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With breathtaking views over the North Sea, the handsome Red House should be worth around £2 million.
But the sheer rate of coastal erosion in parts of Suffolk means it is now not only worthless but dangerous.
Demolition of the 1920s property in the village of Thorpeness began this week after heartbroken owners Richard Moore, 76, a director of Ipswich Town FC, and his wife Sheila, 73, were told by council officials that it was unsafe to enter. to live.
More than 15 feet of their backyard has been swept away since the summer of 2021, leaving the red-brick house just 10 feet away from a 35-foot sand cliff.
Demolition of the 1920s brick home in Thorpeness began this week after heartbroken owners Richard Moore, 76, and wife Sheila, 73, were told by city officials it was unsafe to live in.
Warning: Some of Britain’s coastal towns and villages may have to be abandoned due to rising seas and coastal erosion, the Environment Agency (EA) chief executive said. Data from the EA’s National Coastal Erosion Risk Mapping project and Climate Central suggest the endangered sites include Fairbourne in Wales and Happisburgh in Norfolk.
Severe coastal erosion in parts of Suffolk means the mansion is now not only worthless but dangerous
They’ve lost at least 15 feet from their backyard in the last 20 months
Mr Moore and his wife, who have owned the property for 25 years and have rented it out as a luxury holiday retreat, have not yet commented on the situation.
But one villager said, “They will be very angry that it has come to this. The Red House is a beautiful property and it is tragic that it is torn down.
“They could have spent a fortune making their own seawall, just like their neighbors have done — but you can’t stop the forces of nature forever.”
An excavator has begun to demolish the six-bedroom house, which had a sea-view hot tub in the yard.
TV producer Lucy Ansbro, 53, who lives next door, revealed that she and her partner Matthew Graham spent “hundreds of thousands of pounds” last October to lay 500 stones, each weighing three tons, at the base of the cliff. to protect their home.
Since the summer of 2021, more than 15 meters of their backyard has been swept away, leaving the imposing detached house just 10 meters away from a 35-meter high sand cliff.
A villager said, “They will be very angry that it has come to this. The Red House is a beautiful building and tragic that it is torn down’
The house was built in the 1920s and before the erosion it would have been worth around £2 million
The mansion has an expansive backyard and hot tub (photo)
They replaced gabions — sea walls made of rocks encased in wire baskets — that had been swept away by bad weather last Easter.
A few months earlier, storms breached similar defenses that kept the sea at bay in front of the Red House, whose owners live in Ongar, Essex.
Ms Ansbro said: ‘We did the work under emergency powers because our property was in more imminent danger than the Red House at the time.
‘We paid for it because the municipality was not obliged to pay for it. There were discussions about the Red House’s participation, but they didn’t have the money available.
“If I hadn’t put those stones down, we wouldn’t be living there right now. Most of our house is closer to the sea than the Red House and the cliff would be in the middle of our yard.’
The soft, sandy nature of the Norfolk and Suffolk coasts makes them some of the fastest eroding areas in northwestern Europe.
Houses on the coast in Easton Bavents and Pakefield have been demolished as a result, but none are as spectacular as the latest victim.
The director of Ipswich Town FC, Mr Moore and his wife, who have owned the property for 25 years and have let it as a luxury holiday residence, have not yet commented on the situation.
The hot tub overlooks the sea (pictured) and the house can accommodate sixteen people
They replaced gabions — sea walls made of rocks encased in wire baskets — that had protected the house wiped out by bad weather last Easter.
Miss Ansboro is director of Thorpeness Community Interest Group, which is in talks with Coastal Partnership East – a group of coastal councils – to improve the seawall.
She added: ‘We represent the whole village and we are trying to point out the problem to them.
“Once the Red House is gone, other houses on the sea are in danger and those behind it are in danger.”
Coastal Partnership East said erosion in front of the Red House increased significantly in early 2022, ‘putting the north end of the property at significant risk’.
The critical point was reached in early spring, at which point “any intervention on the toe of the cliff would have made no difference.”
A spokesperson said: ‘Coastal Partnership East has been working closely with the community in Thorpeness to develop options to reduce the risk of coastal erosion.
‘This is mainly on the north side of the village, which has seen more erosion since 2018. A rock cladding (a sloping sea wall made of rocks) is preferred by the community and this is moving in the direction of detailed design.”
They’ve lost at least 50 feet of their backyard in the past 20 months, leaving the Red House just 10 feet from the edge of the 35-foot-tall sand cliff in North End Avenue, Thorpeness, Suffolk.
Houses on the coast in Easton Bavents and Pakefield have been demolished as a result, but none are as spectacular as the latest victim in Thorpeness. Pictured: A room in the Red House