The beloved comedian Rowan Atkinson is a staple of the silver screen in Britain, first rising to stardom on the sketch show Not the Nine O'Clock News before cementing his status as a household staple in the likes of Mr Bean, Love Actually and the Johnny English franchise.
Finally, the 70-year-old is back with his brand new Netflix miniseries, Man vs Baby, in which a down-on-his-luck school caretaker finds himself tasked with looking after an abandoned baby Jesus from the school's Nativity play – and things quickly begin to take a chaotic turn.
Fortunately for Rowan, his personal life away from the screen is much more peaceful than those of the often-tumultuous lives lived by his characters. Though born in Consett, County Durham, he has lived in South Oxfordshire for at least 19 years with some reports stating that he has been there for 30 years, as per the Daily Express.
Rowan Atkinson's former period property
In 2006, Rowan bought the 1930s period property Handsmooth House, along with its 16 acres of land, in the seventh-century village of Ipsden, Oxfordshire for £2.6 million.
He purchased the property with his make-up artist ex-wife, Sunetra Sastry, to whom he was married for 24 years, before they divorced in November 2015.
Though the site already featured a main house, garage, tennis court and other buildings, Rowan sought to transform it, embarking on a massive renovation project that caused some controversies with his neighbours.
Rowan Atkinson knocked the house down
Rowan decided to replace his property in the village with a modern 8,000 square foot mansion made of glass and steel, which was designed by the American architect Richard Meier, and further added a guest pavilion and a tennis court.
He reportedly invested £5 million into renovating the property, before moving back in early 2022 with his long-time partner, actress Louise Ford, and their daughter, per the Daily Express.
However, not everyone was happy with the changes – according to the Oxford Mail, neighbours labelled it a "space-age petrol station," with some deeming that it was "not in keeping with the rest of the area.
Despite having been recommended for refusal, the application was approved by the South Oxfordshire Council. At the planning meeting, Rowan agreed that the house stood out rather than blended in with the landscape, but argued that this was not grounds to reject his plans, the BBC reported.