Couple who quit London for dream new life in Kent countryside discover £1million mansion they bought will take ten YEARS to renovate – and have to sleep in the extension with their 2 children because there’s no roof

A family of four who abandoned their terraced house in London and moved into an abandoned mansion in the countryside will pay compensation. ‘Hundreds of thousands’ to restore ‘mouldy’ property to its former glory.

Ben Charles Edwards, 42, and his husband Sam, 34, decided to move from the city so their two sons, aged eight and five, could have more space to play and have adventures.

Ben, a film producer, and Sam, a model, were on a stroll just outside Canterbury when they spotted the Lawn House, a massive 11,000 square meter Georgian property that had been converted into a care home and has been left to decay since 2017.

They immediately fell in love and bought the house for £1 million before moving in February 2026.

However, despite the move, the main house is currently uninhabitable; there are leaks everywhere, tons of mold, and part of the roof is missing.

The family currently live in a wing at the rear of the house built by the care home, which is much more modern than the rest of the property.

Ben and Sam plan to spend at least a decade slowly returning the house to its former glory, dismantling the care home’s 24 bedrooms and restoring each room to its original function.

The couple, who still commute to London several times a week for work, are well settled into rural life and say their children are excited about the extra space to explore.

The couple now hope to return the £1million house to its former glory but believe it will take a decade

Ben, from East London, said: ‘London is a wonderful city, I owe so much to London, it will always be my home.

‘But we wanted to move to the countryside so the boys would have more space outside. We wanted them to feel what they were experiencing.

‘They’ve never had more cuts and bruises from playing outside than they have in the last few months.

‘They climb trees and do things London just can’t offer a young family.

‘When we found the sod house it was in a dilapidated state, but it is one of the most striking examples of Georgian architecture I have ever seen.

‘It’s only 50 minutes by train from London, which is great when we need to go into the city for work.

‘You encounter a different form of community in the countryside; everyone is very friendly and supportive.

‘Within the first few hours of moving in, five or six people came and introduced themselves.’

The couple moved to a rural mansion called Lawn House with their eight and five children.

The family of four currently lives in the back wing of the house because the main house is uninhabitable.

The couple believe the restoration project is likely to cost them hundreds of thousands of pounds

The Lawn House was previously converted into a 24-bedroom care home before it was abandoned in 2017.

Ben and Sam have spent the last ten years moving into various properties in East London, fixing them up, then moving out and moving on to their next project.

‘We bought each one with the intention of staying, but I love a project,’ Ben said.

Since having children, the couple had been talking about moving to the countryside so their two boys could have more space to play outside.

Then, one day in August 2025, Ben and Sam were driving through the countryside just outside Canterbury when they spotted the massive mansion atop a hill.

They climbed the hill and walked up the window; There they saw a ballroom with a large white marble fireplace carved with a Greek goddess.

‘I fell in love with it right away and said to Sam, ‘We need to move here,'” Ben said.

A few months later, in February 2026, the family left their four-bed terrace house and moved into Lawn House, an 11,000sq ft Georgian mansion 10 times the size of their London home.

The property sits on an acre of land, which Ben and Sam plan to turn into a vegetable garden and has a chicken coop.

After a drive just outside Canterbury, Ben and Sam spotted the massive 11,000sq ft Georgian property

The couple’s young children love adventuring outdoors, which is easier to do in their new home than in London.

The couple removed 20 tonnes of rubbish from the house, including old wheelchairs and hospital beds, and restored everything to its original material.

The couple said they did not want to change anything, but wanted to return the mansion to its original state.

‘There’s a gorgeous walled garden and lots of space for kids to play, run and have adventures,’ said Ben.

Ben and Sam are currently undertaking the mammoth task of slowly restoring the property, which could take decades.

‘Everything is done and repaired by hand, we are not thinking of changing anything, just slowly repairing it and letting it work like the old Georgian house,’ said Ben.

So far they’ve removed 20 tonnes of rubbish from the house, including old wheelchairs and hospital beds, returning everything to the original material so it can breathe.

‘There were floorboards on top of the floorboards, the care home was adding on rather than repairing anything,’ said Ben.

‘The other day we found a new staircase that we didn’t know existed, it was hidden by plywood.’

During the process, the couple managed to find a 1901 auction sheet showing the home’s original layout, and using this they plan to return each room to its original use.

Ben said: ‘It was like a treasure map, we were able to use it to go, this was where the library was, this was the living room, this was the guest room.’

They have no idea how much the renovation will cost, as the family plans to restore the house slowly, over a long period of time, but they estimate it will cost hundreds of thousands of pounds over their lifetimes.