:00:07. > :00:11.The bell is tolling for hundreds of historic buildings in a desperate
:00:12. > :00:31.state of decay and dereliction but can they be saved in time?
:00:32. > :00:38.Hello and welcome to Restoring England's Heritage. We're here in
:00:39. > :00:42.Loughborough at Taylor's ` the largest bell foundry in The World.
:00:43. > :00:45.They've been casting giant bells here for nearly 200 years but now
:00:46. > :00:49.this Grade II listed building, virtually a working museum and
:00:50. > :00:57.cherished by those who toil here, is in a sorry state and could be lost
:00:58. > :01:06.forever. Lots more on the fight to save Taylor's later. This is what is
:01:07. > :01:13.coming up in the rest of the show. Pet rescue. Within a hidden
:01:14. > :01:21.architectural gem. What a shame it isn't is put to good use.
:01:22. > :01:26.The whole building has been completely stitched back together
:01:27. > :01:32.because it was sinking in the ground. TV 's restoration dreams.
:01:33. > :01:36.This was the first factory of the Industrial Revolution. Ten years on
:01:37. > :01:44.we have an update. And sadness for a city skyline about to change
:01:45. > :01:50.forever. I would miss it a lot. I have walked through this area since
:01:51. > :01:55.I was able to walk. But first we're travelling back in time. Here inside
:01:56. > :02:00.Taylor's Bell Foundry little seems to have changed since they first
:02:01. > :02:04.started casting bells back in 1839. The giant Big Paul, all 16 tonnes of
:02:05. > :02:11.it, was made here and can be heard to this day ringing out at St Paul's
:02:12. > :02:15.Cathedral. There are only two bell foundries left in Britain ` one in
:02:16. > :02:18.London and this one in Loughborough. But the future of this unique
:02:19. > :02:25.Dickensian workshop is now in serious doubt. Loud and proud, the
:02:26. > :02:35.workers here at Taylor's often spend their lunch hour ringing their own
:02:36. > :02:39.bells. This is a focus for bell`ringing, elves and
:02:40. > :02:45.manufacturing in the country. It is almost unique. That must stay, it
:02:46. > :02:49.simply must stay. We can't let it go. But this cavernous Victorian
:02:50. > :03:06.foundry is leaking like a sieve and unless there's urgent action this
:03:07. > :03:11.historic site could close. Watch the rhythm of that Clapper. It is never
:03:12. > :03:19.in any hurry. It is absolutely perfect. It sets the whole pays, the
:03:20. > :03:24.whole tempo for the foundry. Nothing matters but craftsmanship and
:03:25. > :03:27.quality, time doesn't matter at all. The Taylor's began casting bells
:03:28. > :03:30.here shortly after Queen Victoria came to the throne but their family
:03:31. > :03:40.link with this ancient craft goes back even further than that. My
:03:41. > :03:46.family has built Bell foundering for years. We like to think this Bell
:03:47. > :03:51.foundry traces its history back from the 14th century. That was then and
:03:52. > :03:53.this is now. The magical alchemy of turning molten metal into
:03:54. > :04:00.mellifluous musical bells remains much the same. And the unique sound
:04:01. > :04:09.of Taylor's bells can be heard in cathedrals and churches across the
:04:10. > :04:13.globe. We have sent bells right across the world. We have some in
:04:14. > :04:20.Australia, New Zealand, all over the place. Before they leave here all
:04:21. > :04:23.bells are finely tuned. But these days hearing those delicate tones
:04:24. > :04:28.can be a struggle above the sound of buckets filling with drips from the
:04:29. > :04:33.roof. On a day like today when it is raining it is like being in a
:04:34. > :04:40.shower. On a suitably wet day, Mike Semken led us up to the roof to
:04:41. > :04:44.reveal decades of decay and damage. As you can see behind me we have
:04:45. > :04:51.some of the flaking bitumen that is sliding. It has a habit of pulling
:04:52. > :04:56.the tiles down with it. The problem is the glass panels behind me. They
:04:57. > :05:01.are sitting on steel bars which are eroding. The glass is slipping down
:05:02. > :05:04.a little bit. The water damage is causing real problems here in the
:05:05. > :05:12.template room which stores the precious shapes and designs of every
:05:13. > :05:17.bell ever made at the foundry. This is the hub of the product. Without
:05:18. > :05:28.these templates, the profiles, the shapes, we can't make the bells. It
:05:29. > :05:34.has been estimated at all cost over ?300 to renovate this building. It
:05:35. > :05:38.isn't the first time the business has been in jeopardy. Four years ago
:05:39. > :05:46.Taylor's went into administration and were saved by a management team
:05:47. > :05:51.led by Mike Semken. We got an idea it was in trouble. We had said to
:05:52. > :05:54.ourselves we would like the name and business but we did not want the
:05:55. > :05:58.buildings. Having got here, we fell in love with the buildings and we
:05:59. > :06:03.want to make it work. It's a building that seems to have that
:06:04. > :06:08.effect on everyone here. You get drawn in and the atmosphere. There
:06:09. > :06:15.is something magical about it. It is a smell of the place. It is
:06:16. > :06:19.intoxicating. It really gets under your skin, there is no other job
:06:20. > :06:22.like it. Generations of families have worked here. Colin Howlett
:06:23. > :06:30.joined aged sixteen and has just clocked up 41 years. He still has
:06:31. > :06:38.vivid memories of his father working here. I can remember him coming home
:06:39. > :06:43.from the foundry and being black dirty because it is dirty work and
:06:44. > :06:46.the smell when they cast it, you had the smell on your clothes. He
:06:47. > :06:57.brought that smell home with him. You could smell my dad coming home
:06:58. > :07:02.The whole place is a living museum of highly specialised skills not
:07:03. > :07:04.just the casting, but rope making, joinery and even the hanging of the
:07:05. > :07:06.bells all 0 joinery and even the hanging of the
:07:07. > :07:13.bells all carefully collated and recorded in the company archives.
:07:14. > :07:19.If the building is rescued there are plans for it to become a working
:07:20. > :07:23.museum. It already attracts some tourists but full restoration would
:07:24. > :07:27.open the door to many more What strikes you about this place is how
:07:28. > :07:34.much it means to the men who work here. It is a time capsule. It
:07:35. > :07:44.should do how England did things during the Industrial Revolution. It
:07:45. > :07:47.is a nice Victorian building. There is nothing wrong with Victorian
:07:48. > :07:52.industry. It's made England what it is. If you killed this building, you
:07:53. > :07:52.killed this business. That is the simple answer 0
:07:53. > :07:58.killed this business. That is the simple answer to it. 0
:07:59. > :08:00.killed this business. That is the simple answer to it. What is so
:08:01. > :08:08.striking about this place is how much it means to the men who work
:08:09. > :08:12.here. That is why one English Heritage wants it saved. It is a
:08:13. > :08:20.relic from the days of Empire but it is full of life. Buildings and about
:08:21. > :08:25.people, people occupied them and this is a manufacturing concern. It
:08:26. > :08:31.is doing what is was designed to do. We have been through this credit
:08:32. > :08:35.squeeze in this country. Development and restoration seemed to have taken
:08:36. > :08:42.a back`seat. Is that English Heritage's expedience? We publish a
:08:43. > :08:48.register and there is a list of sites that were bought by developers
:08:49. > :08:51.and have not been renovated. Some of these projects have liked behind.
:08:52. > :08:54.Thank you very much. Well, that takes us to our next story. We've
:08:55. > :08:58.found a curious hidden gem just down the road in Nottingham. Lost and
:08:59. > :09:01.abandoned within a property development. And as Rob Whitehouse
:09:02. > :09:14.discovered the building wasn't the only thing suffering with distress.
:09:15. > :09:19.We came looking for an architectural treasure, a largely forgotten
:09:20. > :09:33.Victorian Chapel in need of rescue and found a cat with an even more
:09:34. > :09:37.urgent need to be saved. We called the RSPCA and within no time at all
:09:38. > :09:54.they were ripping away at the wooden hoarding covering the entrance to
:09:55. > :09:57.Mapperley Chapel. The architect George Thomas Hine designed and
:09:58. > :10:03.built the chapel and combined theatre, part of Nottingham Lunatic
:10:04. > :10:06.Asylum, in 1880. Most of the adjoining hospital has now been
:10:07. > :10:12.developed for luxury flats, but the chapel at the end has been
:10:13. > :10:17.abandoned. But what's it like inside? The RSPCA team were about to
:10:18. > :10:28.find out as they rescued Lemmy the cat who'd strayed into the building
:10:29. > :10:29.from next door That beauty is now the cat 0
:10:30. > :10:33.from next door That beauty is now the cat is in good health, he has
:10:34. > :10:37.got a microchip. What a beautiful building what a shame it has not
:10:38. > :10:46.been put to good use. It is full of pigeons and a trapped cat! We are
:10:47. > :10:49.going up to the main chapel. That beauty is now hidden beneath layers
:10:50. > :11:00.of dust and cobwebs that it is still quite remarkable.
:11:01. > :11:09.What is the most common reaction when people see the inside? It is a
:11:10. > :11:12.hidden gem. We try to keep it hidden for safety and security reasons but
:11:13. > :11:20.until somebody is able to do something about it, people just say
:11:21. > :11:30.wow. Neil speaks for the flat owners who're angry about the way the
:11:31. > :11:33.Chapel has been abandoned. We have approached the owners and offered
:11:34. > :11:38.money that we have raised to try and take over the building to take the
:11:39. > :11:42.freehold to get some funding to converted into a local community
:11:43. > :11:53.centre. Also a sports hall for the local community. To date, we have
:11:54. > :11:57.not been successful. In what ways is the decay of this building affecting
:11:58. > :12:02.the people who live locally? We have daily problems with the building. We
:12:03. > :12:08.have crime. Although there is no lead left in this building, we are
:12:09. > :12:15.constantly burgled. Also we have a major problem with pigeons, which
:12:16. > :12:20.you can see around today. There is a disease control issue. It's almost
:12:21. > :12:25.impossible to believe this was once a grand and dignified place of
:12:26. > :12:30.worship. A place of refuge and serenity within the old lunatic
:12:31. > :12:40.asylum. Now it's littered with dead pigeons.
:12:41. > :12:46.On the ground floor was a theatre and Paul Swift joined me to recall
:12:47. > :12:54.his time working here as a volunteer. This particular
:12:55. > :13:02.building, I remember it is very much being the hub of recreation. They
:13:03. > :13:08.would have shows in here? Yes, if you look over there at the stage,
:13:09. > :13:12.that was where the pantomime was. You can see the box there. You can
:13:13. > :13:17.imagine the dignitaries who sat there, who had been invited by not
:13:18. > :13:20.just the staff but also the patients. To come and watch. There
:13:21. > :13:30.was a wonderful atmosphere working here. What are your thoughts when
:13:31. > :13:30.you see it today? It is disgusting. It should not 0
:13:31. > :13:35.you see it today? It is disgusting. It should not have been allowed to
:13:36. > :13:43.get into the state. They have done nothing with it since the hospital
:13:44. > :13:46.closed in 1994. These tunnels running under the whole of the
:13:47. > :13:49.hospital building, now apartments, link this part with the chapel and
:13:50. > :13:59.they vividly demonstrate the problems the residents have. We are
:14:00. > :14:05.washed down here with rainwater. You can see here that the plaster has
:14:06. > :14:09.cracked and bricks are starting to drop out and the advice from the
:14:10. > :14:13.survey is is that we need to take urgent action. A firm called
:14:14. > :14:16.Mapperley Chapel Limited now own this Grade II`listed building. We've
:14:17. > :14:21.made repeated efforts to contact them but with no success. It's been
:14:22. > :14:24.estimated that it will cost ?3 million to restore this building,
:14:25. > :14:38.with 250,000 needed right now just to make it watertight and safe. I
:14:39. > :14:43.think the basic concern I have is a total lack of maintenance by owners
:14:44. > :14:43.and there has been more than one owner. 0
:14:44. > :14:43.and there has been more than one owner. Frankly, 0
:14:44. > :14:49.and there has been more than one owner. Frankly, it has not helped in
:14:50. > :14:52.terms of keeping the chapel watertight. In terms of
:14:53. > :14:57.preservation, never mind restoration, there is a lot of work
:14:58. > :15:04.that needs doing. Why does it need saving? It is a beautiful building,
:15:05. > :15:06.it is great to Heritage and it will provide a brilliant community and
:15:07. > :15:12.arts 0 provide a brilliant community and
:15:13. > :15:23.arts facility. Work property developers interested in this while
:15:24. > :15:32.it was profitable? Have they now run away? That is a good summary, yes.
:15:33. > :15:36.They see it as a quick profit. They thought they would be able to
:15:37. > :15:42.develop it and turn it around and make fast cash out of it. After
:15:43. > :15:45.2007, I guess the creditors dried up and those people found themselves
:15:46. > :15:49.stuck with a building like this and no funds to be able to develop it.
:15:50. > :15:53.People are suspicious that they are waiting for it to fall down so they
:15:54. > :16:01.can we develop something different on the ruin.
:16:02. > :16:07.This old asylum building is said to be haunted. People have heard the
:16:08. > :16:13.sound of rattling chains and, at one stage, patients were manacled to
:16:14. > :16:14.their beds. So, if anywhere needs spiritual help and a thriving,
:16:15. > :16:34.restored chapel, then this is it! Now, you might be forgiven for
:16:35. > :16:37.thinking that we're losing all our heritage buildings here in the East
:16:38. > :16:40.Midlands but that's far from true. Ten years ago, BBC Two's Restoration
:16:41. > :16:43.programme began scouring the country to find the nation's most endangered
:16:44. > :16:47.historic buildings. The series featured three major sites in the
:16:48. > :16:58.East Midlands, all in need of urgent work. So what's become of them? In
:16:59. > :17:06.the village of Cromford in Derbyshire, people are calling a new
:17:07. > :17:11.phenomenon manufacturing. A building work 24`hour is a day for the first
:17:12. > :17:14.time. The unfamiliar noise of its machinery clattered across the
:17:15. > :17:18.countryside. This was Cromford mail the first factory of the Industrial
:17:19. > :17:21.Revolution. The show revealed ambitious plans to restore the old
:17:22. > :17:30.water wheel, the powerhouse of Richard Arkwright's pioneering mill.
:17:31. > :17:34.If you don't save premium heritage like this, it is gone for ever. Take
:17:35. > :17:37.the bull by the horns and save it for the nation. Well, they certainly
:17:38. > :17:41.did take the bull by the horns. Visitors are flocking to this World
:17:42. > :17:42.Heritage Site and a ?48 million restoration programme is underway.
:17:43. > :18:03.No water wheel yet but We have started the first phase.
:18:04. > :18:06.Work on the water wheel will be completed in the last face. I am
:18:07. > :18:13.proud of what has been achieved since restoration. `` Restoration.
:18:14. > :18:18.In Over in Lincolnshire, Restoration
:18:19. > :18:25.found a beautiful village church teetering on the edge of
:18:26. > :18:32.dereliction. Beckingham's own pocket sized cathedral, which is open for
:18:33. > :18:35.business, only just. All Saints, a Grade I`listed church dating back to
:18:36. > :18:38.the 1100s, was in a desperate state. The whole place was suffering with
:18:39. > :18:45.damp, corrosion, falling masonry and serious subsidence. It was damp, it
:18:46. > :18:48.was smelly. To 0 serious subsidence. It was damp, it
:18:49. > :18:56.was smelly. To look at it and think, "yes, it is their but we
:18:57. > :18:59.cannot use it because it is in such a terrible state." It was terribly
:19:00. > :19:02.sad. Now, thanks to grants from English Heritage and the Heritage
:19:03. > :19:13.Lottery Fund, this medieval church has been re`opened and given another
:19:14. > :19:16.lease of life. I walk into the church now and the first thing is
:19:17. > :19:22.that it does not smell. It looks loved, it looks cared for. It feels
:19:23. > :19:22.like a happy church. It does not feel 0 0
:19:23. > :19:25.like a happy church. It does not feel sad and neglected. Where
:19:26. > :19:40.weddings can once again be celebrated. From All Saints to a
:19:41. > :19:48.real sinner. Lord Byron was a head in Mystic Rock and roll star of the
:19:49. > :19:51.Romantic age. And he was is oversized hotel room. It was his
:19:52. > :19:54.ancestral pleasure palace. But Restoration showed how the iconic
:19:55. > :19:59.West Wing, the original facade of Newstead Priory, was crumbling to
:20:00. > :20:07.pieces. The highly prized Virgin And Child sculpture was in grave danger
:20:08. > :20:11.of disappearing altogether. Today, the Abbey is still far short of the
:20:12. > :20:14.?1.8 million needed to preserve the West Wing but there's been real
:20:15. > :20:27.progress on the Virgin And Child sculpture. There is a netting over
:20:28. > :20:31.the statue so the ravens cannot get in and it will protect her for many
:20:32. > :20:40.years. Meanwhile, the fight to raise funds to preserve and make safe the
:20:41. > :20:44.rest of the ruin continues. The dream is to be able to remove the
:20:45. > :20:49.barriers, to unlock the gates and let everybody walk`through the west
:20:50. > :20:50.front. As they probably did a years ago, as their grandparents may have
:20:51. > :21:07.done. There's clearly a long way to go. In
:21:08. > :21:14.the middle of this recession, there must be encouraging signs. This is
:21:15. > :21:19.our Heritage at risk register. We have removed 50% of those sites in
:21:20. > :21:28.the last ten years. That trend is continuing, so there is success out
:21:29. > :21:32.there. The sight and sound of Taylor's Bell
:21:33. > :21:35.Tower is now a fundamental part of Loughborough life but, over in
:21:36. > :21:38.Leicester, they're having to get used to the idea of losing something
:21:39. > :21:45.that been part of the city skyline for centuries. People scurry by on
:21:46. > :21:51.their way home, hardly casting a glance at the spire that towers
:21:52. > :21:56.above them. The church of St Mary de Castra has been a landmark in
:21:57. > :22:00.Leicester for 900 years. But soon the spire will be gone. It's being
:22:01. > :22:03.demolished amid fears that it may collapse. And now it's about to
:22:04. > :22:12.disappear, people seem to be realising how much they'll miss it.
:22:13. > :22:17.I would miss it a lot of. I've have walked through this area since I was
:22:18. > :22:22.able to walk. Chaucer was allegedly married in that church was it part
:22:23. > :22:26.of National history. I suppose you don't realise it is there until it
:22:27. > :22:38.is gone. I don't want to walk down there and have a lump of Slate on my
:22:39. > :22:44.head. Nobody does. It is ours. I will definitely miss it now. I have
:22:45. > :22:48.been here since I was four years old and I don't want it to be
:22:49. > :22:54.demolished. I wanted to be repaired. The good news is that there are
:22:55. > :22:57.plans to restore the church and spire to their former glory.
:22:58. > :23:00.For our final story we're staying in Leicestershire and another church
:23:01. > :23:04.that was in a desperate state. St James has been at the heart of the
:23:05. > :23:08.community here in Ab Kettleby for over 800 years. And, in the end, it
:23:09. > :23:17.was community effort that helped save it.
:23:18. > :23:24.The village of Ab Kettleby is one of those sleepy places where nothing
:23:25. > :23:26.seems to happen. But no`one round here will forget the day they nearly
:23:27. > :23:41.lost their vicar. This is the place where my
:23:42. > :23:46.predecessor came on Sunday to preach and as he was about to start, a
:23:47. > :23:48.large chunk of plaster fell from the ceiling and shattered on the floor
:23:49. > :24:07.of the pulpit. Shortly afterwards, this ancient
:24:08. > :24:13.church was shut down. The top of the spire was ready to fall off and then
:24:14. > :24:19.the cracking was significant. Even though this looks sound, it is quite
:24:20. > :24:22.rotten. You can feel it falling off. If you knock it, you can see it
:24:23. > :24:28.falling down. That will have to be chopped away and renovated. We had a
:24:29. > :24:32.problem with water in the ground, which caused the church to start
:24:33. > :24:35.sinking. The walls which has stood for centuries suddenly started
:24:36. > :24:42.falling apart. Major cracks developed. Specifically around the
:24:43. > :24:47.area of the chancel and the sides of the nave here were absolutely awful
:24:48. > :24:55.and the spire was in a bad state of repair as well. Up here is all the
:24:56. > :24:58.plaster, where the plaster is coming off. That is because the church was
:24:59. > :25:02.neglected over the last 30 or 40 years. On the few occasions services
:25:03. > :25:10.were held, special measures had to be taken. You may not have noticed
:25:11. > :25:14.but the hard hats are here for a purpose because we are sitting in a
:25:15. > :25:15.dangerous area. Replacing hard hats with thinking caps, the village
:25:16. > :25:16.began 0 with thinking caps, the village
:25:17. > :25:16.began a 0 with thinking caps, the village
:25:17. > :25:32.began a massive fund`raising effort. With events like this sponsored
:25:33. > :25:34.teddy bear parachute jump, the restoration money began trickling
:25:35. > :25:51.in. There was a lot of concern that it
:25:52. > :25:54.was fairly unstable and the difficulty was finding out what
:25:55. > :25:59.needed to be dealt with first. The programme really was then one of
:26:00. > :26:01.trying to sustain the funds and raise the money without knowing how
:26:02. > :26:14.much it would cost. One of the good things that has
:26:15. > :26:16.happened is that it has brought the unity together. People want this
:26:17. > :26:18.place 0 unity together. People want this
:26:19. > :26:19.place to be back again. Eventually, grants and fund`raising totalling
:26:20. > :26:32.?250,000 helped restore the church. And after six years of closure, the
:26:33. > :26:36.whole village were able to once again give thanks for a harvest
:26:37. > :26:50.safely gathered in and dispense with those hard hats. We are tremendously
:26:51. > :26:56.proud. It has stood here since 1220 and it would have been such a shame
:26:57. > :27:00.if we had lost it on our watch. These buildings need to be kept
:27:01. > :27:03.going. It is part of our Heritage, how history. I was married here,
:27:04. > :27:09.christened here. The whole family, five girls, we were all married and
:27:10. > :27:15.christened here. It is beautiful to see it up and running again. It is
:27:16. > :27:20.the community spirit that has got this church back open again when the
:27:21. > :27:27.odds were it would never open again and the roof would come off and it
:27:28. > :27:28.would be a monument. It is the test the church has 0
:27:29. > :27:28.would be a monument. It is the test the church has ever 0
:27:29. > :27:34.would be a monument. It is the test the church has ever looked. `` it is
:27:35. > :27:44.the best. The problems that face them were vast and to pull together
:27:45. > :27:48.to make it happen was brilliant. There is an atmosphere of joy and
:27:49. > :27:53.celebration. People are so pleased to have got their church back. It is
:27:54. > :27:59.a much loved building and what has happened here is people have felt
:28:00. > :28:02.almost compelled to carry on because they have known that this church has
:28:03. > :28:10.a future and it has a wonderful future. Well, that's nearly all from
:28:11. > :28:13.me but we can end with a celebration because the parishioners of Ab
:28:14. > :28:16.Kettleby have won a top prize. They've been awarded an English
:28:17. > :28:29.Heritage Angel in recognition of all their hard work. Congratulations to
:28:30. > :28:32.you. You must be thrilled. I am so thrilled and proud of the teamwork
:28:33. > :28:38.here. It has been a great community and it continues. That is all from
:28:39. > :29:11.us here at Ab Kettleby. Cheers. See you next time. Cheers!
:29:12. > :29:15.Hello, I'm Ellie Crisell with your 90 second update.
:29:16. > :29:18.Large parts of the UK are being battered by a powerful storm. Two
:29:19. > :29:20.people have died, thousands are without power. Dozens of severe
:29:21. > :29:23.flood warnings are in force with homes being evacuated. Your forecast
:29:24. > :29:27.in a moment and get the latest on your local BBC radio station.
:29:28. > :29:30.Millions of us are going to have to work longer. The Chancellor is
:29:31. > :29:33.increasing the state pension age for many people. Also in his new plans,
:29:34. > :29:37.a fuel duty freeze and a smaller rise in rail fares.
:29:38. > :29:38.Get ready to say goodbye to the tax disc. After 93 years it's