Rowan Atkinson’s ‘space-age' glass mansion with secret garage sparked fury among locals

English actor and comedian Rowan Atkinson has entertained audiences worldwide with his unique on-screen persona for more than four decades.

The 67-year-old has portrayed a wide range of characters throughout his award-winning career including his leading role in Blackadder and possibly his most infamous character, Mr Bean.

Following his vast film and TV career, the actor now boasts a net worth of more than $150 (£110) million and is seen as one of the best British actors in recent history.

But outside of his fruitful Hollywood career, fans are largely unaware of his private life away from the limelight.

In an attempt to avoid being hounded by paparazzi, the star has since settled down in a small town in Oxfordshire.

Decade long row with locals

Back in 2006, Rowan purchased a stunning 1930s property with his ex-wife Sunetra Sastry for £2.6 million in the heart of Oxfordshire.

At the time, many locals hoped the star would embrace the historic home and couldn’t wait to see what the comic actor had planned for the beautiful building.

However, the actor decided to take a different approach to the passion project and instead bulldozed the quaint English home and installed a modern, new age mansion in its place.

And it’s fair to say the London actor faced a wave of backlash from residents for the new building which many now see as an eyesore.

Locals nicknamed the high-tech mansion a “space-age petrol station” despite claims that Rowan would “harmonise” with the old English surroundings of the seventh-century village.

After the ten-year row over the planning permission to construct his beloved high-tech home, it is now understood that the actor and his beautiful girlfriend Louise Ford have since moved into the lavish property.

Luxury home

The state-of-the-art home – which was designed by Richard Maier – boasts an 8,000 square foot streamline glass and steel mansion and overlooks the glorious Oxfordshire countryside in the heart of Ipsden.

After reconstructing the home, his investment in the property has so far set the actor back a whopping £5 million to date but is now the house of his dreams that which sits atop a sprawling 16 acres of land.

The five-bedroom mansion boasts overlooks the stunning Chiltern Hills as well as a bridge over a courtyard that connects the two wings of the house which is kitted out with a slew of solar panels on the roof.

In addition to the modern architecture, the luxury home also hosts an atrium-style living room and a secret garage hidden in the grassy bank for his slew of designer cars.

Previously, the home included a lush swimming pool which was installed back in the 1970s, however the Johnny English star has since replaced the water feature with a two-storey guest wing set to into the heart of the hillside.

Furthermore, the main house comes with a Japanese garden as well as its own supply of wood in order to keep the blockbuster actor and his family away from the eyes of the media.

To keep them entertained, he installed tennis courts and horse stables which he featured in his sprawling garden with further plans to recruit award-winning landscape designer Tom Stuart-Smith to recreate a meadow at the front of the house.

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Source: Celebrities - dailystar.co.uk