Episode 2 A Pembrokeshire Farm

at the edge of the Atlantic, is where nature dumps its spare rain.

but it's not so good for buildings.

It's pretty grand for this part

and we've discovered that it's been

during periods of prosperity.

that every room needs work.

On top of all that, there is the problem of the leaky roof.

But it's been patched up so often,

the building from the heavens,

but also from some place down below.

This is certainly a glamorous room.

The trouble is the house is built

When the floors were dug up,

we suddenly found ourselves constructing a swimming pool.

When they dug the floors out

I've never seen that happen before.

I've seen damp around the place

but I've never seen water pouring

The stone, as in most stone houses,

it doesn't go deep under the ground.

In particular it can come in between the stone and the ground.

We get water coming off the mountain

comes down through the yard

It looks like the sort of thing

There's a lot less of it now than

have to do something about.

If we don't eradicate this problem,

the water's going to decide to wander off into our building.

The other job we need to tackle to get the building dry is the roof.

Originally, it was covered with local slate which was soft.

As the slates began to deteriorate, they didn't repair the whole lot.

and eventually the two halves

to hold the thing together.

but very difficult to repair

why it's one of the few left.

Still, we're going to keep as much of the original as possible.

it's also its fuel and life source.

Up here on the hill a trickle starts

Then into a bit of a stream.

the stream is actually deep enough

for a human being to swim in.

as being a baptist stream, where people were plunged into the water.

Look, here are the steps leading down, a little bit silted up.

By the time the water gets here

providing water for the sheep

and keeping the fields green.

But it also, supposedly, provided power for this building here.

Although it was used as a barn

that water get to this mill?

I'd rather like to find out.

But apart from that we know

I've come to the National Library

Dated 1843. Yes. Surrogate copies

They're exactly as they are.

an important and useful thing.

One of the things that happened in the North Pembrokeshire area

They developed their houses

you get so many Georgian type houses running up from St David's.

the main thing was the sea.

by people owning ships and trading.

the navy was always short of ships

and took on the privateers as part of their extra ship and naval power.

In a way, you had a sort of early milk cheque coming in

That might have had something

You mean the farmers..? You had tenant farmers owning ships

and farmers owning parts of ships. They used the ship to trade with?

Three or four of them clubbed

There was a huge amount of trading

I think this is my problem.

I think I'm coming to a remote place

from centres of population.

But if you went back 150 years you'd find there were lots of connections

That's what the mill was all about,

I got a bit of a shock when I saw it in the middle of the yard.

Perhaps other people will too, if they're small and try to climb it.

I've got to get rid of it somehow.

but every building fulfilled

which is how it sustained itself.

These were the stables. Horses provided power to run machinery

and ground into feed in the mill.

where their manure ran down here and was put back on the fields

which was fed to the animals.

then it was the way of the world.

So, it all fits together. What looks

And that is why it looks so good

They could become holiday cottages,

and I thought we should meet up

and have a charity concert, not only to raise a bit of funding,

So we would like you, if you would, to compare the evening for us.

It's in the Bay Hotel in Goodwick.

So I just sort of say things like,

Introduce each artist, yes.

if that's OK... Yes, go on.

How many items have you got? I think about six good items.

Six is absolutely fantastic. As long as we don't get too many,

I'm just going to pour myself

Tell us about the Point then.

overwhelming response came back

that people felt there wasn't enough for young people to do.

It was felt that they needed

It's important for young people

you can find one on the computer

They'll help you get a job.

If we're going to do a concert to raise money and awareness,

what extra things do you need here?

Does it get fuller than this then?

it gets really, really packed.

do you think they know about the good work the Point does?

Do you think they know much

Old people sometimes think that it's

I don't see any trouble around here,

It's like an ailing patient.

All the base of those studs

load bearing on to anything.

we try and keep the maximum amount

instead of having an old building,

you end up with an elaborate fake.

As you start to strip it back, you don't know where to stop really.

So I'm not 100% sure that we're going to end up keeping it.

I think we should go for it

and before we go any further,

So what do you feel about this roof

After arguing passionately to keep

the sheer mass of this roof

And we could just keep slapping

It would keep it all together.

This is the reason the slate industry in Pembrokeshire declined.

These aren't as hard as the slates

They're so soft, I wouldn't like

I'm not even pushing hard there and the whole thing is moving.

I'd probably go through it.

If you're trying to grout that later

I can't think off the top of my head

Maybe just mix up something which is going to set on top.

It would be fantastic to keep this. It's such a beautiful thing.

Leaving aside Greg's enthusiasm

for making a last ditch attempt

off, we were hoping to save this.

Then we'll completely replace this bit and join it on here.

and the purlins are too far spaced

but it won't save your timber.

But it has been holding this weight for at least the last century.

If there was a way you could

and put it straight back on,

But I can't see those rafters holding that for much longer.

It's pointless restoring all this

and then coming back in 20 years

But obviously I also agree with Greg that we need to conserve this.

about the roof further down,

I'm not moving an inch on that one.

You definitely believe that that roof down there has got to be saved.

My goodness me. This is complicated.

Are people going to be sitting

Yes. The tables will the laid

but we've decided against that

We're trying to fit everything in.

Are you planning to have dancing here later? I don't think so.

This isn't quite a big enough stage,

But they've got more stage units. I would hope so. I think so.

The choir are about 20 in number and there's a jazz ensemble.

And it's not a great acoustic

Those people behind the pillars

you're sitting at your tables,

you'll have to concentrate.

..and nobody will hear at all.

But my pre-performance demands

compared with the star of the show.

principal player and cash guzzler

The slates were due to arrive last

the first layer of packers,

that's to pack out the base layer.

We're about to put the first

It's quite momentous because we've waited a long time to do this.

the best way to use the lime.

Roofers would have used oak slates

It would have come quickly to them.

We're doing it to historical measurements, which differ.

So what's that? That's 161 there.

So, we have different lengths and those lengths in different widths.

the different widths randomly.

If the joints are in the wrong place, you get water penetration.

the joints cross over enough.

the carpenter who did the slating.

He'd have a bucket of lime. He's not someone who builds walls.

He'd pick up a small dollop

of the slate and fix the next one.

We don't want to dollop it on

Nathan suggests they'd have dolloped lime and squidged a slate on top.

It's basically a bit of lime, which was to help wind flap. That's it.

The timbers are still here, but the slate has all gone.

I was interested in this house

We agreed half of the main house

I conceded to that as a compromise.

and there's just four walls left.

We're desperate to keep all we can.

and everything they pick up

I thought we could have patched

it was saturated underneath.

That was after three or four days

the house, creating condensation.

the place dripped with condensation.

and there's no point arguing

That's what I wanted to see

I'd like to hand you over now

that's the only Welsh I know!

How nice to see you all here.

It's also bloody inconvenient!

It's not often one is asked to talk

And I'm doing that tomorrow

In the meantime, I've been asked to come here, which I'm happy to do.

Have we got any husbands and wives

The point is, I want the husbands

We have some wonderful things

Let me tell you that we're here to fleece every penny we can

to some previous occupants.

I think Sion's found something

Colin continues to clear up.

going to look very good on camera.