I bought Ian Fleming's incredible UK beach home for under £1million – now I'm selling up because it's ‘too small'
NEVER STAY NEVER I bought Ian Fleming's incredible UK beach home for under £1million – now I'm selling up because it's 'too small'
Click to share on X/Twitter (Opens in new window)
Click to share on Facebook (Opens in new window)
A JAMES Bond superfan who snapped up Ian Fleming's former seaside home for less than £1million is putting it back on the market – because he says it's no longer big enough for his family.
Mermaid Cottage, the striking 1920s Art Deco house in St Margaret's Bay, Kent, was once owned by both Bond creator Ian Fleming and legendary playwright Noel Coward.
Sign up for Scottish Sun
newsletter
Sign up
7
It's now up for sale with a guide price of £1.75million
Credit: Getty
7
Its villain, Hugo Drax, constructs his deadly Moonraker rocket just outside Dover near Deal
Credit: Strutt & Parker
7
It remained in private hands until 2008, when current owner Mark Sawyer spotted it during a visit to Kent with his then-partner
Credit: Strutt & Parker
It's now up for sale with a guide price of £1.75million.
Fleming is believed to have written part of Moonraker at the property between 1951 and 1957, taking inspiration from the surrounding cliffs and coastline for the novel's dramatic setting.
Its villain, Hugo Drax, constructs his deadly Moonraker rocket just outside Dover, near Deal.
Coward had owned the house previously and renamed it 'White Cliffs' after restoring it following wartime damage by British and Canadian troops preparing for D-Day.
He spent around £2,000 reinforcing the chalk cliffs and reportedly found his love of painting during his years there, according to Dover Museum.
The house passed to Fleming in 1951, becoming his weekend and holiday escape.
It remained in private hands until 2008, when current owner Mark Sawyer spotted it during a visit to Kent with his then-partner.
The 56-year-old, who works in private equity, first glimpsed the village while swimming the Channel in a team relay: 'I distinctly remember the captain of the boat saying, 'There's St Margarets, it's a really pretty village'. I saw it from the water for the first time.'
Although the house wasn't officially on the market, the couple fell in love with it and persuaded the estate agent to take it off the books immediately with a £20,000 deposit.
They bought it for £800,000 and have since spent around £1million on renovations, including buying land to extend the garden.
James Bond expert drops huge hint about new 007 actor after he starred in movie with huge A-list actress
'I'm a massive Bond fan. For me that was the cherry on the cake,' Sawyer said.
'Most people say when we're down there: squint and you could be in the Mediterranean,' he added.
'In the winter, the bay is so much quieter.
"You sit there with the log-burning stove roaring with a storm blowing outside.
7
A JAMES Bond superfan who snapped up Ian Fleming's former seaside home for less than £1million
Credit: Rex
"You're immersed in nature.
7
After nearly two decades in Mermaid Cottage, Mark Sawyer is selling his Bond-worthy home
"The only land you can see from our living room is France.'
His partner Lara Jewitt, a Chelsea Flower Show gold medallist, helped design the garden, which echoes the style of Derek Jarman's Prospect Cottage.
The couple bought land from the council in 2014 to create it, but soon ran out of space.
'We developed every square inch down there, and we just wanted a bit more room,' Sawyer said.
'I never thought I would sell it, to be honest with you. It has three bedrooms, and that is too small to have both of my children back, potentially in the future with their partners, and my family to stay.'
Not everyone is pleased about the decision.
'My daughter is still not talking to me since I told her I am selling it,' he admitted. 'She'll get over it eventually.'
Strutt & Parker, who are handling the sale, describe Mermaid Cottage as a 'breathtaking location' with a 'rich history of famous connections.'
7
They bought it for £800,000 and have since spent around £1million on renovations, including buying land to extend the garden
Credit: Strutt & Parker
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Scottish Sun
3 hours ago
- Scottish Sun
Horoscope today, August 7 2025: Daily star sign guide from Mystic Meg
Click to share on X/Twitter (Opens in new window) Click to share on Facebook (Opens in new window) OUR much-loved astrologer Meg sadly died in 2023 but her column is being kept alive by her friend and protégée Maggie Innes. Read on to see what's written in the stars for you today. ♈ ARIES March 21 to April 20 The emotional pull of the moon may try to water down ambitions, so you'll need to stand up for what you most care about. This helps you turn full focus back on what you truly believe, and many doubts disappear. Strong passion power helps you say what you need to say, do what you know is right – and love grows. 3 Your daily horoscope for Thursday ♉ TAURUS April 21 to May 21 Your chart of learning and moving forward may be less predictable than you'd like, but keeping you on alert could help you succeed. So instead of fighting changes, make them work for you. In love? Watching an old movie together can open up two hearts. Single? Meet The One where phones are held up. Get all the latest Taurus horoscope news including your weekly and monthly predictions ♊ GEMINI May 22 to June 21 You could be unsure which of two potential new images is right for you, but listen to your inner voice as someone else might not always share the same vision for your future. Pluto's input helps you spot unusual, maybe even unlikely, chances to skill up and grab a money-spinner. Lucky numbers link to a prize ladder. Get all the latest Gemini horoscope news including your weekly and monthly predictions ♋ CANCER June 22 to July 22 Stop second-guessing your ability to make a bond the best it can be. You have a transforming power that everyone senses, and it makes people want to please you. This can include a partner. If you start the day single, your perfect passion place can be a campfire, BBQ or outside spot lit by flickering lights. Get all the latest Cancer horoscope news including your weekly and monthly predictions ♌ LEO July 23 to August 23 You have a unique ability to ask all the key questions, in love and life, and get the right results, even if they're not the ones you think you want. So don't hold back – harness your Mars energy and jump in. A style that is so like yours can be today's number one romance pointer. Number two is a passion for pets. Get all the latest Leo horoscope news including your weekly and monthly predictions ♍ VIRGO August 24 to September 22 A keen collector might be set to become a major part of your life – this can be a lover and someone your heart recognises before your head catches on. If you're in a relationship, researching objects or words together draws you closer. Your chart of what and who really counts may seem blunt, but it cuts out fakes. Get all the latest Virgo horoscope news including your weekly and monthly predictions 3 When you are really honest with yourself, the results can surprise you Credit: Getty ♎ LIBRA September 23 to October 23 Family questions hit close to home and could bring up subjects you've tried to ignore. You now have the assets and energy to answer them, so do it. Cash wins have an 'L' element and going with your second guess all day can be a positive strategy. Passion and disguises combine for an intriguing love mix. Get all the latest Libra horoscope news including your weekly and monthly predictions ♏ SCORPIO October 24 to November 22 Reaching out to others, at work or at home, is easier than you expect, so keep trying. But this time, allow everyone to be themselves and resist any urge to change them. Passion is light, bright and a little scatty – new love could begin with a practical joke. While existing bonds turn back time and turn up the heat. Get all the latest Scorpio horoscope news including your weekly and monthly predictions ♐ SAGITTARIUS November 23 to December 21 Divide people you know, and things you own, into three groups – keep, chuck and consider. When you are really honest with yourself, the results can surprise you. Talking about yourself seriously is not easy for Sagittarius. But listening to a stranger who's had a very similar life to yours could give a positive way in. Get all the latest Sagittarius horoscope news including your weekly and monthly predictions ♑ CAPRICORN December 22 to January 20 Your chart has Jupiter depth and Saturn breadth – both of which can make the moon's emotional pull even stronger. Your future starts to look very different when you accept not everything may move as fast as, or go in the exact direction, you want it to. Love switches from cosy to challenging and you are ready for this now. Get all the latest Capricorn horoscope news including your weekly and monthly predictions 3 Single? Groove with an amateur DJ Credit: Supplied ♒ AQUARIUS January 21 to February 18 Secrets that were tucked away by accident rather than design are ready to come out. The moon makes this a positive life moment. You could face snap decisions, but trust yourself to do the right thing. If you are with a partner, hold your nerve as a two-way change is close. Single? Groove with an amateur DJ. Get all the latest Aquarius horoscope news including your weekly and monthly predictions ♓ PISCES February 19 to March 20 A task you don't feel able to tackle alone can become so much easier when you ask for help – but it might not be the obvious people who offer. This can lead to interesting times. Your passion profile might seem matter-of-fact, but beneath the surface you're full of sensual ideas. A recent fan of getting fit can sense this. Get all the latest Pisces horoscope news including your weekly and monthly predictions
Spectator
3 hours ago
- Spectator
Rattigan's films are as important as his plays
A campaign is under way to rename the West End's Duchess Theatre after the playwright Terence Rattigan. Supported as it is by the likes of Judi Dench and Rattigan Society president David Suchet, there's evidently a desire to right a historical wrong. Author of classics such as The Browning Version, The Winslow Boy and Separate Tables, Rattigan was known for his poise, melancholy and restraint, all of which put him at odds with the coterie of upstart writers of the 1950s – still amusingly known as the Angry Young Men. It's an oft-repeated chapter of theatre history that arch-kitchen-sinkers such as John Osborne made the environment virtually impossible for Rattigan to work in. Rattigan joked about it at the 1956 opening of Look Back in Anger. It was as if Osborne were saying, 'Look, Ma, I'm not Terence Rattigan!' he quipped. However, the Rattigan-bashing was always an empty indulgence. Osborne himself admitted as much on these very pages in 1993, writing: 'I have been intrigued by the success of the current revival of Terence Rattigan's The Deep Blue Sea. Rattigan was under the general frown when I first joined the Royal Court Theatre in 1956, and both George Devine and Tony Richardson were appalled when I confessed to being moved by the play.' Perhaps a Rattigan Theatre would indeed lay some of the ghosts to rest. But on first hearing news of the campaign, another thought occurred: Rattigan deserves a cinema as well. Film was arguably much kinder to him than theatre ever was in the low ebbs of his career. It supplied him with constant work, saw some of his best adaptations, and allowed his writing to weather the storm. Without his breakout play French Without Tears (1936), British cinema wouldn't have acquired one of its classic rogues, Rex Harrison, whose name it thrust into the spotlight. But French Without Tears was chiefly important because its adaptation in 1940 was Rattigan's first collaboration with director Anthony Asquith – and the first success of his screen career. Few could match Asquith's ability to adapt stage classics for film. The son of liberal prime minister Herbert, Asquith junior had directed an Oscar-nominated Pygmalion (1938), with Leslie Howard and Wendy Hiller, as well as the most celebrated version of The Importance of Being Earnest (1952), with Edith Evans as the definitive Lady Bracknell. Like so many British artists, Rattigan and Asquith were drafted into propaganda duties during the war. And it resulted in their first truly great work, The Way to the Stars (1945). The film had a Who's Who cast – Michael Redgrave, John Mills and Trevor Howard, all of whom would return to work with Asquith and Rattigan – and in its quieter moments, observing the grin-and-bear-it times of a British bomber base, hinted at their true creative potential. Postwar, Asquith returned to Rattigan's stage work with an adaptation of The Winslow Boy in 1948. It perfectly captured the it's-just-not-cricket mentality of the original play with its story of a boy unjustly expelled from naval college. Rattigan would take up these themes again (to lesser effect) in The Final Test (1953), but The Winslow Boy had the advantage of Robert Donat in the lead role at the height of his powers. Asquith's take on The Browning Version was another great example of his refusal to follow the growing spectacle – albeit much of it magnificent – of contemporaries such as David Lean and Michael Powell. Refraining from visual tricks or even much of a musical score, Asquith allows Rattigan's poise and melancholy to speak for itself. It may be one of the most quietly devastating English films ever made. And as the retiring classics teacher who may or may not be missed by his pupils, Michael Redgrave gives one of his most heart-wrenching performances as Crocker-Harris. Rattigan was not tied to Asquith, and pursued multiple projects outside of his preoccupation with upper-middle-class England. He created the original screenplay for Brighton Rock (1948), for example, Graham Greene's story of wide-boy knife gangs directed by John Boulting. It was reworked before reaching the screen but Greene crucially retained Rattigan's vision of the work as a thriller rather than an intellectual treatise. The Boultings kept Rattigan's change of ending, too, in which a gramophone recording of Pinkie (Richard Attenborough) jams on 'I love you…' before he lays into his love interest. Rattigan didn't generally shy away from the brutality of romantic relationships. The Deep Blue Sea (1955) is testament to that. Influenced by the relationship between Rattigan and actor Kenneth Morgan, the play's curtain-twitching portrait of a squalid postwar London is still one of his most unflinching of love stories. Vivien Leigh was cast as Hester, the spurned lover of RAF pilot Freddie, played by Kenneth More, who had transferred from the original play. More suggested that Leigh brought too much glamour to the part. Yet with Leigh's mental health deteriorating and her personal life crumbling, she appears in hindsight to have been all too right for The Deep Blue Sea. Rattigan then teamed up with Leigh's husband Laurence Olivier on The Prince and the Showgirl (1957), but Rattigan's last great screen work was his collaboration a year later with Delbert Mann on the Oscar-nominated Separate Tables. Another of his tragic ensemble pieces, the film saw a wealth of stars gathered in a run-down Bournemouth hotel, all forced to examine their lives after the revelation of a scandal involving the retired Major Pollock played by David Niven. Niven has the film to thank for the only Oscar win of his career, and Rattigan for his second nomination. (He received his first in 1952 for scripting David Lean's The Sound Barrier.) What happened next might have been the apex of Rattigan's screen career yet turned out to be the beginning of the end. In 1960 he had started working with the Rank Organisation to adapt his T.E. Lawrence play Ross. It was to star Dirk Bogarde and Asquith was slated to direct. But there was a problem: another Lawrence film was already in the works. Out of respect to David Lean – and under some pressure from Lawrence of Arabia producer Sam Spiegel – the studio pulled the plug on the project. Bogarde called it his 'bitterest disappointment'. Rattigan and Asquith ploughed on, assembling star-studded casts for two further movies, The V.I.P.s (1963) and The Yellow Rolls-Royce (1964), with all favours from friends called in. But even with Rattigan's work finding new audiences on television, the 1960s were relentlessly unforgiving. His last screenplay of note was the wonderful musical adaptation of Goodbye, Mr Chips (1969), with Peter O'Toole, before he fled into creative (and tax) exile to Bermuda. A knighthood in 1971 and a minor reconciliation with the theatre industry before his death in 1977 did little to remedy his unhappiness. The West End rediscovers Rattigan's work almost every decade. But the screen never forgot him. Terence Davies's hypnotic version of The Deep Blue Sea (2011) with Rachel Weisz and Tom Hiddleston converted a whole new generation. Rattigan no doubt deserves a theatre. His contribution continues to enrich the British stage – especially in its deeply English themes, its styling and restraint. But his dedication to the screen suggests a Rattigan cinema wouldn't go amiss either.
Spectator
3 hours ago
- Spectator
It was drug addiction that killed for Elvis, not his greedy manager
Colonel Tom Parker (1909-97) was the man who ripped Elvis Presley off and worked him to death. That's the received wisdom about the person who managed the King from 1955 until his premature death, aged 42, in 1977. Peter Guralnick's book, written with full access to Parker's unpublished, witty, clever letters, now owned by the Elvis Archives, gives a more nuanced, sympathetic picture. The author is no biased sensationalist. His Elvis biography, Last Train to Memphis (1995), is one of the most serious and reliable. So, yes, Parker was a serial liar, not least when it came to his identity. Born Andreas Cornelis van Kuijk in humble circumstances in Holland, he fled, aged 16, to America and was then kicked out. He returned three years later, changing his name to Tom Parker. He married twice but never had children and did everything he could to reject his Dutch relations. And, yes, he did serve in the US Army, but only for two years – and never became a colonel. In 1948 he was made an honorary colonel in the Louisiana state militia and milked the empty title for the rest of his life. For more than 20 years he was an unknown carnival huckster, salesman, showman and dog-catcher. On his own admission, he was an expert at 'snowing' – his favourite word for pulling wool over people's eyes just short of conning them. He had become a successful Country & Western promoter when, in early 1955, he heard about a 20-year-old singer driving the girls nuts at smalltime Texas concerts. He signed up the young man, buying him out from Sam Phillips of Sun Records for $35,000 – the deal of the century, but still a hefty sum then. Parker was soon promoting his client: 'We have a new boy that is absolutely going to be one of the biggest things in the business in a very short time. His name is ELVIS PRESLEY.' Capital letters would be part of the non-stop promotion campaign thereafter. Elvis may have become the greatest rock star of all time, but that wasn't inevitable in 1955. The Colonel took a huge risk in devoting his professional life to him – Elvis soon became his only client. And the star was initially very grateful, writing to his manager: 'I say thanks and love you like a father.' Even so, the terms were exorbitant and near-extortionary – beginning at 25 per cent and later soaring to 50 per cent. There again, Parker secured lucrative deals – which benefited him, it's true, but also brought millions flowing into Presley's bank account. The original record deal with RCA was extremely generous – as were the contracts for the films, however trashy they became. When Elvis started appearing in Las Vegas and, in 1973, for Aloha from Hawaii, the live satellite TV show, Parker dictated the small print of contracts to keep the money coming in. And Elvis always had a share of the song publishing, meaning he profited if anyone else recorded them. The music side of things was left to Elvis, including the 1968 Comeback Special – when he reinvented himself after the numbing Hollywood years. The Colonel initially suggested that the Special be crammed with cheesy Christmas songs, but he quickly let it become the revolutionary, progressive show that Elvis wanted. He also made efforts (in vain) to rein in Elvis's munificence – and his freeloading friends the Memphis Mafia. In the end, drug addiction – or 'iatrogenic and volitional polypharmacy', as a hospital report put it – killed the King. But his admirable generosity also contributed to the lethal effect, making him desperate to keep touring to support his out-of-control spending. And the Colonel had his own reckless habit – at the Vegas casinos. So the wheel of fate creaked inexorably towards doom. Overweight and drugged to the eyeballs, the normally scrupulously polite Presley started abusing on stage his employers, the owners of the Las Vegas Hilton. Parker told him off – the only man who could – and they nearly parted ways, as their relationship deteriorated in 1973. But the huge compensation the Colonel demanded to break their deal meant that the two would be bound inextricably until the tragic end. After one incoherent concert in 1976, Parker wrote to his wife: 'Elvis didn't even recognise me. No one knows how much I miss the real Elvis. If only I knew how to bring him back. I miss my friend so much.' And then burst into tears. It's clear from this account that the Colonel adored Elvis – but loved money even more.
