The owner of Fred Dibnah’s landmark Bolton home is struggling to sell the property after a failed Spot the Ball competition left him thousands of pounds out of pocket.
Dibnah bought the Grade lI-listed building in Radcliffe Road in the sixties, and turned it into a steam-powered workshop complete with a 50ft-tall chimney stack, and a working mineshaft.
Built in 1851, the property’s huge back yard and its collection of oil-stained machinery featured in many of Dibnah’s TV documentaries celebrating Britain's industrial heritage, reports the Manchester Evening News.
It remains a shrine to the famous steeplejack more than 15 years after his death in 2004.
Despite plenty of interest from fans over the years the current owner, Leon Powsney, has been unable to sell it, even a £10 a ticket Spot the Ball competition failed to offload the property.
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Powsney bought the house with his wife Jan before turning it into a heritage centre, but he admitted the property divides opinion.
"It is a fabulous property but an acquired taste," Powsney said.
"Guys love it, but the women not so much.
"It has been a fantastic experience and I have learned a lot, but it is time to move on. I am 73 now.
"I was not a Fred fan at first, but the place is like the house in The Shining. It takes over you, it is a wonderful place steeped in history."
The building known locally as 'Two Cats' is set in woodland on the banks of the River Tonge, not far from Bolton town centre.
Mr Powsney purchased the Grade II-listed property for £185,000 in 2009, after it had failed to sell at auction.
"We originally intended to move to Spain," Mr Powsney explained. "We sold our house but the credit crunch came so we bought that instead.
"I had no intention of turning it into a business, but we had that many people wanting to look around."
He turned the property into the Fred Dibnah Heritage Centre, which soon became a site of pilgrimage for fans of one of Bolton's most famous sons.
In 2012, the centre was put on the market for £1.25m, with the couple ready to let go due to their age.
Mr Powsney remained there until 2018 after several unsuccessful attempts to find a buyer he decided to close the centre and sell off Fred's machinery - all additional attempts to sell the property have also since failed.
He even put it up as a prize in a 'spot the ball' competition he organised in 2018 with entrants told they could get their hands on it for just £10 - the cost of a single entry.
However, the competition failed to reach anywhere near the minimum number of entries, which was set at 50,000, and Powsney had to give the winner a £7,000 cash prize instead.
"The spot the ball competition was dreadful.
"For a tenner, someone could have owned it with no mortgage. It could have given someone the chance to get on the housing ladder," he said.
The house was then put up for auction last September with a guide price of £320,000, but failed to sell again.
In a fresh attempt to find a buyer, the home is now being marketed by Hunters estate agents for £350,000.
While Powsney says he would be willing to sell to whoever meets the asking price, he believes it would be ideal for one of Bolton's Men's Shed groups.
The groups are a type of community hub for men that have become increasingly important in the fight against loneliness and social isolation.
Powsney hopes a business or individual may buy the home and pass on, or rent it to such a group, as he described their work as wonderful.
"I cannot think of a better place than this for them.
"I cannot just give it away, though. This is my life savings and my home."
