Pennod 10 04 Wal

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-Welcome to 04Wal and to a milestone

-in the history of the series.

-It's 2004 and we're halfway through

-the archives.

-In this programme, we see houses

-from both ends of the spectrum...

-..from mansions to houses

-that are practically one room.

-Let's start with a posh one!

-Aberystwyth University's Principal

-lives in Plas Penglais.

-The house goes with the job...

-..and Derec Llwyd Morgan

-is about to retire.

-He invited us to see the mansion

-before he vacates it.

-We really took to this house.

-To the manner born!

-It's a cosy house.

-It may be big, but we make use

-of every single room.

-We've grown to love it

-and yes, we'll miss it.

-There's already a lump in my throat

-when I think of leaving.

-We were both raised

-in small terraced houses.

-When we moved

-to this large luxurious house...

-..we thought all our visitors

-would expect us to be very grand!

-I never thought I could live up

-to people's expectations...

-..of the principal's wife!

-Jane wasn't keen to move here.

-It wasn't in a state of disrepair...

-..but no work had been done to it

-for 25 years.

-The college decorated it

-from top to bottom, fair play.

-There was a farmhouse here in 1770.

-It remained in the same family

-until the end of World War II.

-The Richardes family.

-This place was called The Mansion.

-There were plans to move

-the college from the seafront...

-..up here to the hillside.

-Mrs Richardes lived here in 1946.

-The story has it that she argued

-with her son one Friday...

-..and she instructed her solicitor

-to sell the house and the land.

-The treasurer gave the principal

-a blank cheque, and he bought it.

-That's how the college acquired it.

-This is the hall.

-You chose rich colours, didn't you?

-Yes, they're warm colours.

-The terracotta is a lighter shade.

-There are two colours here.

-It's more pink

-towards the dining room.

-Cefyn Burgess

-helped me choose the colours.

-The walls were all painted magnolia

-before we moved in.

-All the way to the top floor.

-It was like the road to heaven

-and it seemed never-ending.

-I wanted to break up the magnolia,

-but I needed advice.

-Cefyn showed me

-a painting by Titian.

-We chose the main colour scheme

-from that painting.

-Tell me about these hens, Jane.

-We were on holiday in Cape Town

-and driving towards Newlands...

-..when we saw a man selling them

-on the side of the road.

-I asked Derec to stop the car

-and let me buy a couple of them.

-They're pretty

-and their eyes are very lifelike.

-They eye you suspiciously,

-just like real hens!

-They're great fun

-and very colourful.

-Joel, my young grandson,

-usually sleeps in this room.

-The workmen describe this

-as The Prince of Wales Room.

-This is where Prince Charles slept

-when he stayed here.

-Gareth Owen was the principal

-back then.

-Did you choose the wallpaper?

-Did you choose the wallpaper?

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-No, Cefyn chose this.

-I didn't like it because I thought

-the pattern was too intricate.

-It has grown on me.

-The colours are very subdued.

-The colours are very subdued.

-

-Yes, that's right.

-It's wonderful to sit on the bed

-and look out to sea.

-I haven't slept in this room.

-Now's your chance, Jane!

-I hope you filmed that!

-We've told ourselves all along

-that we are merely caretakers.

-We knew that our stay here

-would be temporary.

-It's a small town and I don't want

-to be in my successor's shadow.

-My successor doesn't want to be

-in my shadow either.

-It wouldn't be fair if we were

-still in town when they arrive.

-What sort of house

-do you plan to buy?

-We've already bought a house

-but haven't worked on it yet.

-It's more of an Anglesey ranch

-than a mansion!

-He fell in love with it,

-but I didn't.

-It took me a long time

-to take to it.

-You can rent somewhere

-if you don't like it!

-I'll apply

-for the housekeeper's job here!

-Ifan, Maggie and daughter Lydia

-live here, in Springfield.

-It's a substantial house

-in the centre of Dolgellau.

-How did you hear about the house?

-We came here

-to nose around the garden.

-It was overgrown.

-We peeked through the window

-and saw two old ladies having tea.

-We beat a hasty retreat!

-That was the first time we saw it

-and we fell in love with it.

-Tell me about its history.

-We don't know much

-about its history.

-We haven't had time

-to do any research.

-The architect thinks

-that it was a slate owner's house.

-It was quite a grand house

-in its day.

-How did you become its new owners?

-There was a fire

-when the two old ladies lived here.

-They had to move out

-and the house was sold to a builder.

-He tackled

-some of the restoration work...

-..but he decided to sell,

-and we bought it.

-There was dry rot, wet rot

-and everything else imaginable here.

-Windows had fallen out

-and floors had collapsed.

-We heard that the furniture

-of the furthest bedroom...

-..had fallen all the way down

-to the cellar.

-Ivy had grown

-all over the whole house.

-This is a three-storey house.

-This is a three-storey house.

-

-Yes.

-It's anything but cramped!

-There's even a grand piano

-on the landing!

-They've certainly

-made the most of this house.

-The bedrooms are through here.

-At least, some of them are!

-This room has three aspects

-and views of Cader Idris...

-..or the Cader Idris range,

-at least.

-There's a lovely paisley bedspread

-over here.

-This is solid furniture.

-There's another bedroom here.

-You could be in a French chateau

-rather than Dolgellau.

-It's a French ensemble.

-It's a muted colour scheme

-in a luxurious room.

-You're lucky to have so much land

-with a house in the centre of town.

-Yes. It's lovely! We're very lucky.

-I longed to live somewhere isolated

-in the country, but I'd be scared!

-I like living near other people.

-This gives us

-the best of both worlds.

-Some of these details

-are copies of the original details.

-Yes, the architect came across

-the foundry in Scotland...

-..where the original ironwork

-was done.

-They still had the moulds, so this

-is an exact copy of the original.

-That's amazing.

-I love living here!

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-Welcome back to 04Wal

-and to the year 2004.

-We're about to see a collection

-of small houses.

-We start in Minffordd, in the home

-of Glyn Davies and his wife, Lee.

-It's probably the smallest house

-ever featured on 04Wal.

-Pen-y-Graig is a stone's throw

-from a quarry in Penrhyndeudraeth.

-The house is over 300 years old.

-We rarely visit a property...

-..where you can see the whole house

-from one spot.

-However, just like Wales,

-small is beautiful.

-We made our way to the house,

-through the jungle outside...

-..and it was full of cobwebs.

-I felt like Indiana Jones!

-It was love at first sight.

-Our offer was accepted...

-..within three days

-of that first viewing.

-Was it structurally sound?

-Was it structurally sound?

-

-Yes.

-Whoever built it 300 years ago

-knew exactly what he was doing.

-The two gable ends

-are almost five feet thick.

-The two side walls

-are at least three feet thick.

-This house is completely solid.

-It has no foundations.

-This cottage was built on a rock

-and it's as solid as a rock.

-Was it always your intention

-to create a Victorian-style cottage?

-Yes, most definitely.

-Neither of us

-are too keen on modern furniture.

-We both like antiques.

-We're very organized

-and we know where everything is.

-The air turns blue on the odd

-occasion when we lose something!

-Having said that, it has to be

-somewhere in this room!

-There isn't much scope!

-You've spent a lot of time

-in the garden.

-Are you a keen gardener?

-Are you a keen gardener?

-

-Yes.

-This was an orchard.

-Every single tree was diseased.

-I had to dig them up

-and get rid of them.

-We now have three apple trees.

-We had to wait for three years

-before we could plant them...

-..to give the disease time to clear.

-We enjoy gardening...

-..and we grow 80%

-of our own vegetables.

-We also keep hens.

-It's like The Good Life!

-Margo Leadbetter lives next door!

-Margo Leadbetter lives next door!

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-No, definitely not.

-We wouldn't move,

-even if we won the Lottery.

-No other property

-could mean so much to me.

-We spent a whole year

-rebuilding the interior.

-I wouldn't want

-to go through that again.

-I'd be happy

-to work on another garden...

-..but I'm more of a gardener

-than a builder.

-You're happy sitting here

-by the fire.

-Yes, all I need now

-is an Irish wolfhound...

-..a cigar and a glass of rum.

-I'd be happy!

-Most of the houses we see on 04Wal

-are square, have lots of rooms...

-..and are built of stone.

-The building beyond this jungle

-is round, only has one room...

-..and its roof and walls

-are made of straw.

-This amazing building

-is located in the Vale of Glamorgan.

-Dafydd Wiliam is one of the men

-who had the vision to build it.

-How long did it take

-to build this roundhouse?

-Four years, from start to finish.

-Three of us started the project,

-but I'm the only one left.

-I've nearly finished it.

-You don't have permission

-to live here, so what's its purpose?

-Mainly educational.

-My priority is to get people here

-to see the building.

-It's made of natural materials.

-It's very visual.

-Visitors remember it...

-..and they go home with new ideas

-about things like sustainability.

-It's about protecting

-the environment...

-..and using nature's resources

-as building materials.

-Let's look at this work of genius

-from within.

-Wow!

-You worked really hard

-to create this!

-How did you design

-the nest-shaped roof?

-It's a bit like a tepee or a wigwam.

-The long joists that form the roof

-rest on the timber frame.

-It holds itself up, in theory.

-You used traditional materials

-to create this modern building.

-Yes, it's a contemporary house.

-It isn't an Iron Age house.

-It's a roundhouse,

-but it has a raised wooden floor.

-It also has windows.

-No other roundhouse has windows.

-How would you describe

-the atmosphere?

-Peaceful.

-Tranquil.

-It makes you take a step back

-from everyday things.

-It's a round buildings

-and more feminine.

-I think square buildings

-are quite masculine.

-It's lovely to be in a building

-that's more feminine than most.

-Cris Dafis bought

-an ordinary, terraced house...

-..as a blank canvas

-for his imagination and his ideas.

-You know what you're getting

-when you buy a house like this.

-I wanted a house

-that needed work done to it.

-In fact, it would have been easier

-if I'd bought a ruin!

-Work had been done to it

-and that made things harder for me.

-I wanted to knock down walls

-to create an open space.

-I wanted fewer rooms in the house.

-That was my aim.

-I live alone...

-..so I wanted a space,

-rather than lots of rooms.

-This is the lounge.

-This is the cloakroom!

-It's very musical.

-You can either hang your clothes

-on these hangers...

-..or play them like triangles!

-This is all that remains

-of the wall...

-..that separated

-the front and middle rooms.

-Thank goodness it's there,

-or the roof would collapse!

-The kitchen is this way.

-This extended kitchen

-is a wonderfully open space...

-..but it also draws your attention

-outside, to the garden.

-The tiles are laid

-in straight lines...

-..that continue outside the window.

-Something as negative

-as a long, narrow garden...

-..seems to suck you outside,

-as though you were in a vortex!

-Did you design this kitchen, Cris?

-No, an architect drew up the plans

-for this section of the house.

-I knew the kind of thing I wanted...

-..but I needed an expert to decide

-on the measurements and the details.

-That was taken out of my hands.

-I wanted a large window -

-a glass wall, essentially.

-I told the architect what I wanted

-and he drew up the plans.

-You have a glass wall

-over there...

-..and the roof windows

-let in even more light.

-The architect

-added that row of windows.

-They aren't real windows,

-because they don't open.

-They create a stunning effect

-in mid-morning...

-..when the shadows of the lamps

-hit the wall.

-I spend more time here at night

-than during the day...

-..because I'm out working.

-The way the house looked at night

-was important to me.

-We spent a lot of time

-deciding how to stage the lighting.

-What do the neighbours think of it?

-The lady who lives next door but two

-came here and she loves it.

-She said, "It's lovely! It's like

-a spaceship!" about the kitchen.

-"It's a pity you can't move it

-to somewhere nice!"

-I've created something

-that's relatively radical...

-..but it isn't quite radical enough

-for me.

-I'm not exactly sure

-how I'd do it...

-..but I want to be far more extreme

-in my next house!

-S4C subtitles by Eirlys A Jones

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