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0:00:20 > 0:00:23- We've reached 2003 - in the 04Wal archives.
0:00:23 > 0:00:26- The houses we'll see - were a real labour of love.
0:00:26 > 0:00:29- We'll visit a rectory - in Denbighshire...
0:00:30 > 0:00:33- ..but first, Tresinwen Mill - in Pembrokeshire.
0:00:42 > 0:00:46- We saw the details - when the house went on the market.
0:00:46 > 0:00:51- There was a photograph of the mill, - taken from the top of Garn Fawr.
0:00:52 > 0:00:55- It showed the peninsula - and Tresinwen Mill.
0:00:56 > 0:01:00- The sea was a bright blue, - and you could see the lighthouse.
0:01:01 > 0:01:04- It was so striking, - we came to view the property.
0:01:04 > 0:01:06- We thought about it for weeks.
0:01:07 > 0:01:08- We wanted to be sure.
0:01:10 > 0:01:15- Ed, Hedydd and the children lived in - this cottage when we were last here.
0:01:15 > 0:01:18- The garden looked like - a builders' yard...
0:01:18 > 0:01:22- ..but the interior of Tresinwen - was almost ready.
0:01:31 > 0:01:33- We bought it eight years ago.
0:01:34 > 0:01:40- We worked on it every weekend, - and that went on for two years.
0:01:40 > 0:01:41- Yes.
0:01:42 > 0:01:46- We first moved into the small - cottage and lived there...
0:01:46 > 0:01:52- ..whilst we worked on the main - building as and when we could.
0:01:52 > 0:01:54- We knew this area fairly well.
0:01:54 > 0:01:58- I worked in an ice-cream van - when I was a young girl...
0:01:58 > 0:02:01- ..and I often saw - the lighthouse in the mist.
0:02:02 > 0:02:04- I never thought - I'd live in this area.
0:02:04 > 0:02:08- It's a popular area - because it's so pretty.
0:02:08 > 0:02:12- We wanted to develop a property - because of Ed's skills.
0:02:13 > 0:02:16- We were lucky - to find this property.
0:02:16 > 0:02:20- There was a lot of work to be done, - but it had great potential.
0:02:20 > 0:02:25- We didn't rush things, but - we've finally finished the house.
0:02:35 > 0:02:38- No-one has lived - in the old mill before.
0:02:38 > 0:02:42- How did you divide the space - into rooms suitable for a family?
0:02:45 > 0:02:50- We had to keep to the original shape - of the building.
0:02:52 > 0:02:57- We thought long and hard - about how best to divide the rooms.
0:02:59 > 0:03:04- We used timber partitions rather - than concrete or stone walls.
0:03:05 > 0:03:07- Timber takes up less space.
0:03:08 > 0:03:13- It's also warmer, and a - timber partition adds character.
0:03:13 > 0:03:17- We needed three bedrooms, - and that's what we have.
0:03:17 > 0:03:18- It works really well.
0:03:19 > 0:03:22- The children have big bedrooms, - and they're happy.
0:03:23 > 0:03:25- These were the original beams.
0:03:25 > 0:03:30- We only managed to salvage - five beams from the old mill.
0:03:31 > 0:03:32- The rest were rotten.
0:03:32 > 0:03:36- We wanted to put - some of the old timber in here.
0:03:51 > 0:03:55- The old beams - make the place feel more homely.
0:03:56 > 0:03:59- We collected lots of items - before we moved in.
0:04:00 > 0:04:05- These things knit the - whole project together perfectly.
0:04:06 > 0:04:09- You can ruin something - if you're too elaborate.
0:04:10 > 0:04:15- The attractive thing about this - property is its pretty surroundings.
0:04:38 > 0:04:41- We've laid this patio - since you were last here.
0:04:42 > 0:04:45- Hedydd doesn't like the word patio.
0:04:45 > 0:04:47- She calls it the back garden.
0:04:49 > 0:04:52- We used stone slabs, - and we planted a few plants.
0:04:53 > 0:04:56- There were piles of soil here - when you last saw it.
0:04:57 > 0:05:02- It's all been scattered and seeded, - and the lawn is growing quite well.
0:05:11 > 0:05:15- It's time to enjoy the house, - rather than work on it.
0:05:15 > 0:05:17- That's the plan!
0:05:18 > 0:05:22- We're going to have - lots of barbecues in the garden.
0:05:22 > 0:05:24- It's going to be great.
0:05:26 > 0:05:28- It has more of - a natural character...
0:05:29 > 0:05:31- ..than we could have given to it.
0:05:32 > 0:05:36- This is a wonderful location. - The whole area is stunning.
0:05:36 > 0:05:40- We want to enjoy the lifestyle - that comes with living here.
0:05:56 > 0:06:01- This rectory is called Hendre Llan, - and it was built around 1780.
0:06:01 > 0:06:03- It belongs to Carys and Jeff Padan.
0:06:04 > 0:06:09- Jeff and his granddad came here - to shoot crows when Jeff was young.
0:06:10 > 0:06:12- Jeff's granddad was a gardener here.
0:06:13 > 0:06:17- Carys is a local girl, and - she dreamt of living in the house.
0:06:20 > 0:06:24- The house was - in a poor state of repair.
0:06:25 > 0:06:29- The house was in a worse condition - than the buildings behind us!
0:06:30 > 0:06:32- We gutted the whole place.
0:06:32 > 0:06:36- We pulled up the floors, - and we replaced the windows.
0:06:36 > 0:06:39- You were brave - to take the job on, Jeff.
0:06:39 > 0:06:43- I was a brave man, but my wife - wanted the house more than me.
0:06:45 > 0:06:50- I get paid from the neck down, and - my wife gets paid from the neck up!
0:06:54 > 0:06:59- Carys, my wife, is responsible - for the interior design.
0:06:59 > 0:07:01- She has a real talent for it.
0:07:08 > 0:07:13- I always looked up at the house - as I walked past when I was young.
0:07:13 > 0:07:15- I never thought I'd live here.
0:07:15 > 0:07:17- Did you dream about it?
0:07:17 > 0:07:21- Carys wanted to live here, - but I was happy in the village.
0:07:21 > 0:07:26- Now that I live here, I love it, - but it takes a lot of maintenance.
0:07:26 > 0:07:28- Picking up leaves is hard work.
0:07:29 > 0:07:32- It wouldn't be so bad - if I could smoke them!
0:07:36 > 0:07:39- They've worked hard - on the interior, too.
0:07:39 > 0:07:43- Carys, Jeff's wife, - is responsible for that.
0:07:43 > 0:07:46- Carys could imagine - how the house would look.
0:07:47 > 0:07:48- She has real vision.
0:08:00 > 0:08:05- Had you known how much time - and money the renovation involved...
0:08:06 > 0:08:08- ..would you have bought the house?
0:08:09 > 0:08:11- Yes, we would... wouldn't we?
0:08:11 > 0:08:14- Jeff, there's a glazed look - on your face!
0:08:14 > 0:08:16- I wouldn't have bought it.
0:08:16 > 0:08:19- I was the one who wanted the house.
0:08:19 > 0:08:21- The renovations have cost a lot.
0:08:22 > 0:08:25- The problem is - Carys wants everything bang-on...
0:08:25 > 0:08:30- ..and I think that probably cost us - even more money!
0:08:30 > 0:08:34- Having said that, all the work - has been done properly.
0:08:34 > 0:08:38- I have no regrets about anything - we've had done to the house.
0:08:40 > 0:08:41- It's cosy.
0:08:41 > 0:08:43- Are you happy with it?
0:08:43 > 0:08:45- Are you happy with it?- - Yes, we're very happy with it.
0:08:48 > 0:08:50- You don't want to do it again?
0:08:50 > 0:08:52- You don't want to do it again?- - I'd love to do it one more time.
0:08:54 > 0:08:58- It's an enormous house. - Don't you feel a bit lost here?
0:08:59 > 0:09:03- I retreat to the west wing - when we've argued!
0:09:03 > 0:09:05- It's handy when he snores, too!
0:09:06 > 0:09:09- Jeff takes care - of the manual labour.
0:09:09 > 0:09:14- He sings your praises because - you're the one with the vision.
0:09:15 > 0:09:17- Is that true?
0:09:17 > 0:09:20- Yes. I've a good imagination.
0:09:23 > 0:09:28- Jeff was sceptical, but I could - envisage how this house would look.
0:09:49 > 0:09:49- .
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0:09:59 > 0:10:00- Welcome back to 2003.
0:10:00 > 0:10:05- We'll never know how much Welsh - history has been swept aside...
0:10:05 > 0:10:07- ..in the name of modernization.
0:10:07 > 0:10:12- That was almost the fate - of Neuadd Cynhinfa, Montgomeryshire.
0:10:14 > 0:10:18- This house is a tapestry - of architecture down the ages.
0:10:18 > 0:10:23- It spans the period from the - 16th century to the 20th century.
0:10:23 > 0:10:28- CADW helped Emyr and Nerys - rescue everything.
0:10:32 > 0:10:34- This section seems more recent...
0:10:35 > 0:10:39- ..but this section, or part of it, - seems original.
0:10:39 > 0:10:40- Yes, that's right.
0:10:41 > 0:10:47- The section of dark wood is - the original section, built in 1507.
0:10:50 > 0:10:54- The more recent sections - were built in 1994.
0:10:54 > 0:10:56- That's green wood.
0:10:58 > 0:11:02- You can see that there has been - movement within the wood since 1994.
0:11:03 > 0:11:06- Are the windows older than that?
0:11:07 > 0:11:12- Our guidelines stated that we had to - keep the windows that were here.
0:11:12 > 0:11:15- We didn't have to go back to - the very original windows.
0:11:16 > 0:11:19- Were there any windows in it, - originally?
0:11:19 > 0:11:23- No, they used two pieces of wood - and some sackcloth.
0:11:23 > 0:11:26- That's how they let the smoke - out of the house.
0:11:43 > 0:11:45- We built an extension...
0:11:45 > 0:11:48- ..to restore the hall - to its original size.
0:11:49 > 0:11:51- It goes from the chimney outwards.
0:11:52 > 0:11:55- This section is completely new.
0:11:55 > 0:11:56- This section is completely new.- - Yes, that's right.
0:11:56 > 0:12:00- It blends in perfectly - with the rest of the house.
0:12:00 > 0:12:02- Yes, we were very lucky.
0:12:03 > 0:12:05- A local farmer - demolished an old building...
0:12:06 > 0:12:11- ..and we bought the stones, - the slate and some wood from him.
0:12:11 > 0:12:16- The wood we bought from him - is in the new kitchen.
0:12:18 > 0:12:21- The stone has weathered naturally.
0:12:31 > 0:12:36- This is the only part of - the wall which has been rendered.
0:12:37 > 0:12:41- CADW wanted us - to render all the stonework.
0:12:43 > 0:12:44- The whole house?
0:12:44 > 0:12:47- The whole house?- - Yes, but we'd already pointed it.
0:12:48 > 0:12:51- We had a long discussion about it...
0:12:51 > 0:12:54- ..and we compromised - by rendering this wall.
0:12:54 > 0:12:58- This is the wall that bears - the brunt of the winter weather.
0:13:07 > 0:13:11- This is the part that makes - this house so very special.
0:13:12 > 0:13:16- Yes, because most of the - external oak work is in this area.
0:13:17 > 0:13:21- This corner is one of the original - sections of the house...
0:13:21 > 0:13:24- ..that has been carved out.
0:13:26 > 0:13:29- This extension dates back to 1550.
0:13:32 > 0:13:37- They ran out of oak, - so they filled it in with plaster.
0:13:40 > 0:13:45- Does this part of the house date - from an earlier or later period?
0:13:45 > 0:13:47- It's earlier.
0:13:47 > 0:13:49- This is the original hall.
0:13:50 > 0:13:54- The post and panel - make Neuadd Cynhinfa unique.
0:13:55 > 0:13:56- This box frame.
0:13:58 > 0:14:02- Even the centre panel is oak. - It's all made of oak.
0:14:03 > 0:14:06- This dates back to 1507.
0:14:22 > 0:14:24- How did you find this house?
0:14:24 > 0:14:27- My parents found the farm - in the 1970s.
0:14:28 > 0:14:33- They bought the house, the farm - and the fields.
0:14:36 > 0:14:39- That's how we came to be here, - in the first place.
0:14:39 > 0:14:42- The house was a ruin at that time.
0:14:44 > 0:14:46- They kept animals in the house.
0:14:47 > 0:14:50- They thought - the house was worthless.
0:14:53 > 0:14:56- Emyr's father and my father - assessed it...
0:14:56 > 0:15:01- ..and they thought we should - demolish the house and start again!
0:15:02 > 0:15:06- We'd decided to demolish it - and build a new house.
0:15:07 > 0:15:10- Michael Golden, the architect, - came here...
0:15:10 > 0:15:13- ..and he noticed the oak beams - in the attic.
0:15:16 > 0:15:21- That was the first step in the - process of resurrecting the house.
0:15:22 > 0:15:26- Waiting for the work to be completed - must have been hard!
0:15:26 > 0:15:30- Yes, I persuaded Nerys we'd live - in a caravan for nine months...
0:15:31 > 0:15:35- ..but we ended up staying - in the caravan for five years.
0:15:35 > 0:15:40- It took three years just to - get started on the building work.
0:15:42 > 0:15:46- After those three years, - they built an extension...
0:15:46 > 0:15:50- ..which took the hall - back to its original size.
0:15:50 > 0:15:54- This is the kitchen, - and there's a bedroom above it.
0:15:57 > 0:16:01- The whole of Neuadd Cynhinfa - was eventually renovated.
0:16:08 > 0:16:12- I'm glad you like wood because - there's lots of it in this house.
0:16:13 > 0:16:15- Yes, there's wood everywhere.
0:16:16 > 0:16:19- The wood gives the house - a special, warm feeling.
0:16:20 > 0:16:22- I'm very fond of looking at it.
0:16:22 > 0:16:24- There's a huge variety of wood here.
0:16:25 > 0:16:27- Some of it has been here - for centuries...
0:16:28 > 0:16:30- ..and some of it was added recently.
0:16:31 > 0:16:36- Are you in danger of giving the - house's history too much respect...
0:16:36 > 0:16:39- ..and forgetting - that this is your home?
0:16:39 > 0:16:41- No, I don't feel like that at all.
0:16:41 > 0:16:45- I think we live in a way - which compliments the house.
0:16:45 > 0:16:49- It's stood here for centuries, - and it deserves our respect.
0:16:50 > 0:16:53- We must do things - in the traditional way.
0:16:53 > 0:16:55- We live in a Welsh-speaking area...
0:16:56 > 0:16:58- ..and we live - traditional, Welsh lives.
0:17:00 > 0:17:04- I think our history comes alive - in Neuadd Cynhinfa.
0:17:10 > 0:17:14- "On the journey, there is - a good patron in old Cynhinfa.
0:17:14 > 0:17:17- "An old hall - restored to its former glory.
0:17:18 > 0:17:22- "Its stones have long memories - and the oak tells its story."
0:17:49 > 0:17:54- Penybont farm, Tregaron, has been in - Aled Lewis's family since the 1940s.
0:17:54 > 0:17:57- Aled and Larissa, his wife, - now live here.
0:17:57 > 0:18:03- The result of four years' hard work - is a unique, contemporary home.
0:18:05 > 0:18:10- It was originally one house, but - then it was divided into two houses.
0:18:11 > 0:18:14- They rented part of the house - to my uncle and aunt.
0:18:15 > 0:18:18- We decided to turn it back - into one large house.
0:18:20 > 0:18:23- The house looks like a cave - in these photographs!
0:18:24 > 0:18:26- There aren't any floors - in some rooms!
0:18:27 > 0:18:31- We stripped the wallpaper - and hacked it back to the stone.
0:18:32 > 0:18:35- The timber - was riddled with woodworm.
0:18:36 > 0:18:39- There was nothing supporting - some of the floors.
0:18:39 > 0:18:43- We had to remove the old beams - and start from scratch.
0:18:44 > 0:18:45- We took it from there...
0:18:46 > 0:18:49- ..and we worked hard to get the - rooms to look as they do today.
0:18:50 > 0:18:53- I'm very happy to be here!
0:18:54 > 0:18:58- The house is lovely, - and this is quite a large farm.
0:18:58 > 0:19:01- There's plenty of work - to be done here.
0:19:01 > 0:19:03- And you're the owner of Penybont.
0:19:03 > 0:19:04- And you're the owner of Penybont.- - One of them!
0:19:04 > 0:19:04- One of them!
0:19:14 > 0:19:19- We spend most of our time in here, - and it's the size of a bungalow!
0:19:21 > 0:19:24- It was split into two rooms, - years ago...
0:19:25 > 0:19:27- ..but we made it into one big room.
0:19:27 > 0:19:31- This stove heats the room - quite efficiently.
0:19:31 > 0:19:33- What an enormous chimney!
0:19:35 > 0:19:38- This beam could tell some tales, - if it could talk!
0:19:40 > 0:19:43- Why is that section - a different colour?
0:19:44 > 0:19:46- The old staircase was over here.
0:19:46 > 0:19:49- The staircase - took you up to the landing.
0:19:49 > 0:19:52- We moved the staircase - out of this room.
0:19:53 > 0:19:56- The staircase - is now in the next room.
0:19:56 > 0:20:01- Getting rid of the stairs - must have added width to the room.
0:20:01 > 0:20:03- Let's take a look at the kitchen.
0:20:05 > 0:20:10- We knew we would need an expanse - of units to fill this room.
0:20:13 > 0:20:15- My wife works in London...
0:20:16 > 0:20:19- ..and we saw this kitchen - in a shop there.
0:20:21 > 0:20:26- We liked the kitchen, and we then - drew up the plans for this room.
0:20:27 > 0:20:31- Do you eat your breakfast - at this enormous breakfast bar?
0:20:34 > 0:20:38- Yes, we eat most of our meals - at this breakfast bar.
0:20:40 > 0:20:41- It's really handy.
0:20:42 > 0:20:46- You could carve your name on it - and have it as your headstone!
0:20:47 > 0:20:49- Well, I think it's too big for that!
0:20:49 > 0:20:52- We struggled - to get it into the house!
0:20:52 > 0:20:54- We won't take it out again.
0:21:13 > 0:21:15- Wow!
0:21:15 > 0:21:17- What an enormous bathroom!
0:21:18 > 0:21:19- An iron bath.
0:21:20 > 0:21:22- You could get lost in that shower!
0:21:23 > 0:21:26- This floor - is made of old cupboard doors.
0:21:27 > 0:21:30- Over here, - we have a walk-in airing cupboard!
0:21:31 > 0:21:35- Actually, it's a walk-in, walk-out - airing cupboard!
0:21:38 > 0:21:39- Who uses that bathroom?
0:21:40 > 0:21:43- The lucky guests who stay - in this wonderful spare room!
0:21:44 > 0:21:49- We cross the landing, and we find - ourselves in the master bedroom.
0:21:49 > 0:21:52- The colours in here - are rich and warm.
0:21:52 > 0:21:54- It's very romantic.
0:21:57 > 0:22:00- A private dressing room - and bathroom.
0:22:01 > 0:22:06- This is the biggest shower I've seen - since the one I saw a minute ago!
0:22:06 > 0:22:08- This is a shower with a difference.
0:22:09 > 0:22:11- There are two showers - in this cubicle.
0:22:17 > 0:22:20- If I had more time, - I'd enjoy renovating a house.
0:22:21 > 0:22:24- I know I can do it. - I've learnt a lot.
0:22:25 > 0:22:29- I enjoyed the challenge - of renovating the house...
0:22:31 > 0:22:33- ..but I wouldn't do it again!
0:22:35 > 0:22:39- This is our home, - and we're extremely happy here.
0:23:00 > 0:23:03- S4C subtitles by Eirlys A Jones
0:23:03 > 0:23:03- .