have worked on many film, television, and opera projects, with their individual designs taking a starring role. They have also personally been worn by some of the world’s best-known celebrities, such as Barbara Streisand, Whoopi Goldberg, HRH the Duchess of Kent, and the late great Elizabeth Taylor.
