Famous landmark Belle Toute Lighthouse, which sits on the edge of the infamous Beachy Head in East Sussex, is for sale through national property specialists Strutt & Parker and local agents Rager & Roberts for a guide of £850,000.

Mark and Louise Roberts bought BelleToute in 1997, to use as a family home; falling in love with its wonderful isolation, but at the same time, its close proximity to all the necessities of modern day living. They set about making the lighthouse safe, with an ambitious plan to move it some 40 feet back from the cliff edge – a feat they completed, amongst huge media interest, in 1999, by raising the structure two feet into the air by hydraulic jacks and moving it inland.

Belle Toute’s history is colourful. Petitions for a lighthouse on this dangerous stretch of water were made to government from circa 1691 and in desperation, tired of burying so many dead sailors, a local clergyman, Parson Darby, set up his own warning system excavating a cave in the face of Belle Toute cliff and using a lantern as a warning light. In 1828 a small wooden building was erected on top of the cliff which was replaced by a permanent stone lighthouse in 1834.

Sold by Trinity House in 1903, it became a tea-house and changed hands several times before being bought in 1923 by a surgeon who made some improvements, which included adding a storey and turning the lantern into a solarium.

During World War II, the lighthouse was requisitioned by the military. Badly damaged by shelling, it was given to Eastbourne Council, later being taken over by a London doctor who rebuilt it as a family home.

Sold again in 1987, its new owner was the BBC, who used it in the making of Fay Weldon’s “Life and Loves of a She-Devil”.

Now it is to be sold again and Tim Page-Ratcliff of selling agents Strutt & Parker says, “This is a truly breathtaking property which has spectacular 360 degree views over the English Channel and the South Downs. A Grade II monument such as this does not come to the open market very often and the sale of Belle Toute offers a wonderful opportunity for someone looking for a home with a genuine difference!”