0:00:03 > 0:00:07Every year, countless thousands of ordinary buildings are demolished,
0:00:07 > 0:00:10smashed down to make way for the new.
0:00:10 > 0:00:13For many, this fate is unavoidable.
0:00:14 > 0:00:18But some are so special, they're saved.
0:00:18 > 0:00:21Carefully taken down piece by piece,
0:00:21 > 0:00:24stored away until a new home for them can be found
0:00:24 > 0:00:29and they can be lovingly and painstakingly rebuilt.
0:00:30 > 0:00:32These are not grand buildings
0:00:32 > 0:00:36or exceptional pieces of architecture.
0:00:36 > 0:00:40But preserved within their fabric are extraordinary stories,
0:00:40 > 0:00:42stories about who we are as a nation
0:00:42 > 0:00:44and what we have achieved.
0:00:44 > 0:00:47About the materials and the techniques we use...
0:00:47 > 0:00:48It's not as easy as it looks.
0:00:48 > 0:00:51And why we build the way we do.
0:00:51 > 0:00:54It feels like you're making it the way it should be made.
0:00:54 > 0:00:58In this series, I'm going to uncover the hidden history
0:00:58 > 0:01:00behind these seemingly humble buildings,
0:01:00 > 0:01:04to reveal that it's not just the houses of the great and rich
0:01:04 > 0:01:06that have remarkable stories to tell.
0:01:06 > 0:01:09My grandfather was probably the first airman to die
0:01:09 > 0:01:10in the First World War.
0:01:10 > 0:01:12Goodness me.
0:01:12 > 0:01:16I'll be seeing how these huge, incredibly complex jigsaw puzzles,
0:01:16 > 0:01:18that were once buildings,
0:01:18 > 0:01:20are actually put back together again.
0:01:40 > 0:01:43I'm on the quay of Haverfordwest in Pembrokeshire.
0:01:43 > 0:01:46It's hard to believe it now but 500 years ago,
0:01:46 > 0:01:51this was the heart of one of the biggest and richest ports
0:01:51 > 0:01:52in South Wales.
0:01:52 > 0:01:56Indeed, a commercial hub of national importance.
0:01:58 > 0:02:02Sadly, no buildings survive now from the place's medieval heyday,
0:02:02 > 0:02:05but 30 years ago, there was one.
0:02:05 > 0:02:09A structure, enigmatic, strange and mysterious
0:02:09 > 0:02:12and was tucked away over there.
0:02:13 > 0:02:15In 1983, that last surviving building
0:02:15 > 0:02:19on the Haverfordwest quayside was falling apart.
0:02:19 > 0:02:22But it was saved by four young apprentices
0:02:22 > 0:02:26who painstakingly dismantled it stone by stone
0:02:26 > 0:02:29and it's here, in these bags.
0:02:29 > 0:02:31Now, nearly three decades later,
0:02:31 > 0:02:34I'm going to join those four same men
0:02:34 > 0:02:38as they try and put it back together again in a museum
0:02:38 > 0:02:41100 miles from where it originally stood.
0:02:41 > 0:02:45I'm going to try and find out what this unusual building actually was.
0:02:45 > 0:02:47Who lived in it? Who worked in it?
0:02:47 > 0:02:49I've studied buildings for years and I must say,
0:02:49 > 0:02:51this one, I find particular baffling.
0:02:51 > 0:02:54It was here, just behind this pub.
0:02:57 > 0:03:02The strange tower-like structure was incredibly sturdy
0:03:02 > 0:03:04with exceptionally thick walls.
0:03:04 > 0:03:07Most intriguingly of all, the ground floor
0:03:07 > 0:03:12consisted of a vaulted chamber and above it, on the first floor,
0:03:12 > 0:03:16was a single-room dwelling that originally could be accessed
0:03:16 > 0:03:19only from the outside by a ladder.
0:03:19 > 0:03:22It dates to the 15th century and, unofficially,
0:03:22 > 0:03:25has been called the Merchant's House.
0:03:26 > 0:03:29This terrain makes things a little bit complicated
0:03:29 > 0:03:33but the building stood just about here,
0:03:33 > 0:03:37with its back, as it were, to the cliff in front of me.
0:03:37 > 0:03:42Its site is now occupied by these ladies' lavatories.
0:03:42 > 0:03:47I have a photograph of the building just before it was dismantled.
0:03:47 > 0:03:50I'm standing now roughly here, almost at the door.
0:03:50 > 0:03:55Incredible transformation, but what on earth was this building?
0:03:55 > 0:03:58Was it related to the port just over there,
0:03:58 > 0:04:02or since it had a vaulted ground floor,
0:04:02 > 0:04:04I wonder if it was a fortification of some sort?
0:04:04 > 0:04:07Perhaps related to the castle which is just there.
0:04:11 > 0:04:14Maybe the building itself will hold some clues.
0:04:14 > 0:04:16It's going to be reconstructed here,
0:04:16 > 0:04:20at St Fagans Natural History Museum in Cardiff,
0:04:20 > 0:04:23where buildings from across a nation have been preserved.
0:04:26 > 0:04:28I'm meeting Gerallt Nash.
0:04:28 > 0:04:30He was part of the original team
0:04:30 > 0:04:32who dismantled the Haverfordwest house
0:04:32 > 0:04:34and is now project manager of the rebuild.
0:04:36 > 0:04:39Who are these guys taking the building down?
0:04:39 > 0:04:41These were taken 30 years ago and they're still here,
0:04:41 > 0:04:45- still working with us today. - All of them?- Yes.
0:04:45 > 0:04:47So you're like the fab four rebuilding this building.
0:04:47 > 0:04:49What can I say?
0:04:49 > 0:04:52This is Ian, our head carpenter today.
0:04:52 > 0:04:57This is Mike and Andrew, stonemasons and yours faithfully in the middle.
0:04:57 > 0:05:00It's almost unique that that length of time has passed
0:05:00 > 0:05:03and those guys are still here, still working on it.
0:05:03 > 0:05:05That's wonderful, isn't it?
0:05:06 > 0:05:1130 years on, those same three craftsmen are beginning work
0:05:11 > 0:05:13on the reconstruction.
0:05:13 > 0:05:17- So this is the team. - This is the team.- Hello.
0:05:17 > 0:05:19I feel like I've met you all before.
0:05:19 > 0:05:23Maybe slightly younger, slightly hairier.
0:05:23 > 0:05:25Slightly leaner.
0:05:25 > 0:05:27- I'm Charlie.- How are you?
0:05:27 > 0:05:29What are you actually doing here?
0:05:29 > 0:05:32These are the actual stones from the Haverfordwest house.
0:05:32 > 0:05:36We've bagged them up in storage and they're ready to be taken down,
0:05:36 > 0:05:40bag by bag and split open and used.
0:05:40 > 0:05:44It's not that every stone goes back into exactly the same position?
0:05:44 > 0:05:51No, it'll just be cornerstones, window stones, door stones.
0:05:51 > 0:05:53So all of the edges go back?
0:05:53 > 0:05:56All the arch stones will go in as arch stones
0:05:56 > 0:05:59and it's building in between, just filling in.
0:05:59 > 0:06:02Do you think the fact that you were there when it came down
0:06:02 > 0:06:04is going to help you putting it back together,
0:06:04 > 0:06:06or could anyone follow those instructions?
0:06:06 > 0:06:07It helps immensely,
0:06:07 > 0:06:10because there may be little quirks in the walls or the roof.
0:06:10 > 0:06:14You get that in your memory and you'll be able to put it back.
0:06:14 > 0:06:16I'll be interested to see where they all go
0:06:16 > 0:06:20because it's quite a puzzle from where I'm standing.
0:06:24 > 0:06:27But before the stonemasons can get to work,
0:06:27 > 0:06:31an artificial cliff needs to be constructed.
0:06:31 > 0:06:34In a secluded glade in the museum grounds,
0:06:34 > 0:06:40a hillside is dug away and huge boulders lifted into position.
0:06:40 > 0:06:43This is to replicate the location where the building
0:06:43 > 0:06:44originally stood.
0:06:47 > 0:06:50I have an idea of what the building will look like eventually.
0:06:50 > 0:06:52This is a cut through the building, a section,
0:06:52 > 0:06:57and it's got a vaulted ceiling, a floor structure.
0:06:57 > 0:07:00You can see, the building is built up against this rockface.
0:07:00 > 0:07:03So it's hard up against a cliff?
0:07:03 > 0:07:05- That didn't put you off at all? - No, no, no.
0:07:05 > 0:07:10You're not just trying to rebuild a medieval building,
0:07:10 > 0:07:11you had to make one
0:07:11 > 0:07:14where you've got to rebuild a medieval environment?
0:07:14 > 0:07:17- Medieval bit of landscape? - Yes, we do. It's the whole package.
0:07:17 > 0:07:19- You don't make things easy. - No, we don't.
0:07:22 > 0:07:25The exceptionally sturdy construction
0:07:25 > 0:07:27of the mysterious cliffside building,
0:07:27 > 0:07:30leads me to believe it could be a fortification
0:07:30 > 0:07:32connected to Haverfordwest's castle.
0:07:34 > 0:07:39The castle was built in the early 12th century by the Normans
0:07:39 > 0:07:42during their conquest and settlement of South Wales.
0:07:42 > 0:07:46This became a gateway into South Wales
0:07:46 > 0:07:50with the town and the port growing around the mighty castle.
0:07:53 > 0:07:57I'm meeting Simon Hancock, curator of the town's museum,
0:07:57 > 0:08:01to if the Norman/English settlement of Haverfordwest
0:08:01 > 0:08:06could offer some clue to the purpose of our 15th century building.
0:08:06 > 0:08:10The Normans began with the settlement of Pembroke in 1093.
0:08:10 > 0:08:13They removed the native population who were disbursed north.
0:08:13 > 0:08:17It became known as Little England, this part of Wales.
0:08:17 > 0:08:20William Camden, writing in the reign of Elizabeth I,
0:08:20 > 0:08:23described Pembrokeshire as Anglia Transwalliana,
0:08:23 > 0:08:26Little England beyond Wales and that name has always stuck.
0:08:26 > 0:08:30It was absolutely a beacon of the power of the English kings
0:08:30 > 0:08:33in South West Wales and it attracted enormous hostility.
0:08:33 > 0:08:37It was a war zone. You were talking of a 150 year timespan.
0:08:37 > 0:08:39The troubles continue into the 15th Century
0:08:39 > 0:08:43and the town and castle, they were attacked by Owain Glyndwr
0:08:43 > 0:08:45during his uprising in 1405.
0:08:45 > 0:08:46That's correct, isn't it?
0:08:46 > 0:08:48That's right. We know they took the town.
0:08:48 > 0:08:50There was no Geneva Convention
0:08:50 > 0:08:54so any civilians would've been either captured, enslaved
0:08:54 > 0:08:56or put to the sword.
0:08:56 > 0:08:59We know the castle withstood assault.
0:08:59 > 0:09:01This is fascinating.
0:09:01 > 0:09:08The town's destroyed 1405, our building was erected maybe 80 years later yet.
0:09:08 > 0:09:09The memory of the destruction
0:09:09 > 0:09:12and the centuries of destructive attacks on the town
0:09:12 > 0:09:16before 1405, inspire, inform,
0:09:16 > 0:09:19encourage the builders of our little house
0:09:19 > 0:09:21to be very, very conscious of attack.
0:09:21 > 0:09:25The psychology of defence would've been paramount.
0:09:33 > 0:09:37It's now September, four months since building work began.
0:09:37 > 0:09:41Stonemasons Mike and Andrew are completing the vertical base walls,
0:09:41 > 0:09:47using traditional lime mortar to bind together the tonnes of stone.
0:09:47 > 0:09:50Soon they'll face their greatest challenge,
0:09:50 > 0:09:53the construction of the vault.
0:09:53 > 0:09:57In a way, you've basically recreated a little corner of Haverfordwest
0:09:57 > 0:10:00and this is the cliff face.
0:10:00 > 0:10:03Because of the vaulted arch,
0:10:03 > 0:10:05we need something substantial to hold it.
0:10:05 > 0:10:08Are you excited about the next stage because this is, up till now,
0:10:08 > 0:10:10a relatively traditional building.
0:10:10 > 0:10:12You're about to get medieval, aren't you?
0:10:12 > 0:10:15It'll get exciting when we come to the vault.
0:10:15 > 0:10:19Because we don't build them often, it's going to be good.
0:10:19 > 0:10:21That's the exciting bit.
0:10:21 > 0:10:23That's exciting, what we look forward to.
0:10:28 > 0:10:34For me, the biggest mystery about our little building is that vault.
0:10:34 > 0:10:39A vault takes an awful lot of time, of labour, of materials,
0:10:39 > 0:10:41basically expense to build.
0:10:41 > 0:10:44Normally, you'd find them in the buildings of the great and the good,
0:10:44 > 0:10:48in churches, castles, places like this.
0:10:48 > 0:10:52This is the Bishop's Palace in Lamphey, near Haverfordwest.
0:10:57 > 0:11:03Much of the palace dates to the 15th century, the same as our building.
0:11:03 > 0:11:07It's fortified with high walls, battlements and gate houses.
0:11:07 > 0:11:09This is for protection
0:11:09 > 0:11:13but it's also a statement of power and status.
0:11:16 > 0:11:21This is one of the Bishop's great halls, built in the 14th century
0:11:21 > 0:11:24and if you just ignore the scale of it for a second,
0:11:24 > 0:11:26there's something very familiar about it.
0:11:26 > 0:11:29If you look, there's a staircase leading up to the first floor
0:11:29 > 0:11:32where the living quarters are.
0:11:32 > 0:11:34This is where the Bishop would hold court.
0:11:34 > 0:11:38Down below, you have this magnificent vaulted chamber.
0:11:41 > 0:11:44Look at this, isn't this incredible?
0:11:44 > 0:11:47This is a barrel vault just like ours
0:11:47 > 0:11:49and it's the most simple kind of vault that there is.
0:11:49 > 0:11:53It's the kind of thing that the Egyptians used underground
0:11:53 > 0:11:56for drainage and for tombs.
0:11:56 > 0:11:59Actually, it took the ingenuity of the Romans
0:11:59 > 0:12:03to really master the vault and start using it above ground.
0:12:03 > 0:12:07That's because it's actually a lot harder to build a vault
0:12:07 > 0:12:09then you might at first think.
0:12:15 > 0:12:17The thing about a vault
0:12:17 > 0:12:21is it's just a whole series of arches next to each other
0:12:21 > 0:12:25and I'm going to try and make an arch out of some bricks
0:12:25 > 0:12:27and show you the principles.
0:12:27 > 0:12:30To start off with, you have to build your side walls.
0:12:30 > 0:12:35It's very simple when you're building straight - sided walls
0:12:35 > 0:12:37because gravity does a lot of the work for you,
0:12:37 > 0:12:41it holds them in place as long as you don't get too tall.
0:12:41 > 0:12:45Now, we want to start bringing an arch.
0:12:45 > 0:12:47This is where we'll spring it from.
0:12:47 > 0:12:50We're need to use either lots of different bits of stone
0:12:50 > 0:12:52with wedges in between them, or we'll be using a brick.
0:12:52 > 0:12:55We need to use cut brick.
0:12:55 > 0:12:59Then, you can imagine, if you start stacking these up,
0:12:59 > 0:13:03gravity is going to want to start pulling them in.
0:13:04 > 0:13:08You need a former, something like this.
0:13:08 > 0:13:12This is really the secret to all arch and vault buildings.
0:13:12 > 0:13:14This is part of the reason why it's so much work,
0:13:14 > 0:13:16because not only do you have to build a vault,
0:13:16 > 0:13:21you have to build a former before you can build a vault or arch.
0:13:25 > 0:13:29This former is going to take all of the load
0:13:29 > 0:13:31until you finish the arch.
0:13:31 > 0:13:34The former has to be incredibly strong and take tonnes
0:13:34 > 0:13:37and tonnes of masonry on a full-size vault.
0:13:37 > 0:13:42You've also got to make sure that they're going to meet.
0:13:42 > 0:13:47Right, in a way, this is the most important brick,
0:13:47 > 0:13:51because this is basically the keystone and in principle,
0:13:51 > 0:13:54it should lock our arch.
0:13:54 > 0:13:57The bit you've got to do now is the do or die bit.
0:13:57 > 0:14:00You have to drop the former
0:14:00 > 0:14:03and then transfer the load off the former into the arch.
0:14:03 > 0:14:08In principle, it should stand up but I have a sneaking suspicion...
0:14:08 > 0:14:10well, who knows. Let's give it a go.
0:14:16 > 0:14:19OK, right, that's positive.
0:14:21 > 0:14:22Whoa!
0:14:26 > 0:14:28Don't say anything too soon.
0:14:30 > 0:14:32No way.
0:14:32 > 0:14:34Woo hoo! Hey hey!
0:14:37 > 0:14:40That is how you build an arch.
0:14:41 > 0:14:45You get a sense of how hard it is to make an arch
0:14:45 > 0:14:48and that's just a little section of a vault.
0:14:48 > 0:14:49It reinforces that question.
0:14:49 > 0:14:53Why did they go to all the effort of making a miniature version
0:14:53 > 0:14:58of a bishop's great hall on the quayside at Haverfordwest?
0:15:03 > 0:15:05Vault building was also expensive.
0:15:05 > 0:15:09The reason why can be seen back at the museum,
0:15:09 > 0:15:12where Ian, the carpenter, is finishing the substantial formwork
0:15:12 > 0:15:15they need for the reconstruction.
0:15:15 > 0:15:19- Is that the last piece?- Yes.
0:15:19 > 0:15:22Ian has made six sturdy trusses
0:15:22 > 0:15:26which have to be strong enough to support the massive weight
0:15:26 > 0:15:28of the vault stonework.
0:15:30 > 0:15:33The frame needs to be self-supporting,
0:15:33 > 0:15:35sitting within the building's walls.
0:15:37 > 0:15:38You've only gone halfway.
0:15:38 > 0:15:42That's right. We found in medieval times, with vaulted arches,
0:15:42 > 0:15:45there's a straight joint in the middle of the vault.
0:15:45 > 0:15:49Some say it was an expansion joint, things like that. Total rubbish.
0:15:49 > 0:15:52It was because the timber was expensive,
0:15:52 > 0:15:54so they only made the formwork in sections.
0:15:54 > 0:15:57We've done this halfway.
0:15:57 > 0:15:59This is all wedged up in place.
0:15:59 > 0:16:02The masons will do the stonework over it,
0:16:02 > 0:16:06- when that's set, we'll drop it on the wedges.- Knock out those wedges?
0:16:06 > 0:16:07Knock the folding wedges out so it drops
0:16:07 > 0:16:11and we'll move it over and wedge it back into place again.
0:16:11 > 0:16:12Thank you.
0:16:17 > 0:16:23It's quite amazing to think that 400 or 500 years ago,
0:16:23 > 0:16:26they were making it exactly this shape.
0:16:26 > 0:16:29- The same size, same shape. - Same principles.
0:16:29 > 0:16:32- Slightly different timber. - Slightly, yes.
0:16:39 > 0:16:41My research is leading me to believe
0:16:41 > 0:16:43that our sturdy vaulted structure
0:16:43 > 0:16:45may have been some sort of fortified building.
0:16:47 > 0:16:50But its design and location here,
0:16:50 > 0:16:52right by the quayside at Haverfordwest,
0:16:52 > 0:16:56have led many to think it was in fact a merchant's house.
0:16:58 > 0:17:02Over there was Haverfordwest's medieval quay.
0:17:02 > 0:17:05Incredible - some warehouses survive but from the 19th century
0:17:05 > 0:17:09and indeed the quays and the port remained active
0:17:09 > 0:17:13until the railways arrived in 1853 and it all went into decline.
0:17:13 > 0:17:17Incredible, here I've got this rather tantalising photograph
0:17:17 > 0:17:21taken about 1900 and from roughly where I'm standing now.
0:17:21 > 0:17:25I can see a number of the warehouses in this photograph still survive.
0:17:25 > 0:17:27This ramp and steps, that survived,
0:17:27 > 0:17:32as does this warehouse at the top of the ramp now with green shutters.
0:17:32 > 0:17:36Very striking. These large ships tied up to the quay.
0:17:36 > 0:17:40Of course in middle ages, many ocean-going craft here
0:17:40 > 0:17:44bringing in goods from all over Western Europe.
0:17:46 > 0:17:48This is the oldest picture of the port I can find.
0:17:48 > 0:17:52There's a 1748 engraving.
0:17:52 > 0:17:56Although made 300 years after our building was constructed,
0:17:56 > 0:18:00many of the medieval harbour buildings are still standing.
0:18:00 > 0:18:03Large seagoing vessels crowd the port
0:18:03 > 0:18:05and there are many substantial warehouses.
0:18:06 > 0:18:08At high tide,
0:18:08 > 0:18:12the river was navigable for ships up to 250 tons,
0:18:12 > 0:18:16which arrived from London, Bristol, France and Spain.
0:18:22 > 0:18:25With its vaulted ground floor which could be used for storage
0:18:25 > 0:18:27and its proximity to the harbour,
0:18:27 > 0:18:31our building could well have been a merchant's house.
0:18:31 > 0:18:35Here on the coast of Tenby, 20 miles away from Haverfordwest,
0:18:35 > 0:18:39is a famous merchant's house that dates from the late 15th century
0:18:39 > 0:18:42and has been fully restored by the National Trust.
0:18:44 > 0:18:48I've come to see if this building has anything in common with ours.
0:18:50 > 0:18:52The first obvious difference
0:18:52 > 0:18:55is that the ground floor isn't vaulted in masonry.
0:18:55 > 0:19:00It's a big timber-beamed joist, a timber structure.
0:19:00 > 0:19:06Here, an absolutely huge fireplace. Wonderful.
0:19:06 > 0:19:10This presumably would've been a kitchen originally
0:19:10 > 0:19:12and perhaps a shop,
0:19:12 > 0:19:17because it was separate, here, this level, from the level above.
0:19:17 > 0:19:20That staircase has been added quite recently.
0:19:27 > 0:19:28Well, very different.
0:19:28 > 0:19:33The first-floor living area, a great hall really.
0:19:33 > 0:19:37Light, large scale and terrific details.
0:19:37 > 0:19:39Look at this, for example.
0:19:39 > 0:19:43Very ornamental mullioned window, beautifully carved,
0:19:43 > 0:19:48light flooding in from three sides, a sense of space.
0:19:48 > 0:19:49But, although different,
0:19:49 > 0:19:52I have observed something here which is intriguing.
0:19:52 > 0:19:58Look, below the corbel is a blocked doorway.
0:19:58 > 0:20:01This would seem to be the door leading to the street.
0:20:01 > 0:20:04This house was originally entered at first-floor level
0:20:04 > 0:20:07like our humble building, with a staircase through this door
0:20:07 > 0:20:11down to the street, the ground level there.
0:20:17 > 0:20:21This house, unlike our building, has a third floor
0:20:21 > 0:20:24and quite a room it is indeed.
0:20:24 > 0:20:28A tremendous roof structure of a sort
0:20:28 > 0:20:31that I have only seen in Pembrokeshire.
0:20:31 > 0:20:35It creates a lovely interior, very light, very habitable,
0:20:35 > 0:20:40it does really feel like the home of a rich, Tudor merchant.
0:20:46 > 0:20:49The high status of merchants who lived in houses like this
0:20:49 > 0:20:51in the late 15th century,
0:20:51 > 0:20:54suggest very strongly that our humble building
0:20:54 > 0:20:57was not a merchant's house.
0:20:57 > 0:20:59Although, of course,
0:20:59 > 0:21:02it could've been the home of a lower status trader
0:21:02 > 0:21:06or perhaps it had a different function entirely.
0:21:11 > 0:21:14With a supporting formwork now complete,
0:21:14 > 0:21:17stonemasons Andrew and Mike have started work on the vault.
0:21:19 > 0:21:24You have to lay it on on the flat edge. That would go...
0:21:24 > 0:21:25- Just like a sandwich.- Like that.
0:21:25 > 0:21:27That's your facing edge underneath,
0:21:27 > 0:21:30so when you come in from under the building,
0:21:30 > 0:21:35that's what you'll see, just flat.
0:21:35 > 0:21:37After you've got that first arch,
0:21:37 > 0:21:41do you then have to backfill to get weight on top before the formwork comes out?
0:21:41 > 0:21:43We've taken the arch up.
0:21:43 > 0:21:46We get tonnes and tonnes of slate, knock it in, in every joint.
0:21:46 > 0:21:49- To pre-stress it? - Yes, that's right.
0:21:49 > 0:21:50It really tightens it up
0:21:50 > 0:21:54and with a bit of luck, we can take that formwork down.
0:21:54 > 0:21:57- With a bit of luck! - We need a bit of that now.
0:21:57 > 0:22:04You saw it before it came down. Was it really well built?
0:22:04 > 0:22:06Was the quality of the masonry on the arch?
0:22:06 > 0:22:10- Solid.- Was it well done? - It was very, very well built.
0:22:10 > 0:22:12We had a bit of trouble knocking it down, to be honest.
0:22:12 > 0:22:15We were there for six weeks and every day we worked hard.
0:22:15 > 0:22:18It's a huge amount of effort.
0:22:18 > 0:22:20First of all, you almost make a timber building.
0:22:20 > 0:22:24That's strong enough. You could build another floor on top.
0:22:24 > 0:22:27Then, you go to all the effort of building the stonework
0:22:27 > 0:22:29and then you take out the wood.
0:22:29 > 0:22:32In a way, why didn't they just build a wooden floor?
0:22:32 > 0:22:34All this work must have been for some reason.
0:22:34 > 0:22:37I think it's done for security reasons.
0:22:37 > 0:22:40Now we've begun work on the building,
0:22:40 > 0:22:44it's become clear just what a simple structure it is
0:22:44 > 0:22:47and this pile of stones tells a very interesting story.
0:22:47 > 0:22:51It's called random rubble, it's what the building is built of,
0:22:51 > 0:22:53but what's interesting about these stones,
0:22:53 > 0:22:56is they've come from different sources.
0:22:56 > 0:23:00It's all local to Haverfordwest but this one here, that's a river stone.
0:23:00 > 0:23:03They've gone around the local area scavenging materials
0:23:03 > 0:23:06wherever they could find them.
0:23:06 > 0:23:08What's fascinating, is you've got to remember
0:23:08 > 0:23:09this is the medieval period,
0:23:09 > 0:23:13when stonemasonry is a really refined art form
0:23:13 > 0:23:17and beautiful cathedrals are springing up all over the country.
0:23:18 > 0:23:22It makes our building pretty low rent.
0:23:26 > 0:23:29The few medieval buildings that survive in Haverfordwest
0:23:29 > 0:23:31are all built of stone.
0:23:31 > 0:23:35There's the castle, of course, and three churches.
0:23:35 > 0:23:36The fact that the town
0:23:36 > 0:23:39could afford to build and maintain three churches
0:23:39 > 0:23:42reveals how wealthy it was in the Middle Ages.
0:23:42 > 0:23:44A wealth that came from trade.
0:23:49 > 0:23:53The stonework in St Mary's reveals just how skilful
0:23:53 > 0:23:55medieval masons could be.
0:23:55 > 0:23:58On this arcade that dates from the early 13th century,
0:23:58 > 0:24:04is a wonderful examples of the work, the skill, the genius of masons.
0:24:04 > 0:24:06This work is in contrast
0:24:06 > 0:24:12to our rather rough and ready rubble masonry in our little building.
0:24:13 > 0:24:16The oldest parts of the church are 12th century,
0:24:16 > 0:24:19but many of the more elaborate and expensive features
0:24:19 > 0:24:23were added around the time our building was constructed.
0:24:23 > 0:24:29These include the clerestory windows and the wonderful oak roof.
0:24:29 > 0:24:31What's fascinating is at the same time,
0:24:31 > 0:24:33the second half of the 15th century,
0:24:33 > 0:24:36other churches in the town were being embellished.
0:24:36 > 0:24:39Clearly, there was a building boom underway,
0:24:39 > 0:24:41and wealth was flooding into the town.
0:24:41 > 0:24:45Does this boom offer a clue to the use of our building?
0:24:49 > 0:24:53I'm hoping architectural historian Tom Lloyd may have an answer.
0:24:53 > 0:24:55Hello. Nice to see you.
0:24:55 > 0:24:58This is a wonderful church and I was wondering,
0:24:58 > 0:25:02why was it embellished in such a wonderful way
0:25:02 > 0:25:04in the late 15th century?
0:25:04 > 0:25:08I presume it's because the town went up in status, something like that?
0:25:08 > 0:25:12It did. Something incredibly important happened in 1479.
0:25:12 > 0:25:15It received a charter from the Prince of Wales
0:25:15 > 0:25:16who was Lord of Haverford.
0:25:16 > 0:25:20That charter set this town on a course to prosperity
0:25:20 > 0:25:23that carried it through for centuries.
0:25:23 > 0:25:29The charter of 1479 established a Mayor, bailiffs, a sheriff,
0:25:29 > 0:25:3224 councillors and that really meant,
0:25:32 > 0:25:35apart from anything else, that it was free of feudal overlordship.
0:25:35 > 0:25:38The place had self-government. The Mayor had his own pew.
0:25:38 > 0:25:40You can see the new boss of Haverfordwest,
0:25:40 > 0:25:45the feudal overlord had gone, the place had self determination
0:25:45 > 0:25:48and of course, the Common Council, the bailiffs,
0:25:48 > 0:25:49were the merchants of the town.
0:25:49 > 0:25:52They were the heads of the trade guilds and it prospered.
0:25:52 > 0:25:56By 1577, it was described as the best built
0:25:56 > 0:25:58and most civil town in south Wales.
0:25:58 > 0:26:00These people were free, they were rich
0:26:00 > 0:26:03they'd got their independence and they were going to show it.
0:26:03 > 0:26:07- New elite, new men for the new age. - Absolutely.
0:26:07 > 0:26:10It seems possible that the construction of our building
0:26:10 > 0:26:14was connected to this enrichment of Haverfordwest's merchant elite
0:26:14 > 0:26:15in the 15th century.
0:26:16 > 0:26:20But, the medieval layout of the town again indicated
0:26:20 > 0:26:22it wasn't one of their homes.
0:26:24 > 0:26:26In front of us, the high street,
0:26:26 > 0:26:29this was the heart of the merchant's town.
0:26:29 > 0:26:34It got richer as you came up the hill, I suspect, to the high town.
0:26:34 > 0:26:37The bottom would've been smelly and busy
0:26:37 > 0:26:39and that's where the port was happening.
0:26:39 > 0:26:41You wanted to get away from that.
0:26:41 > 0:26:45Down there, Quay Street, that was the rough end, wasn't it?
0:26:45 > 0:26:47Like all ports, rough and prosperous.
0:26:51 > 0:26:52That seals it for me.
0:26:52 > 0:26:55Our sturdy tower wasn't a merchant's house
0:26:55 > 0:26:59but I still suspect it's somehow connected to their trade.
0:27:05 > 0:27:09It's now five months into the build and stonemasons Mike and Andrew
0:27:09 > 0:27:12have completed work on their vault.
0:27:13 > 0:27:14Morning.
0:27:17 > 0:27:22I'm back visiting site on what promises to be a momentous day,
0:27:22 > 0:27:24because today, the art of the stonemason
0:27:24 > 0:27:27is really going to be put to the test.
0:27:27 > 0:27:29We're going to remove the formwork,
0:27:29 > 0:27:33the wooden support upon which the vault of the undercroft
0:27:33 > 0:27:35has been built.
0:27:35 > 0:27:38As of course, the big question is, will be vault stay standing
0:27:38 > 0:27:40when the supports are removed?
0:27:44 > 0:27:49- Hello guys. Look at this. It's a bit like a hedgehog, isn't it?- Yes.
0:27:50 > 0:27:55- Which side did you do, Mike? - The best side. The good side.
0:27:55 > 0:27:56Competition.
0:27:56 > 0:28:00The thing about it, neither side is going to work without the other,
0:28:00 > 0:28:04so I hope they both work.
0:28:04 > 0:28:07Have you stress tested it at all?
0:28:07 > 0:28:09You've just done it for us.
0:28:09 > 0:28:13It's actually a pretty thin structure.
0:28:13 > 0:28:16I was very confident but I'm realising it's more delicate.
0:28:16 > 0:28:20Are you confident? That's pretty thin.
0:28:20 > 0:28:23You build the arch and you stand underneath it
0:28:23 > 0:28:25when you take out the formwork.
0:28:25 > 0:28:29That's right, it's called having faith in a fellow tradesmen.
0:28:33 > 0:28:35Right, what's the plan then?
0:28:35 > 0:28:38You take that side, I'll take this side.
0:28:38 > 0:28:42- What are you two doing?- We'll just watch in case it goes wrong.
0:28:42 > 0:28:43Good.
0:28:46 > 0:28:51- Right, just tap that back? Like that?- Just tap it.
0:28:54 > 0:28:55Right.
0:28:55 > 0:28:58We'll get the boys in now and undo the props
0:28:58 > 0:29:01and hopefully, it'll just drop.
0:29:01 > 0:29:04Don't use the word "drop". Not the word "drop".
0:29:04 > 0:29:06Are you ready then, gents?
0:29:06 > 0:29:08Yep.
0:29:08 > 0:29:11Mine is a bit tight.
0:29:11 > 0:29:16- It's wobbling.- Good.
0:29:16 > 0:29:18Mine is out.
0:29:18 > 0:29:22Do you want to come out so it doesn't drop on your head?
0:29:22 > 0:29:23Good idea, Charlie.
0:29:23 > 0:29:26- That's still... right, now what do we do?- Is it loose?
0:29:26 > 0:29:28No, it's all the way down though.
0:29:31 > 0:29:35When it comes out, what do I do when it comes out?
0:29:35 > 0:29:38Don't do a thing.
0:29:38 > 0:29:40- It's out.- Whoa!- How's that?
0:29:41 > 0:29:47- That's clear.- A good few inches there.- That's a vault.- That's it.
0:29:47 > 0:29:49The foreman has done his job. Masons have done their job.
0:29:49 > 0:29:51Well done.
0:29:52 > 0:29:54I don't think the mediaeval owner
0:29:54 > 0:29:58would have gone to all the trouble of building a vault like that,
0:29:58 > 0:29:59unless it was for protection.
0:29:59 > 0:30:01Although I don't now believe
0:30:01 > 0:30:03our building was connected to the castle,
0:30:03 > 0:30:08it does remind me of fortified farms called bastles.
0:30:09 > 0:30:11There's an example I'm looking at here,
0:30:11 > 0:30:13it's remarkably similar.
0:30:13 > 0:30:16Barrel-vaulted ground floor.
0:30:16 > 0:30:18One room above.
0:30:18 > 0:30:21Entrance only via a first-floor door.
0:30:21 > 0:30:26In its scale and its status, humble, modest.
0:30:26 > 0:30:28So, it's sort of uncanny, really, the similarity,
0:30:28 > 0:30:30and a very good pointer
0:30:30 > 0:30:32to what our building could have been.
0:30:32 > 0:30:33But, unfortunately,
0:30:33 > 0:30:35as far as I know, these bastles,
0:30:35 > 0:30:39these fortified farms, exist only in one place -
0:30:39 > 0:30:41on the border of England and Scotland,
0:30:41 > 0:30:44and not in Pembrokeshire.
0:30:46 > 0:30:49500 years ago, in the lawless Scottish Borders,
0:30:49 > 0:30:53marauding bands of raiders, known as reivers,
0:30:53 > 0:30:54terrorised the countryside.
0:30:55 > 0:31:00They stole and often murdered on a massive scale.
0:31:00 > 0:31:03In response, wealthier families built bastles -
0:31:03 > 0:31:05defendable farmhouses.
0:31:06 > 0:31:09Their livestock could be secured in the vaulted chamber
0:31:09 > 0:31:11while the family retreated to the first floor,
0:31:11 > 0:31:14pulling the ladder up behind them.
0:31:18 > 0:31:21I'm looking at the area of the English-Scottish border
0:31:21 > 0:31:24and it shows a whole range of bastles.
0:31:24 > 0:31:26They're shown as red triangles.
0:31:26 > 0:31:28There's lots of them.
0:31:28 > 0:31:30And then, as one goes south, they fall away.
0:31:30 > 0:31:33Virtually no bastles.
0:31:33 > 0:31:36But, here's Wales,
0:31:36 > 0:31:37and, as you would imagine,
0:31:37 > 0:31:40lots of fortifications of different types.
0:31:40 > 0:31:42But seemingly no bastles,
0:31:42 > 0:31:44except, much to my amazement,
0:31:44 > 0:31:46one comes right to the south,
0:31:46 > 0:31:48south-west into Pembrokeshire,
0:31:48 > 0:31:49there are bastles,
0:31:49 > 0:31:53and they're shown here as dark-blue inverted triangles,
0:31:53 > 0:31:55around the region of Haverfordwest.
0:31:55 > 0:32:01Indeed, could our building be one of these bastles?
0:32:03 > 0:32:07Two of those South Pembrokeshire buildings described as bastles
0:32:07 > 0:32:11are tucked away down this bumpy track at Carswell Farm,
0:32:11 > 0:32:13and I'm fascinated to see
0:32:13 > 0:32:16if they bear any resemblance to our building.
0:32:19 > 0:32:24This is it, and, to be honest with you, it's quite extraordinary,
0:32:24 > 0:32:25I mean, it's the same sort of size,
0:32:25 > 0:32:27it's built with similar stone,
0:32:27 > 0:32:29it's got a very similar pitch to the roof,
0:32:29 > 0:32:31and first-floor access.
0:32:31 > 0:32:33I mean, it's pretty uncanny, actually.
0:32:36 > 0:32:38Yeah. There's a vault.
0:32:38 > 0:32:41Look at that. I mean, almost identical to ours.
0:32:43 > 0:32:45Extraordinary.
0:32:48 > 0:32:50This is the first floor above the vault
0:32:50 > 0:32:54and this is the original entrance here.
0:32:54 > 0:32:55One entrance. Defendable.
0:32:55 > 0:33:00There are windows, but they're sort of arrow-slit windows.
0:33:00 > 0:33:02You know, they're defendable.
0:33:02 > 0:33:03And, it seems to me,
0:33:03 > 0:33:07given the fact that our building was only 15 miles from here,
0:33:07 > 0:33:11that it must have been some kind of defendable structure,
0:33:11 > 0:33:14some kind of bastle.
0:33:14 > 0:33:17'I'm meeting Richard Suggett
0:33:17 > 0:33:18'from the Royal Commission
0:33:18 > 0:33:21'On The Ancient And Historical Monuments Of Wales,
0:33:21 > 0:33:23'to discover what he knows about this ruin.'
0:33:23 > 0:33:26- Hello.- Hello, Charlie. - Hello, Richard, how are you?
0:33:26 > 0:33:28- Thanks for coming down. - Good to see you.
0:33:28 > 0:33:30It's a wonderful little building, this, isn't it?
0:33:30 > 0:33:33- Absolutely wonderful.- Now, it's a defensible structure, isn't it?
0:33:33 > 0:33:36- I'm right in thinking that.- I think that's fair enough to say, yes.
0:33:36 > 0:33:39And it's a bastle, right?
0:33:39 > 0:33:40It's similar to a bastle.
0:33:40 > 0:33:44A bastle is a kind of vertical longhouse,
0:33:44 > 0:33:47with the cattle underneath and the people on top.
0:33:47 > 0:33:50This is formally similar, but it's got a fireplace down below.
0:33:50 > 0:33:51Yeah.
0:33:51 > 0:33:53I think we have to think of it as a refuge
0:33:53 > 0:33:55more than a permanent dwelling.
0:33:55 > 0:33:59A place where you could take refuge in an emergency.
0:33:59 > 0:34:01So it's a mediaeval panic room.
0:34:01 > 0:34:03That's a really good way of looking at it.
0:34:03 > 0:34:04What kind of emergency?
0:34:04 > 0:34:06I mean, what is out there,
0:34:06 > 0:34:10roaming these hills back in those days that you want to hide from?
0:34:10 > 0:34:14- We are in the Englishry, so... - Which is...
0:34:14 > 0:34:17Which is the English-speaking part of Pembrokeshire.
0:34:17 > 0:34:19Are we talking about tribes, or bands?
0:34:19 > 0:34:22Groups of men coming from Mid and North Wales
0:34:22 > 0:34:26to kind of see what they could get out of the Englishry?
0:34:26 > 0:34:29We're talking about people only a few miles away to the North.
0:34:29 > 0:34:32By the 16th century, it's pretty clear there wasn't aggression,
0:34:32 > 0:34:34there was avoidance.
0:34:34 > 0:34:37So, I think we have to think of another sort of threat.
0:34:37 > 0:34:41All these little vaulted structures are located near the sea.
0:34:41 > 0:34:43I think it's at least plausible
0:34:43 > 0:34:46that the people who had these houses as refuges,
0:34:46 > 0:34:48were anxious about pirates.
0:34:48 > 0:34:51And there are some late-medieval references to piracy
0:34:51 > 0:34:53in the Bristol Channel.
0:34:53 > 0:34:56Now, we have a little building that came from Haverfordwest.
0:34:56 > 0:34:59- You do, indeed.- That's on a river. So, do you think -
0:34:59 > 0:35:02because I'm beginning to wonder -
0:35:02 > 0:35:05is our Haverfordwest building a defensible building?
0:35:05 > 0:35:08Is a little bastle kind of structure?
0:35:08 > 0:35:11Well, it certainly has defensive features.
0:35:11 > 0:35:15It's formally, structurally similar, to this sort of building.
0:35:15 > 0:35:18I don't like the sound of your tone of voice.
0:35:18 > 0:35:19What is it, then?
0:35:19 > 0:35:20Well, we do have a clue
0:35:20 > 0:35:24in this drawing of Edward VI's Coronation procession.
0:35:24 > 0:35:27- Where is this?- This is the commercial heart of London
0:35:27 > 0:35:30and you can see various shops and things here.
0:35:30 > 0:35:32But moving along here you can see some buildings,
0:35:32 > 0:35:33which are not unlike...
0:35:33 > 0:35:36- These. These.- Yes, exactly.
0:35:36 > 0:35:41So, vaulted ground floor with half timbering, more decorative,
0:35:41 > 0:35:44with a half-timbered building above.
0:35:44 > 0:35:48- Sort of similar layout. - Oh, yes.- A bit grander.
0:35:48 > 0:35:50So, what do we think these buildings are?
0:35:50 > 0:35:53Well, it's pretty certain that they were warehouses.
0:35:53 > 0:35:55You have shops here,
0:35:55 > 0:35:56warehouses here.
0:35:56 > 0:35:58So, your theory
0:35:58 > 0:36:00would be that it's a secure lock-up.
0:36:00 > 0:36:02Exactly. A secure lock-up.
0:36:02 > 0:36:04Maybe it's not a romantic theory,
0:36:04 > 0:36:07but it in fact explains the evidence there.
0:36:12 > 0:36:15With its quayside location, it does make sense that our building
0:36:15 > 0:36:19was some sort of mediaeval strongroom.
0:36:19 > 0:36:20To discover if any of the goods
0:36:20 > 0:36:22that were imported into Haverfordwest
0:36:22 > 0:36:25could warrant such high security,
0:36:25 > 0:36:27I've come to the town's record office.
0:36:29 > 0:36:30Now, on the screen in front of me
0:36:30 > 0:36:35is a copy of a document held in the National Archives in Kew.
0:36:35 > 0:36:38It's a petition, dated 1327,
0:36:38 > 0:36:42directed towards the King from a body of merchants in Haverfordwest.
0:36:42 > 0:36:46They are complaining about having to pay duty more than once
0:36:46 > 0:36:47on their goods,
0:36:47 > 0:36:50because they got blown to the wrong port before arriving here.
0:36:50 > 0:36:52But, the key thing is,
0:36:52 > 0:36:58these chaps proclaim that they have brought wine many times.
0:36:58 > 0:37:01Obviously, it's a big business bringing wine here from France,
0:37:01 > 0:37:03and wine of very high value.
0:37:03 > 0:37:05A commodity.
0:37:05 > 0:37:08So, it occurs to me that our vaulted cellar, our little building,
0:37:08 > 0:37:10was probably part of this industry,
0:37:10 > 0:37:14the importation of wine into Wales through Haverfordwest.
0:37:14 > 0:37:17Wine would have been stored in the vaulted ground floor,
0:37:17 > 0:37:21would have been kept safe from thieves, from fire.
0:37:21 > 0:37:24So, vaulted structure, made out of stone,
0:37:24 > 0:37:27very good atmosphere for storing wine.
0:37:30 > 0:37:33Some further delving in the town archives
0:37:33 > 0:37:35has uncovered another record,
0:37:35 > 0:37:39which I believe could be the crucial breakthrough in my investigation.
0:37:42 > 0:37:45Now, this really is quite a discovery.
0:37:45 > 0:37:47It's a manorial record of the Voyles,
0:37:47 > 0:37:52who are very distinguished merchant family of Haverfordwest.
0:37:52 > 0:37:58It's dated 1584 with clearly 20th-century reprint.
0:37:58 > 0:38:00And, on this page,
0:38:00 > 0:38:03you can see that they had a tenement.
0:38:03 > 0:38:08It says, in Ship Street, the old name for Quay Street.
0:38:08 > 0:38:11And next to this tenement, a property, owned by them,
0:38:11 > 0:38:15described as "one cellar and a chamber."
0:38:15 > 0:38:17Surely, that's our building.
0:38:17 > 0:38:20One cellar, the vaulted ground floor with a chamber above.
0:38:20 > 0:38:22What's fantastic, in my view,
0:38:22 > 0:38:26is that it says "This building is in my own hands,
0:38:26 > 0:38:29"valued at ten shillings yearly."
0:38:29 > 0:38:31I take that to mean that they own the building.
0:38:31 > 0:38:35It's not let. It's value if it were let is ten shillings a year.
0:38:35 > 0:38:37But they have it in their own hands,
0:38:37 > 0:38:41because they are letting someone live there.
0:38:41 > 0:38:44So, presumably, John Martin is the retainer of the family,
0:38:44 > 0:38:48a servant, living in the chamber above the cellar.
0:38:48 > 0:38:49Absolutely amazing.
0:38:59 > 0:39:01It's now spring
0:39:01 > 0:39:02and stonemasons Andrew and Mike
0:39:02 > 0:39:07have resumed work on the first-floor walls, following a winter hiatus.
0:39:08 > 0:39:10They've also built some steps,
0:39:10 > 0:39:13which probably weren't a feature of the original building,
0:39:13 > 0:39:16but are necessary for public access.
0:39:21 > 0:39:23'With the stonework shooting up,
0:39:23 > 0:39:26'Ian the carpenter has begun pre-fabricating the roof.'
0:39:31 > 0:39:34He is using modern machinery to cut everything to size,
0:39:34 > 0:39:37but then a traditional adze to finish.
0:39:41 > 0:39:43- So, what's the plan? - Well, the plan is...- Yeah?
0:39:43 > 0:39:47You're going to sit there and strap that to your leg.
0:39:47 > 0:39:48And what does this do?
0:39:48 > 0:39:51That's a bit of leather that's going to protect your thigh.
0:39:51 > 0:39:54I like the, sort of, simple technology.
0:39:54 > 0:39:56This is what they would have used, isn't it?
0:39:56 > 0:39:58We try and keep things nice and easy.
0:39:58 > 0:40:02I mean, this is commitment to the kind of restoration cause, isn't it?
0:40:02 > 0:40:04The plan now is to adze this joist.
0:40:04 > 0:40:06OK, so what do you do?
0:40:06 > 0:40:07All you do...
0:40:07 > 0:40:13just skin the top of the timber, nice and easy.
0:40:13 > 0:40:18And all you've got to worry about is if the grain changes.
0:40:18 > 0:40:20Then you just go from the opposite way.
0:40:20 > 0:40:23Is the key to let the weight of the adze do the work?
0:40:23 > 0:40:25You have the weight with a little bit of power on it,
0:40:25 > 0:40:27and try not to dig it in too much.
0:40:27 > 0:40:30- That's digging, isn't it? So, come round.- Come round a bit.
0:40:33 > 0:40:35- That's not as easy as it looks. - It isn't, is it?- No.
0:40:37 > 0:40:38I thought I'd be...
0:40:38 > 0:40:41You thought you would have had that finished by now, didn't you?
0:40:41 > 0:40:43I thought I'd be, "I can do that!"
0:40:43 > 0:40:46Another full day on it and you should be all right.
0:40:48 > 0:40:50So, that's much better than that.
0:40:50 > 0:40:51But, it is going to look amazing.
0:40:51 > 0:40:54Oh, it will. It is a lovely finish, an adze.
0:40:54 > 0:40:55It's going to look great.
0:41:00 > 0:41:01By May, the walls are complete.
0:41:01 > 0:41:06All the wood has been cut and the construction of the roof has began.
0:41:07 > 0:41:10- Morning, guys. - ALL: Morning.
0:41:10 > 0:41:12'The original roof had been replaced
0:41:12 > 0:41:15'long before the building was dismantled.
0:41:15 > 0:41:18'So, the reconstruction is based on a local medieval design.'
0:41:19 > 0:41:21This is really old technology, isn't it?
0:41:21 > 0:41:25Yeah. I mean, mortise and tenons have been around since the Roman times.
0:41:25 > 0:41:29- Should we get on and get this up? - Yep. Bring the collar over now, boys.
0:41:29 > 0:41:34- You've got to put the whole thing together at once.- Yep.
0:41:34 > 0:41:35Let's start putting it in.
0:41:38 > 0:41:40- Is it going to fit? - Yeah, it's going to fit.
0:41:40 > 0:41:44You've got to literally just tip it into place?
0:41:44 > 0:41:46Just tip it into place, really, yeah.
0:41:53 > 0:41:54One, two, three.
0:41:57 > 0:42:00- We're in.- Lovely.- All right?
0:42:00 > 0:42:04- How was that, Charlie? - It's quite heavy, isn't it?
0:42:06 > 0:42:11This is a really wonderful simple roof.
0:42:11 > 0:42:12A beautiful piece of design
0:42:12 > 0:42:14with nice attention to detail as well,
0:42:14 > 0:42:16because it's very traditional.
0:42:16 > 0:42:20This is a peg joint. There's two things that's brilliant about it.
0:42:20 > 0:42:23One is that as the building dries, as these timbers dry,
0:42:23 > 0:42:25it gets tighter and stronger.
0:42:25 > 0:42:27And what's amazing,
0:42:27 > 0:42:29is that the Romans used to use nails to hold their buildings together.
0:42:29 > 0:42:32The problem with oak is that it's got this tannin in it,
0:42:32 > 0:42:34which is what this black staining is
0:42:34 > 0:42:35and it will eat through metal,
0:42:35 > 0:42:38everything other, really, than stainless steel.
0:42:38 > 0:42:41So, the Roman's buildings used to fall apart in a few decades,
0:42:41 > 0:42:47but if you use a timber peg, this will stay up for hundreds of years.
0:42:47 > 0:42:50Now, beyond that, there's this lovely bracket,
0:42:50 > 0:42:51and this wonderful, sort of, curved shape.
0:42:51 > 0:42:54Now, this is really unique. I've never seen this before.
0:42:54 > 0:42:56And it's unique to Pembrokeshire.
0:42:56 > 0:42:59Very beautiful because of the way it makes this curve
0:42:59 > 0:43:02and brings the roof down onto the walls of the building.
0:43:02 > 0:43:06And references the lovely stone vault below.
0:43:11 > 0:43:13As our building at the Museum nears completion,
0:43:13 > 0:43:16my investigations into its Haverfordwest origins
0:43:16 > 0:43:19are also nearly concluded.
0:43:19 > 0:43:20The Voyle family,
0:43:20 > 0:43:23the rich merchants who seemed to have owned our building,
0:43:23 > 0:43:28are recorded as having lived at number 15 the High Street.
0:43:28 > 0:43:30It's thought that inside,
0:43:30 > 0:43:33the family's great heraldic fireplace survives.
0:43:33 > 0:43:37'But it's not been seen in living memory.
0:43:37 > 0:43:40'So, I've met up again with Tom Lloyd
0:43:40 > 0:43:41'to see if we can uncover it
0:43:41 > 0:43:45'and find more clues about the strange little building
0:43:45 > 0:43:46'they may have owned.'
0:43:46 > 0:43:50So, shall we go and see if we can have a look. After you, go on.
0:43:50 > 0:43:52The door's open.
0:43:52 > 0:43:54'The house is now a shop with flats at the rear.
0:43:54 > 0:43:59'In the 18th century, it was given a new facade.
0:43:59 > 0:44:03'But, behind it, much of the medieval building survives.'
0:44:03 > 0:44:06Ah, ooh!
0:44:06 > 0:44:09Well, that is quite a surprise.
0:44:09 > 0:44:13What clearly appears to be a medieval vast window,
0:44:13 > 0:44:16sort of like from a church.
0:44:16 > 0:44:18I suppose it would have lit a double-height great hall.
0:44:18 > 0:44:19Well, it must have done.
0:44:19 > 0:44:21It gives you some indication
0:44:21 > 0:44:24of how high the status of this house really was.
0:44:24 > 0:44:28And we do have this reference to the Voyle family
0:44:28 > 0:44:32who had stained glass in a big window in their house.
0:44:32 > 0:44:35This is a reference to George Owen
0:44:35 > 0:44:38who described the house in the 1570s.
0:44:38 > 0:44:40He described the house as having the stained glass in the window
0:44:40 > 0:44:42showing the arms of Morgan Voyle,
0:44:42 > 0:44:45who was then the occupant of the house.
0:44:45 > 0:44:47The Voyles were big players on a national level.
0:44:47 > 0:44:50The Voyles were a very significant Pembrokeshire family.
0:44:50 > 0:44:55Morgan Voyle was Sheriff and Mayor of Haverfordwest in the 1580s.
0:44:55 > 0:44:58He was a proud and very rich man
0:44:58 > 0:45:02and this window is astonishing evidence of it,
0:45:02 > 0:45:03and we believe as well,
0:45:03 > 0:45:08that he had some chimney pieces carved with heraldry on them too.
0:45:09 > 0:45:12'The building's changed so much
0:45:12 > 0:45:15'that no-one is quite sure where the fireplace is,
0:45:15 > 0:45:17'or if it has survived at all.
0:45:17 > 0:45:20'But Tom has his suspicions.'
0:45:20 > 0:45:22- Ian.- Hello.
0:45:22 > 0:45:23Ian's the agent for the owner of the property,
0:45:23 > 0:45:27whose very kindly let us come in here to do our worst.
0:45:27 > 0:45:29Now, here's the wall.
0:45:29 > 0:45:32Now, is behind this wall that we think,
0:45:32 > 0:45:36this hollow wall, we think the chimneypiece is.
0:45:36 > 0:45:39And were basing that on this plan we have here
0:45:39 > 0:45:42from the Royal Commission Of Ancient Monuments
0:45:42 > 0:45:43done some while ago,
0:45:43 > 0:45:45which shows the chimney piece here.
0:45:45 > 0:45:47We're in this room now.
0:45:47 > 0:45:50OK, so it's in the centre of this wall. That's good to know.
0:45:50 > 0:45:53And we know from old photographs what we're looking for.
0:45:53 > 0:45:57This large chimneypiece with this heraldic mantle,
0:45:57 > 0:46:00which I would think is about five-foot high.
0:46:00 > 0:46:02You have to find the middle. So, four and a half feet.
0:46:02 > 0:46:06One, two, three, four and a half there.
0:46:06 > 0:46:08That's about the middle as I can work out.
0:46:08 > 0:46:13You should have your finger on the Royal Arms Of England, there.
0:46:13 > 0:46:15And no-one in living memory has seen it.
0:46:15 > 0:46:18It's a bit like Tutankhamen's tomb, isn't it? One of the great...
0:46:18 > 0:46:20But more exciting!
0:46:20 > 0:46:23Treasures of Haverfordwest is perhaps a few inches away
0:46:23 > 0:46:26and yet no-one has ever seen it.
0:46:26 > 0:46:27We will see wonderful things.
0:46:33 > 0:46:35'We decide to first cut a peephole
0:46:35 > 0:46:39'to see if the fireplace really is behind this wall.'
0:46:47 > 0:46:49Tantalising, tantalising.
0:46:49 > 0:46:51It is.
0:46:51 > 0:46:53By God, it is. By God, it is.
0:46:53 > 0:46:56And it is the Royal Coat Of Arms, just where we thought it was.
0:46:56 > 0:46:59Exact height. You've got it perfectly.
0:47:00 > 0:47:02Isn't this fantastic?
0:47:02 > 0:47:06- Something of astonishing architectural and artistic importance.- Really exciting.
0:47:06 > 0:47:09Absolutely amazing. And it is just bizarre, look at it.
0:47:09 > 0:47:11It's so unexpected in this very simple room.
0:47:11 > 0:47:14But the thing now, of course, is if we can reveal more,
0:47:14 > 0:47:16then we can start decoding the heraldry.
0:47:16 > 0:47:18Yes.
0:47:18 > 0:47:21And get the connections back to the Voyles, if possible,
0:47:21 > 0:47:23and to our little building if possible.
0:47:23 > 0:47:26And confirm this really is created by the people
0:47:26 > 0:47:28who made our little structure.
0:47:28 > 0:47:31- Gosh!- It's front-page news.
0:47:33 > 0:47:36Now the position of the fireplace is known,
0:47:36 > 0:47:38the builders can use power tools
0:47:38 > 0:47:41to quickly cut away the remainder of the wall.
0:47:58 > 0:48:00Well, Tom, here it is.
0:48:00 > 0:48:03It's quite as good, or better, than we expected, in a way.
0:48:03 > 0:48:04I love the fact that it has lime wash.
0:48:04 > 0:48:08Amazing. I'm astonished to see paintwork, still.
0:48:08 > 0:48:10I think I can see a bit of red there.
0:48:10 > 0:48:12I mean, it's absolutely extraordinary.
0:48:12 > 0:48:15What does the heraldry tell us, in terms of dates and meaning?
0:48:15 > 0:48:20This appears to be a religious symbolic coat.
0:48:20 > 0:48:24I think we have knots - knotted ropes and initials.
0:48:24 > 0:48:29Now, that was going to suggest the flail, which Jesus was beaten with.
0:48:29 > 0:48:31The passion.
0:48:31 > 0:48:35It has to be, presumably, before 1530s.
0:48:35 > 0:48:38- So this is Catholic imagery? - It would appear so.
0:48:38 > 0:48:40Oh, Lord above! Well, this is so incredibly moving.
0:48:40 > 0:48:44Also we've captured the moment just before the Protestant reformation.
0:48:44 > 0:48:47This is still a Catholic family with Catholic imagery.
0:48:47 > 0:48:49And then we have the Royal Arms, of course, here.
0:48:49 > 0:48:50As always, at this date
0:48:50 > 0:48:53with the French quartering before the English quartering.
0:48:53 > 0:48:55So the owner of this chimneypiece
0:48:55 > 0:48:58is proclaiming his allegiance to the Royal Family, the King,
0:48:58 > 0:49:00and the Catholic Church.
0:49:00 > 0:49:02Very important to the status of this chimneypiece.
0:49:02 > 0:49:05OK, and that's Henry VIII just before the Reformation,
0:49:05 > 0:49:06when he's still a Catholic monarch.
0:49:06 > 0:49:08- Indeed.- Wow!- Presumably.- Yes.
0:49:08 > 0:49:11Then we have this coat, which is very distinctive Pembrokeshire coat,
0:49:11 > 0:49:13which belonged to the Owens of Henllys,
0:49:13 > 0:49:15North Pembrokeshire,
0:49:15 > 0:49:18but very important here in this town.
0:49:18 > 0:49:20It seems that what the owner of this house is doing
0:49:20 > 0:49:23is using the arms, putting up the arms of important people,
0:49:23 > 0:49:27both nationally and locally, to claim allegiance
0:49:27 > 0:49:28or respect towards them.
0:49:28 > 0:49:32It is amazing. These stones really do speak, don't they?
0:49:32 > 0:49:33They absolutely do.
0:49:33 > 0:49:36You know, we are witnesses to the most exciting discovery.
0:49:43 > 0:49:48Who would have thought that such a modest, modern looking room
0:49:48 > 0:49:52could contain this early Tudor wonder.
0:49:52 > 0:49:54This is a beautiful thing.
0:49:54 > 0:49:56It's a window into a forgotten world.
0:49:56 > 0:49:59It tells us so much about Haverfordwest and about our family,
0:49:59 > 0:50:04the Voyles, that built, we think, our humble structure.
0:50:07 > 0:50:10And a family who created a lavish fireplace like this
0:50:10 > 0:50:13are certainly one who would require a secure vault
0:50:13 > 0:50:16to protect their goods.
0:50:32 > 0:50:35It's been over a year since the start of this build,
0:50:35 > 0:50:38and part of the reason that it's taken that long
0:50:38 > 0:50:41is because of the incredible attention to detail
0:50:41 > 0:50:44and authenticity that the team have gone through
0:50:44 > 0:50:47to build it in the right way for the period.
0:50:47 > 0:50:51But at last they are on the home stretch,
0:50:51 > 0:50:53so I've come up to give them a hand
0:50:53 > 0:50:55with some of those finishing touches.
0:50:57 > 0:51:01Hello, mate. How are you? Are you all right?
0:51:01 > 0:51:03- Oh, these are lovely slates.- Yes.
0:51:03 > 0:51:07- Beautiful!- Yeah, tidy slate. They're very good.- Where are they from, then?
0:51:07 > 0:51:08They're from Pembrokeshire.
0:51:08 > 0:51:11- So, they didn't come off the building?- No.
0:51:11 > 0:51:15When we took the building down it hardly had any,
0:51:15 > 0:51:17so we've got some tiles from a farm in Pembrokeshire.
0:51:17 > 0:51:21'The hundreds of slates need to be sorted by size,
0:51:21 > 0:51:24'but first, most of them need to be reshaped.'
0:51:26 > 0:51:28- There you go.- That's your ten-inch tile.- So, could I have a go?
0:51:28 > 0:51:30Yeah, sure.
0:51:33 > 0:51:35- How hard?- Make sure you've got it firmly on there.
0:51:39 > 0:51:42I don't want to break it. You told me I'm going to be charged.
0:51:42 > 0:51:43There we go. Look at that.
0:51:43 > 0:51:45- So you get this lovely sort of riven edge.- Yes.
0:51:47 > 0:51:49So, this is what we're trying to do, is it?
0:51:49 > 0:51:52- That's beautiful.- Yeah. That's the finish. One side finished.
0:51:52 > 0:51:55That's absolutely wonderful. I love it with this diminishing coursing.
0:51:55 > 0:51:59Started off with 16s, finishing off with sevens at the top.
0:51:59 > 0:52:00That's wonderful.
0:52:03 > 0:52:07- So, what are we doing? - We're going to hang some tiles now.
0:52:07 > 0:52:09So this is literally just hung?
0:52:09 > 0:52:11Yes. Pegged and hung.
0:52:11 > 0:52:14But I thought they were supposed to be done with wooden pegs.
0:52:14 > 0:52:16Well, they were, years ago,
0:52:16 > 0:52:18but we're using aluminium
0:52:18 > 0:52:21because the wooden ones would just rot, split,
0:52:21 > 0:52:22and after 10, 15 years,
0:52:22 > 0:52:25they'd all start slipping and falling off the roof.
0:52:25 > 0:52:27- And so just pop that through? - Peg it and hang it.
0:52:27 > 0:52:28- That's it?- Yeah.
0:52:28 > 0:52:31The further up the roof you go,
0:52:31 > 0:52:34the tighter they actually become, you know?
0:52:34 > 0:52:37- So it's the weight.- Yeah, the weight of tiles on top of them.
0:52:37 > 0:52:38That's not going anywhere, is it?
0:52:38 > 0:52:42And it's amazing how much coverage you're getting, isn't it?
0:52:42 > 0:52:44You end up with almost three layers of slate, don't you?
0:52:44 > 0:52:46- It must be very heavy.- Very heavy.
0:52:46 > 0:52:48And I suppose that's exactly why they're such big trusses
0:52:48 > 0:52:51in a little roof like this.
0:52:51 > 0:52:54- Massive trusses.- Exactly, yeah.
0:52:57 > 0:53:01The building is also being painted with traditional lime wash,
0:53:01 > 0:53:04just as it would have been 500 years ago.
0:53:11 > 0:53:16Five weeks later, all major construction work is complete.
0:53:22 > 0:53:26The house can now be furnished
0:53:26 > 0:53:28and the fire can be lit.
0:53:31 > 0:53:35'Dan and I have returned to see it in all its glory.'
0:53:35 > 0:53:39Well, it's very sculptural, isn't it? Abstract, simple.
0:53:39 > 0:53:43It's very sculptural, it's also in the most beautiful setting
0:53:43 > 0:53:45with this wonderful mature woodland around it.
0:53:45 > 0:53:46That's strange.
0:53:46 > 0:53:48Originally it stood on the town quay in the bad part of town.
0:53:48 > 0:53:51It's rather odd, now, for me to see it, you know,
0:53:51 > 0:53:53uprooted and planted in the countryside.
0:53:53 > 0:53:57From the armpit of Haverfordwest to here.
0:54:04 > 0:54:06What a wonderful... Well, I say barrel vault,
0:54:06 > 0:54:08it's actually slightly pointed, isn't it?
0:54:08 > 0:54:13- It's a very nicely-shaped arch, this.- Of the period.- Really lovely.
0:54:13 > 0:54:17Of the 16th century. So, incredibly strong, wonderfully well built.
0:54:17 > 0:54:21Security for one's goods, one's wine or brandy, whatever it might be.
0:54:21 > 0:54:22Security from fire.
0:54:22 > 0:54:26It's a wonderful little portrait, isn't it, of Tudor Britain?
0:54:26 > 0:54:28The new merchant class, the new men.
0:54:28 > 0:54:30Their wealth is in goods and trade.
0:54:30 > 0:54:32The nobles had their, you know, castles,
0:54:32 > 0:54:35their fortified manors, their armies to guard their possessions.
0:54:35 > 0:54:37These merchants, what do they have?
0:54:37 > 0:54:39They have warehouses like this,
0:54:39 > 0:54:41secure warehouses and a storekeep above.
0:54:42 > 0:54:47And this is the upstairs. Look at that. Isn't it lovely?
0:54:47 > 0:54:50I must say, didn't expect it to be furnished in mid-16th century style.
0:54:50 > 0:54:52Yes!
0:54:52 > 0:54:56Obviously, it's been dressed to be evocative of the period.
0:54:56 > 0:54:57It's not totally finished.
0:54:57 > 0:55:00There's a few little bits to finish, like a bed platform up here.
0:55:00 > 0:55:02The toilet, the long-drop,
0:55:02 > 0:55:04- Still needs...- A curtain.
0:55:04 > 0:55:06A bit of privacy. Exactly.
0:55:06 > 0:55:09And then the underside of the lovely, beautiful slate,
0:55:09 > 0:55:10will be plastered.
0:55:10 > 0:55:12It's wonderful being in this space,
0:55:12 > 0:55:14cos you know the Voyles, for example,
0:55:14 > 0:55:17the family owned a building like this,
0:55:17 > 0:55:19perhaps even this one.
0:55:19 > 0:55:23We also know from the documents that they didn't let it out,
0:55:23 > 0:55:24but they had one of their men living in it
0:55:24 > 0:55:26to guard their property.
0:55:26 > 0:55:28There was no police force at that time.
0:55:28 > 0:55:29It's down to them, isn't it,
0:55:29 > 0:55:31to fight off the robbers.
0:55:31 > 0:55:32So they put their ladder down,
0:55:32 > 0:55:36they'd go downstairs or they'd just look through the window...
0:55:36 > 0:55:38- And Yell.- A hue and cry!
0:55:38 > 0:55:42- Just shout your head off. - Human burglar alarm.
0:55:42 > 0:55:45That's basically what all of this is for - a human burglar alarm.
0:55:49 > 0:55:53'To celebrate the completion of the reconstruction,
0:55:53 > 0:55:55'the head of the museum, Bethan Lewis,
0:55:55 > 0:55:57'has brought her team together
0:55:57 > 0:56:00'to perform an ancient building ceremony.'
0:56:00 > 0:56:02I would like to take this opportunity
0:56:02 > 0:56:04to thank you all for coming
0:56:04 > 0:56:06and also to pay a big tribute
0:56:06 > 0:56:08to our historic buildings unit,
0:56:08 > 0:56:09who have been instrumental
0:56:09 > 0:56:12in recreating the building that we've got behind us.
0:56:12 > 0:56:14So, a big round of applause to them.
0:56:14 > 0:56:18APPLAUSE
0:56:18 > 0:56:21In order to ensure that there are no evil spirits
0:56:21 > 0:56:23going to invade our new house,
0:56:23 > 0:56:27we've got an opportunity now to do a topping-out ceremony
0:56:27 > 0:56:31and Geraltt Nash, our buildings curator,
0:56:31 > 0:56:33will take a piece of yew tree to do the topping-out ceremony.
0:56:33 > 0:56:37So, good health. Yeh-chid dah. Thank you.
0:56:57 > 0:57:03- Well done, mate. Looking lovely. Are you pleased with it?- Yeah.
0:57:03 > 0:57:05Genuinely, I think the building is beautiful.
0:57:05 > 0:57:07I think you've done a really fantastic job. Thank you very much.
0:57:07 > 0:57:10Thanks for putting up with me and my cack-handed attempts to help you.
0:57:10 > 0:57:12Been a pleasure.
0:57:12 > 0:57:15Well done. Thank you very much. Cheers, guys. Cheers, boys.
0:57:15 > 0:57:18Thanks very much.
0:57:22 > 0:57:25Who'd have thought such a humble building
0:57:25 > 0:57:27could embody so much history.
0:57:27 > 0:57:30These rough stone walls
0:57:30 > 0:57:34speak of a remarkable transition in British society,
0:57:34 > 0:57:39our emergence from medieval feudalism
0:57:39 > 0:57:43and the ascent of the new rich merchant class.
0:57:43 > 0:57:45Men of great ambition,
0:57:45 > 0:57:49who sailed across the oceans to open the New World
0:57:49 > 0:57:52and who laid the foundation of the modern age.
0:57:54 > 0:57:58While the men that carefully demolished this building 30 years ago
0:57:58 > 0:58:00may have aged somewhat,
0:58:00 > 0:58:03it is through their determination and craft
0:58:03 > 0:58:06that this building has really been rejuvenated,
0:58:06 > 0:58:10eradicating centuries of neglect,
0:58:10 > 0:58:12and I think, from the beautiful vault
0:58:12 > 0:58:14to that wonderful slate roof,
0:58:14 > 0:58:16the result is quite stunning.
0:58:16 > 0:58:18And, for me, it teaches a very important lesson,
0:58:18 > 0:58:23that it is through the humble and everyday buildings
0:58:23 > 0:58:24that you truly get an insight
0:58:24 > 0:58:29into the way that the majority of our ancestors would have lived.
0:58:52 > 0:58:56Subtitles by Red Bee Media Ltd