Pennod 7 04 Wal

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-We've reached 2003

-in the 04Wal archives.

-The houses we'll see

-were a real labour of love.

-We'll visit a rectory

-in Denbighshire...

-..but first, Tresinwen Mill

-in Pembrokeshire.

-We saw the details

-when the house went on the market.

-There was a photograph of the mill,

-taken from the top of Garn Fawr.

-It showed the peninsula

-and Tresinwen Mill.

-The sea was a bright blue,

-and you could see the lighthouse.

-It was so striking,

-we came to view the property.

-We thought about it for weeks.

-We wanted to be sure.

-Ed, Hedydd and the children lived in

-this cottage when we were last here.

-The garden looked like

-a builders' yard...

-..but the interior of Tresinwen

-was almost ready.

-We bought it eight years ago.

-We worked on it every weekend,

-and that went on for two years.

-Yes.

-We first moved into the small

-cottage and lived there...

-..whilst we worked on the main

-building as and when we could.

-We knew this area fairly well.

-I worked in an ice-cream van

-when I was a young girl...

-..and I often saw

-the lighthouse in the mist.

-I never thought

-I'd live in this area.

-It's a popular area

-because it's so pretty.

-We wanted to develop a property

-because of Ed's skills.

-We were lucky

-to find this property.

-There was a lot of work to be done,

-but it had great potential.

-We didn't rush things, but

-we've finally finished the house.

-No-one has lived

-in the old mill before.

-How did you divide the space

-into rooms suitable for a family?

-We had to keep to the original shape

-of the building.

-We thought long and hard

-about how best to divide the rooms.

-We used timber partitions rather

-than concrete or stone walls.

-Timber takes up less space.

-It's also warmer, and a

-timber partition adds character.

-We needed three bedrooms,

-and that's what we have.

-It works really well.

-The children have big bedrooms,

-and they're happy.

-These were the original beams.

-We only managed to salvage

-five beams from the old mill.

-The rest were rotten.

-We wanted to put

-some of the old timber in here.

-The old beams

-make the place feel more homely.

-We collected lots of items

-before we moved in.

-These things knit the

-whole project together perfectly.

-You can ruin something

-if you're too elaborate.

-The attractive thing about this

-property is its pretty surroundings.

-We've laid this patio

-since you were last here.

-Hedydd doesn't like the word patio.

-She calls it the back garden.

-We used stone slabs,

-and we planted a few plants.

-There were piles of soil here

-when you last saw it.

-It's all been scattered and seeded,

-and the lawn is growing quite well.

-It's time to enjoy the house,

-rather than work on it.

-That's the plan!

-We're going to have

-lots of barbecues in the garden.

-It's going to be great.

-It has more of

-a natural character...

-..than we could have given to it.

-This is a wonderful location.

-The whole area is stunning.

-We want to enjoy the lifestyle

-that comes with living here.

-This rectory is called Hendre Llan,

-and it was built around 1780.

-It belongs to Carys and Jeff Padan.

-Jeff and his granddad came here

-to shoot crows when Jeff was young.

-Jeff's granddad was a gardener here.

-Carys is a local girl, and

-she dreamt of living in the house.

-The house was

-in a poor state of repair.

-The house was in a worse condition

-than the buildings behind us!

-We gutted the whole place.

-We pulled up the floors,

-and we replaced the windows.

-You were brave

-to take the job on, Jeff.

-I was a brave man, but my wife

-wanted the house more than me.

-I get paid from the neck down, and

-my wife gets paid from the neck up!

-Carys, my wife, is responsible

-for the interior design.

-She has a real talent for it.

-I always looked up at the house

-as I walked past when I was young.

-I never thought I'd live here.

-Did you dream about it?

-Carys wanted to live here,

-but I was happy in the village.

-Now that I live here, I love it,

-but it takes a lot of maintenance.

-Picking up leaves is hard work.

-It wouldn't be so bad

-if I could smoke them!

-They've worked hard

-on the interior, too.

-Carys, Jeff's wife,

-is responsible for that.

-Carys could imagine

-how the house would look.

-She has real vision.

-Had you known how much time

-and money the renovation involved...

-..would you have bought the house?

-Yes, we would... wouldn't we?

-Jeff, there's a glazed look

-on your face!

-I wouldn't have bought it.

-I was the one who wanted the house.

-The renovations have cost a lot.

-The problem is

-Carys wants everything bang-on...

-..and I think that probably cost us

-even more money!

-Having said that, all the work

-has been done properly.

-I have no regrets about anything

-we've had done to the house.

-It's cosy.

-Are you happy with it?

-Are you happy with it?

-

-Yes, we're very happy with it.

-You don't want to do it again?

-You don't want to do it again?

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-I'd love to do it one more time.

-It's an enormous house.

-Don't you feel a bit lost here?

-I retreat to the west wing

-when we've argued!

-It's handy when he snores, too!

-Jeff takes care

-of the manual labour.

-He sings your praises because

-you're the one with the vision.

-Is that true?

-Yes. I've a good imagination.

-Jeff was sceptical, but I could

-envisage how this house would look.

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-Welcome back to 2003.

-We'll never know how much Welsh

-history has been swept aside...

-..in the name of modernization.

-That was almost the fate

-of Neuadd Cynhinfa, Montgomeryshire.

-This house is a tapestry

-of architecture down the ages.

-It spans the period from the

-16th century to the 20th century.

-CADW helped Emyr and Nerys

-rescue everything.

-This section seems more recent...

-..but this section, or part of it,

-seems original.

-Yes, that's right.

-The section of dark wood is

-the original section, built in 1507.

-The more recent sections

-were built in 1994.

-That's green wood.

-You can see that there has been

-movement within the wood since 1994.

-Are the windows older than that?

-Our guidelines stated that we had to

-keep the windows that were here.

-We didn't have to go back to

-the very original windows.

-Were there any windows in it,

-originally?

-No, they used two pieces of wood

-and some sackcloth.

-That's how they let the smoke

-out of the house.

-We built an extension...

-..to restore the hall

-to its original size.

-It goes from the chimney outwards.

-This section is completely new.

-This section is completely new.

-

-Yes, that's right.

-It blends in perfectly

-with the rest of the house.

-Yes, we were very lucky.

-A local farmer

-demolished an old building...

-..and we bought the stones,

-the slate and some wood from him.

-The wood we bought from him

-is in the new kitchen.

-The stone has weathered naturally.

-This is the only part of

-the wall which has been rendered.

-CADW wanted us

-to render all the stonework.

-The whole house?

-The whole house?

-

-Yes, but we'd already pointed it.

-We had a long discussion about it...

-..and we compromised

-by rendering this wall.

-This is the wall that bears

-the brunt of the winter weather.

-This is the part that makes

-this house so very special.

-Yes, because most of the

-external oak work is in this area.

-This corner is one of the original

-sections of the house...

-..that has been carved out.

-This extension dates back to 1550.

-They ran out of oak,

-so they filled it in with plaster.

-Does this part of the house date

-from an earlier or later period?

-It's earlier.

-This is the original hall.

-The post and panel

-make Neuadd Cynhinfa unique.

-This box frame.

-Even the centre panel is oak.

-It's all made of oak.

-This dates back to 1507.

-How did you find this house?

-My parents found the farm

-in the 1970s.

-They bought the house, the farm

-and the fields.

-That's how we came to be here,

-in the first place.

-The house was a ruin at that time.

-They kept animals in the house.

-They thought

-the house was worthless.

-Emyr's father and my father

-assessed it...

-..and they thought we should

-demolish the house and start again!

-We'd decided to demolish it

-and build a new house.

-Michael Golden, the architect,

-came here...

-..and he noticed the oak beams

-in the attic.

-That was the first step in the

-process of resurrecting the house.

-Waiting for the work to be completed

-must have been hard!

-Yes, I persuaded Nerys we'd live

-in a caravan for nine months...

-..but we ended up staying

-in the caravan for five years.

-It took three years just to

-get started on the building work.

-After those three years,

-they built an extension...

-..which took the hall

-back to its original size.

-This is the kitchen,

-and there's a bedroom above it.

-The whole of Neuadd Cynhinfa

-was eventually renovated.

-I'm glad you like wood because

-there's lots of it in this house.

-Yes, there's wood everywhere.

-The wood gives the house

-a special, warm feeling.

-I'm very fond of looking at it.

-There's a huge variety of wood here.

-Some of it has been here

-for centuries...

-..and some of it was added recently.

-Are you in danger of giving the

-house's history too much respect...

-..and forgetting

-that this is your home?

-No, I don't feel like that at all.

-I think we live in a way

-which compliments the house.

-It's stood here for centuries,

-and it deserves our respect.

-We must do things

-in the traditional way.

-We live in a Welsh-speaking area...

-..and we live

-traditional, Welsh lives.

-I think our history comes alive

-in Neuadd Cynhinfa.

-"On the journey, there is

-a good patron in old Cynhinfa.

-"An old hall

-restored to its former glory.

-"Its stones have long memories

-and the oak tells its story."

-Penybont farm, Tregaron, has been in

-Aled Lewis's family since the 1940s.

-Aled and Larissa, his wife,

-now live here.

-The result of four years' hard work

-is a unique, contemporary home.

-It was originally one house, but

-then it was divided into two houses.

-They rented part of the house

-to my uncle and aunt.

-We decided to turn it back

-into one large house.

-The house looks like a cave

-in these photographs!

-There aren't any floors

-in some rooms!

-We stripped the wallpaper

-and hacked it back to the stone.

-The timber

-was riddled with woodworm.

-There was nothing supporting

-some of the floors.

-We had to remove the old beams

-and start from scratch.

-We took it from there...

-..and we worked hard to get the

-rooms to look as they do today.

-I'm very happy to be here!

-The house is lovely,

-and this is quite a large farm.

-There's plenty of work

-to be done here.

-And you're the owner of Penybont.

-And you're the owner of Penybont.

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-One of them!

-One of them!

-We spend most of our time in here,

-and it's the size of a bungalow!

-It was split into two rooms,

-years ago...

-..but we made it into one big room.

-This stove heats the room

-quite efficiently.

-What an enormous chimney!

-This beam could tell some tales,

-if it could talk!

-Why is that section

-a different colour?

-The old staircase was over here.

-The staircase

-took you up to the landing.

-We moved the staircase

-out of this room.

-The staircase

-is now in the next room.

-Getting rid of the stairs

-must have added width to the room.

-Let's take a look at the kitchen.

-We knew we would need an expanse

-of units to fill this room.

-My wife works in London...

-..and we saw this kitchen

-in a shop there.

-We liked the kitchen, and we then

-drew up the plans for this room.

-Do you eat your breakfast

-at this enormous breakfast bar?

-Yes, we eat most of our meals

-at this breakfast bar.

-It's really handy.

-You could carve your name on it

-and have it as your headstone!

-Well, I think it's too big for that!

-We struggled

-to get it into the house!

-We won't take it out again.

-Wow!

-What an enormous bathroom!

-An iron bath.

-You could get lost in that shower!

-This floor

-is made of old cupboard doors.

-Over here,

-we have a walk-in airing cupboard!

-Actually, it's a walk-in, walk-out

-airing cupboard!

-Who uses that bathroom?

-The lucky guests who stay

-in this wonderful spare room!

-We cross the landing, and we find

-ourselves in the master bedroom.

-The colours in here

-are rich and warm.

-It's very romantic.

-A private dressing room

-and bathroom.

-This is the biggest shower I've seen

-since the one I saw a minute ago!

-This is a shower with a difference.

-There are two showers

-in this cubicle.

-If I had more time,

-I'd enjoy renovating a house.

-I know I can do it.

-I've learnt a lot.

-I enjoyed the challenge

-of renovating the house...

-..but I wouldn't do it again!

-This is our home,

-and we're extremely happy here.

-S4C subtitles by Eirlys A Jones

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