Historical News
Inside Martin Clunes’ £5 Million Countryside Home — And the Explosive Two-Year Row with His Neighbours. A luxury farmhouse, a static caravan 300 yards away… and a feud that’s anything but peaceful.
Martin Clunes has been in a row with his neighbours for two years, after they set up their static caravan 300 yards away from his £5 million farmhouse
Martin lives in a lavish £5 million farmhouse in Dorset (Image: Getty)
Doc Martin star Martin Clunes purchased his lavish Meerhay Farm near Beaminster, Dorset, in 2007, and lived there in idyllic tranquility with his wife Philippa Braithwaite until he found himself embroiled in a two-year dispute with neighbours Theo Langton and Ruth McGill.
Tensions are running high because the coupled have pitched their static caravan just 300 yards from Clunes’ £5 million farmhouse. Yet, despite the contention, experts have revealed that the Travellers have resided on the land in what’s classified as a “mobile home” for over two decades.The clash intensified after Martin Clunes reportedly contested the couple’s planning application to Dorset Council via email, denouncing their claim to be living in a mobile home as “cynical and dishonest.” Not only do Langton and McGill seek permission for use of their current living setup, but their proposal also includes plans for a barn to serve as a dayroom, workshop, and storage, in addition to setting up a touring caravan.
Martin lives with his wife in the lavish farmhouse which they bought in 2007 (Image: Getty)
Clunes’ lawyer took a firm stance, arguing that the travelling duo hasn’t demonstrated the requisite nomadic income-generating activities mandated by planning laws, which dictate they must travel to earn a living. Contrarily, Langton and McGill contend they do indeed journey to various festivals and fairs throughout the summer months to vend hand-crafted goods.
Martin was left reeling from a recent setback as engineers, according to documents on the Dorset County Council’s planning portal, have evaluated options for relocating his home. He has categorically rejected the claims of a previous report.
Clunes firmly argued, “The current guidelines are useful in that they state that a structure to be considered a mobile home must arrive at its site in no more than two pieces and in this way demonstrate some level of mobility. The building arrived in hundreds of pieces and took weeks to build, and that is what makes it a building.”
He further insisted, “It is my belief that this building lacks any ability to be mobile and was not constructed with any intention of mobility, and to describe it as a mobile home is cynical and dishonest”.
Addressing Martin’s objections, a revised report by Penpole Engineering elucidates: “The overall dimensions of the mobile home are approximately 40ft in length with a width of 15ft.”
Additionally, “An earlier letter from Penpole Engineering Limited to the Clients, Theo and Ruth Langdon concluded that the mobile home is capable of being split into two sections down its long dimension and lifted to a typical articulated trailer.”
Over the years, Martin’s lavish farmhouse has been home to horses, Shetland ponies, dogs, 50 Dexter cattle, sheep, and hens. He once told Express Online, “It’s my favourite place in the world.”
“I can go for weeks without leaving the farm,” he continued. “I like being connected to the seasons in a real way. Making hay, worrying about the grass, watching the leaves come and go, caring for the animals.”
A recent study revealed that Theo and Ruth’s mobile home could indeed be hoisted as a single entity. The report specifies, “This desk study demonstrates that the mobile home could be lifted in one piece. […] Services would be required to be disconnected from the unit prior to lift. Initial calculations, based on site visit, have been undertaken both for lifting the structure as a whole and in two separate parts. […] In order to be lifted, the mobile home would require removal of all internal loose contents, and separate furniture. Fixed furniture for example kitchen units may remain.”
Currently living without modern conveniences like electricity or running water, Theo and Ruth are eager to establish their mobile home as a fixed location and create space for two more mobile homes. For a structure to qualify as a mobile home, it must be capable of being split into two segments and transported on a 40ft trailer.