0:00:03 > 0:00:06On the last series of Restoration Home, we followed the stories
0:00:06 > 0:00:11of six historic buildings that desperately needed saving.
0:00:11 > 0:00:13You know, we love it and we want to finish it,
0:00:13 > 0:00:17but sometimes it just feels like too much.
0:00:17 > 0:00:18Lift and push!
0:00:18 > 0:00:22Six new owners spent hundreds of thousands of pounds
0:00:22 > 0:00:26transforming them into their dream homes.
0:00:26 > 0:00:29It looks incredible!
0:00:32 > 0:00:36You've got your dream kitchen! That is dreamy.
0:00:36 > 0:00:38'But there was still work to do.'
0:00:38 > 0:00:41We'll still get it done. We'll spite them all.
0:00:41 > 0:00:44So one year on, we're going back to see what's changed.
0:00:44 > 0:00:46Well, well, it's done!
0:00:46 > 0:00:48What a house!
0:00:49 > 0:00:53It's lovely to see it finished now and actually furnished and lived in.
0:00:53 > 0:00:58We'll meet the craftsmen whose work helped save these historic homes,
0:00:58 > 0:01:02and the people whose stories provide a living link to the past.
0:01:02 > 0:01:03That's amazing!
0:01:12 > 0:01:17Sandford House in Newport-On-Tay in Fife is an Arts and Crafts
0:01:17 > 0:01:21masterpiece that dates back to 1902.
0:01:21 > 0:01:24It's a Category B historic property, the second highest listing
0:01:24 > 0:01:27for buildings at risk in Scotland.
0:01:29 > 0:01:32It was originally built as a family home, but it had spent nearly
0:01:32 > 0:01:35half its life as a three-star hotel.
0:01:35 > 0:01:39Over recent years, though, it had been abandoned and had fallen
0:01:39 > 0:01:40into serious disrepair.
0:01:45 > 0:01:49So who would take on such a massive restoration project?
0:01:54 > 0:01:58Ralph Webster and Evelyn Hardy were both keen DIY-ers and they
0:01:58 > 0:02:02leapt at the chance of restoring Sandford House.
0:02:02 > 0:02:06It's a challenge, it really is. It's a serious challenge.
0:02:06 > 0:02:09I just thought it was amazing. It's an amazing building.
0:02:09 > 0:02:10I mean, it was a mess,
0:02:10 > 0:02:13and it was needing an awful lot of work done to it, but you could
0:02:13 > 0:02:18see right away how you could turn it into something absolutely fantastic.
0:02:18 > 0:02:24The house cost them £550,000 to buy, and they've budgeted another
0:02:24 > 0:02:26£530,000 to restore it.
0:02:28 > 0:02:32Evelyn runs her own graphic design company, and would project
0:02:32 > 0:02:34manage the restoration.
0:02:34 > 0:02:38Ralph works abroad for weeks at a time, but he's known
0:02:38 > 0:02:40the building all his life.
0:02:40 > 0:02:42I felt sorry for it,
0:02:42 > 0:02:45because it was our local pub and we used to come up, 10, 12 of us
0:02:45 > 0:02:48and just completely fill the place and it was fantastic, and it just
0:02:48 > 0:02:52sort of went downhill, you know, and just it's such a shame that,
0:02:52 > 0:02:57you know, it hadn't been maintained to a high standard over the years.
0:02:57 > 0:03:00Ralph and Evelyn planned to spend a year-and-a-half restoring the
0:03:00 > 0:03:03main house to its original Arts and Crafts glory.
0:03:05 > 0:03:08In a courtyard behind are two wings that once housed the hotel's
0:03:08 > 0:03:11kitchen and bedrooms.
0:03:11 > 0:03:15Phase two of their plans would see these converted into holiday homes
0:03:15 > 0:03:18for rental but, in the meantime, they'd planned to camp out there.
0:03:20 > 0:03:23They were doing much of the basic work themselves, only calling
0:03:23 > 0:03:27on skilled craftsmen and friends when they were needed.
0:03:27 > 0:03:29They're all local lads, and they all know each other,
0:03:29 > 0:03:31and they know me and they know that we want a good job done,
0:03:31 > 0:03:35so, you know, we all sort of club together and get on with it.
0:03:35 > 0:03:38As far as physical work's concerned, normally I'd try
0:03:38 > 0:03:41and keep the cost down, and if a wall's got to come down
0:03:41 > 0:03:43I'll just get a chisel out and knock it down.
0:03:43 > 0:03:46So we just get at it.
0:03:47 > 0:03:51As the restoration got under way, so did our historical investigation.
0:03:53 > 0:03:57Historian Dr Kate Williams would scour the archives to try and
0:03:57 > 0:04:01find out who originally owned Sandford House, and where the
0:04:01 > 0:04:04money came from to build this Arts and Crafts gem.
0:04:06 > 0:04:10Architectural expert Kieran Long started his investigation
0:04:10 > 0:04:14with a visit to see what the house itself could tell him.
0:04:14 > 0:04:18This is a building from a moment in British architecture which
0:04:18 > 0:04:21was just so important. The Arts and Crafts style was something
0:04:21 > 0:04:24that celebrated the work of the craftsman.
0:04:28 > 0:04:31So many of the houses of this period fell out of fashion quite
0:04:31 > 0:04:33quickly in the early 20th century.
0:04:33 > 0:04:36Some of them have been lost, some of them have not been restored,
0:04:36 > 0:04:38and this is an amazing survival to me,
0:04:38 > 0:04:41one that looks ripe for bringing back to its former glory.
0:04:45 > 0:04:48We have this incredibly characteristic inglenook fireplace
0:04:48 > 0:04:52here, which is absolutely something redolent of the Arts and Crafts.
0:04:52 > 0:04:58This beautiful brickwork with thin mortar joints, you know,
0:04:58 > 0:05:01carefully but unfussily made.
0:05:03 > 0:05:06But 48 years as a three-star hotel
0:05:06 > 0:05:09had proved a tragedy for this building.
0:05:09 > 0:05:13Many of the original Arts and Crafts features had been lost or
0:05:13 > 0:05:15ruined by modern building works.
0:05:16 > 0:05:19There's nothing that messes up a beautifully composed facade
0:05:19 > 0:05:23more than a pipe full of human waste, you know, coming
0:05:23 > 0:05:26out of a bathroom somewhere, and we have another example just up here,
0:05:26 > 0:05:33too, of an extractor fan, in where a tiny little window that probably
0:05:33 > 0:05:35lights something picturesque behind it, and they thought, no,
0:05:35 > 0:05:38we'll get rid of that and put an extractor fan in at some point.
0:05:38 > 0:05:41I mean, this is kind of really, really clumsy treatment
0:05:41 > 0:05:43of a really beautiful building.
0:05:43 > 0:05:46Sandford House is one of only two Arts and Crafts buildings in
0:05:46 > 0:05:50Scotland designed by the architect Baillie Scott.
0:05:50 > 0:05:51But who was he?
0:05:53 > 0:05:55Kieran wanted to find out.
0:05:57 > 0:06:00It's not one of the big names of early 20th-century
0:06:00 > 0:06:02and late 19th-century architecture, and so, for me,
0:06:02 > 0:06:05we need to discover a lot more about this man.
0:06:10 > 0:06:13When I made my first visit, Ralph and Evelyn had been working
0:06:13 > 0:06:16on their restoration for over six months, but were they still
0:06:16 > 0:06:18on budget and on schedule?
0:06:18 > 0:06:21- Hello, I'm Caroline! - Hello! Nice to meet you.- Evelyn.
0:06:21 > 0:06:23Evelyn, hello.
0:06:24 > 0:06:27- OK, Caroline, this is the hall, here.- Yes.
0:06:27 > 0:06:30- And then through here we've got the public bar.- The public bar?
0:06:30 > 0:06:32Yes.
0:06:32 > 0:06:36'What was going to be their living room used to be the hotel bar.
0:06:37 > 0:06:41'Ralph had known this room since he was a teenager.'
0:06:41 > 0:06:43We all came up, 12 or 14 of us came up together,
0:06:43 > 0:06:48and you just grew up and did a bit of, you know, courting et cetera.
0:06:48 > 0:06:49Long before you were on the scene!
0:06:49 > 0:06:52- So, this would have been the place you'd bring a hot date to?- Yeah.
0:06:52 > 0:06:55Yeah, I want to impress her, I'll take her out to Sandford House!
0:06:55 > 0:06:57Unless I didn't want the locals to know about her,
0:06:57 > 0:07:01and then you wouldn't come here, but once everything got going,
0:07:01 > 0:07:05then you could introduce her to the rest of the team, as it were.
0:07:07 > 0:07:12Outside, one of the ugliest relics of the hotel, the industrial-sized
0:07:12 > 0:07:15extractor unit, was due to meet its fate, with the help of
0:07:15 > 0:07:17Ralph's friend, Dave.
0:07:17 > 0:07:19You look really happy. What are you doing?
0:07:19 > 0:07:21We're just about to destroy this ventilator.
0:07:21 > 0:07:24- I'm dying to get rid of it. - It's time to get rid of it?
0:07:24 > 0:07:27Yes. I just hope it doesn't go through the kitchen window.
0:07:27 > 0:07:29Yeah, yeah. Let's hope not!
0:07:29 > 0:07:31But it's a bit too narrow to put scaffolding up,
0:07:31 > 0:07:33so we'll just give it a go if that's all right.
0:07:33 > 0:07:34Yeah, give it a yank!
0:07:41 > 0:07:42Are you OK?
0:07:44 > 0:07:47'They were so keen to get rid of the thing, they were a bit gung ho
0:07:47 > 0:07:49'with the rapid demolition.'
0:07:50 > 0:07:52- Oh!- Perfect!
0:07:55 > 0:07:56Right, ready!
0:08:04 > 0:08:07All around the building were reminders of the enormity of
0:08:07 > 0:08:11the project Ralph and Evelyn had taken on to return this hotel
0:08:11 > 0:08:12back to a house.
0:08:12 > 0:08:16They were putting every penny they had into this restoration.
0:08:19 > 0:08:23The old restaurant was in the process of being transformed.
0:08:23 > 0:08:26So this is going to be your lovely, lovely kitchen!
0:08:26 > 0:08:28This is going to be our kitchen.
0:08:28 > 0:08:30This is where you'll be cooking and eating, or just cooking?
0:08:30 > 0:08:33Yes, well, this part here will be the dining room, the dining area.
0:08:33 > 0:08:34Dining table.
0:08:34 > 0:08:38Table and chairs here, and the other side, that'll be the kitchen.
0:08:38 > 0:08:42We've got a great big island unit that goes all the way out here.
0:08:43 > 0:08:46Is it important for you to get the detail right?
0:08:46 > 0:08:50To get the design of the house right?
0:08:50 > 0:08:52To get everything right here?
0:08:52 > 0:08:55Yeah, the intention is to get it as correct as we can, you know,
0:08:55 > 0:08:57basically regardless of cost.
0:08:57 > 0:09:00I mean, there is a limit budget, obviously, and we're probably
0:09:00 > 0:09:03way over it already, but, you know, yeah, if we're going to
0:09:03 > 0:09:07repair something, we might as do it properly, and we intend to
0:09:07 > 0:09:13just return it to a liveable home and with a bit of history to it.
0:09:18 > 0:09:22Dr Kate Williams was researching that history.
0:09:22 > 0:09:26She wanted to find out who the first owner of Sandford House was,
0:09:26 > 0:09:30and her investigations took her to Dundee, just three miles away
0:09:30 > 0:09:32from Sandford across the River Tay.
0:09:35 > 0:09:38At the start of the 20th century,
0:09:38 > 0:09:41this Scottish waterside city was booming.
0:09:43 > 0:09:46Dundee in the Victorian era was incredibly wealthy.
0:09:46 > 0:09:48It was a big, bustling metropolis,
0:09:48 > 0:09:50and a really important industrial area.
0:09:52 > 0:09:56Kate discovered that the money that built Sandford House came
0:09:56 > 0:09:59from a thriving new industry - photography.
0:09:59 > 0:10:03And this was the man whose money it was, Harben Valentine.
0:10:05 > 0:10:09The Valentines were pioneers of commercial photography
0:10:09 > 0:10:13and one of the first companies to market the picture postcard.
0:10:13 > 0:10:16I've got a marvellous one here of New Zealand.
0:10:16 > 0:10:19Very few Victorians could ever get to New Zealand,
0:10:19 > 0:10:23but they could still look at the photos, and what's also
0:10:23 > 0:10:25marvellous is I've got this picture here of Queen Victoria,
0:10:25 > 0:10:29because the Valentines became the photographer to the Queen.
0:10:31 > 0:10:33Harben Valentine and his family
0:10:33 > 0:10:37lived at Sandford House until the 1930s.
0:10:37 > 0:10:42Morag Henderson is Harben Valentine's granddaughter.
0:10:42 > 0:10:46It was a good part of the country for him because he could commute
0:10:46 > 0:10:50to Dundee, either by train or on the old ferry boat,
0:10:50 > 0:10:54which was called the Fifie and there, he raised the family.
0:10:55 > 0:10:58I remember the window latches with the black swans,
0:10:58 > 0:11:02which my grandfather said was an old Valentine tradition.
0:11:05 > 0:11:10I sit opposite him when I have my breakfast, where you're sitting,
0:11:10 > 0:11:15and if we stare really long at him, he occasionally just smiles.
0:11:17 > 0:11:21Morag was delighted her grandfather's house
0:11:21 > 0:11:22might now be saved.
0:11:22 > 0:11:25There just have been too many houses in Scotland that have
0:11:25 > 0:11:30crumbled away since the war, been demolished or let go into ruin.
0:11:30 > 0:11:34I think that the fact that Sandford is being restored is great.
0:11:37 > 0:11:40One of the biggest restoration challenges at Sandford
0:11:40 > 0:11:42were the windows.
0:11:42 > 0:11:43Where to?
0:11:43 > 0:11:46Put it over on the wall on the right-hand side of the door.
0:11:46 > 0:11:51The tall bay in the sunken lounge alone had 740 panes
0:11:51 > 0:11:55of leaded glass, and in all there were several thousand
0:11:55 > 0:11:59around the house, and most of them needed repairing.
0:12:00 > 0:12:04Specialist restorer Liz Rowley was doing the work.
0:12:04 > 0:12:06This square of glass is called a quarry
0:12:06 > 0:12:10and there are equal numbers of quarries running up this window,
0:12:10 > 0:12:15and I'm going to just slot them into the groove in the lead.
0:12:15 > 0:12:17The lead is like a letter H,
0:12:17 > 0:12:21and the glass slots into the groove along the edge of the lead.
0:12:23 > 0:12:28I need to make sure that all these horizontal leads are the same size,
0:12:28 > 0:12:30or else my window will start to get distorted.
0:12:33 > 0:12:37The lead is then soldered together, using candle tallow as a flux.
0:12:41 > 0:12:46Flux allows the solder to flow over the joint,
0:12:46 > 0:12:50and it's a greasy material, and it melts with the heat of the
0:12:50 > 0:12:55soldering iron and creates a surface tension that pulls the solder along.
0:12:56 > 0:13:00Back at Sandford House, Liz tied the finished lead panels to their
0:13:00 > 0:13:02supporting bars.
0:13:04 > 0:13:07Ralph and Evelyn had budgeted £10,000 for the window
0:13:07 > 0:13:13restoration, but in the end, it cost two-and-a-half times that.
0:13:13 > 0:13:18£25,000 was a large sum of money, but Evelyn felt they had to
0:13:18 > 0:13:21do the house justice.
0:13:21 > 0:13:24If you've got an Arts and Crafts house, you know, it would
0:13:24 > 0:13:25just be sacrilege, I suppose,
0:13:25 > 0:13:28to go and replace that with a modern double glazed unit.
0:13:28 > 0:13:31You know, we never even considered doing anything like that.
0:13:31 > 0:13:32It would just look terrible.
0:13:32 > 0:13:35The Arts and Crafts movement was at its most popular at the turn
0:13:35 > 0:13:37of the last century.
0:13:37 > 0:13:40Led by designers like William Morris, it was a reaction to
0:13:40 > 0:13:44Victorian industrialisation of art and design, and celebrated
0:13:44 > 0:13:49the art of the craftsman, by turning the home itself into a work of art.
0:13:52 > 0:13:55It was a style that Ralph and Evelyn were determined to honour,
0:13:55 > 0:13:57right down to the window furniture.
0:14:00 > 0:14:04The windows at Sandford were fitted with hand-crafted swan window
0:14:04 > 0:14:09stays, but some had been lost, and Evelyn wanted to restore the set.
0:14:12 > 0:14:14We need about ten of them.
0:14:14 > 0:14:16They were obviously made for Sandford.
0:14:16 > 0:14:18I've never ever seen anything like that anywhere else,
0:14:18 > 0:14:22and nobody else has ever seen anything like that anywhere else.
0:14:22 > 0:14:24So, you know, it would be really good to try and, you know,
0:14:24 > 0:14:28replace the ones that, you know, have gone missing over the years.
0:14:28 > 0:14:32It's likely the original swans were custom made at least a century ago.
0:14:35 > 0:14:39Evelyn has left one of the surviving handles with local blacksmith
0:14:39 > 0:14:43John Donne to see if he could replicate it.
0:14:43 > 0:14:46- There's the original. - Yes.
0:14:46 > 0:14:51- And that's the one we've made. - Oh, very good! That's brilliant!
0:14:51 > 0:14:55Obviously it's done different ways than what that was done originally.
0:14:55 > 0:14:58You know, that would have been heated up, hammered out...
0:14:58 > 0:14:59Right, yes.
0:14:59 > 0:15:02..and what we've done is individually cut that out
0:15:02 > 0:15:06- and then welded it onto there and just smoothed it off...- Right, yes.
0:15:06 > 0:15:08..and then we drilled the holes,
0:15:08 > 0:15:11and then just centre punched these wee dimples...
0:15:11 > 0:15:13- To get that. - ..to give it that effect.
0:15:13 > 0:15:16- I mean, there's no way we would get it any better than that.- Yeah.
0:15:16 > 0:15:18I think that's really, really good.
0:15:21 > 0:15:25Next on Evelyn's Arts and Crafts shopping list was furniture.
0:15:27 > 0:15:31Arts and Crafts furniture is quite plain and simple in style,
0:15:31 > 0:15:33but everything is just so well made,
0:15:33 > 0:15:35and, you know, it's wee things like the details of these.
0:15:35 > 0:15:37These handles are just lovely.
0:15:39 > 0:15:43Evelyn was particularly looking for a wardrobe for the main bedroom.
0:15:45 > 0:15:48I love that turquoisey blue colour, that's really nice.
0:15:48 > 0:15:50That would suit the space perfectly.
0:16:01 > 0:16:04Down in London, at the Royal Institute of British Architects,
0:16:04 > 0:16:08Kieran was closing in on the trail of architect Baillie Scott.
0:16:10 > 0:16:13During his career, he designed nearly 300 buildings,
0:16:13 > 0:16:17and when Harben Valentine commissioned him to build Sandford
0:16:17 > 0:16:21in 1902, he would have been a very fashionable choice of architect.
0:16:22 > 0:16:25The house was called Sandford Cottage then,
0:16:25 > 0:16:27and had a thatched roof.
0:16:27 > 0:16:30It says here, "This little house was built in Scotland
0:16:30 > 0:16:33"in a district where thatching with reeds was still understood,
0:16:33 > 0:16:35"and so this method of roofing was adopted."
0:16:39 > 0:16:43But less than ten years after it was built, disaster struck.
0:16:45 > 0:16:50We found these extraordinary pictures of a conflagration,
0:16:50 > 0:16:54a blaze that has destroyed this beautiful thatched cottage.
0:16:54 > 0:16:57In this picture, we just see the roof completely disappeared,
0:16:57 > 0:16:59a kind of ruin shrouded in smoke.
0:17:03 > 0:17:08Harben Valentine commissioned Baillie Scott to redesign the house.
0:17:08 > 0:17:12This time it was built with a tiled roof and looked very much
0:17:12 > 0:17:13like it does today.
0:17:18 > 0:17:22But 100 years later, the new owners of Sandford House were facing
0:17:22 > 0:17:23another challenge.
0:17:26 > 0:17:29In one of the biggest rooms in the house, the sunken lounge,
0:17:29 > 0:17:32the new plasterwork wouldn't hold.
0:17:32 > 0:17:35You put the first skim on, and it was dried and it felt solid
0:17:35 > 0:17:38and it looked as if it was going to be good,
0:17:38 > 0:17:39and he put the finishing coat on today.
0:17:39 > 0:17:42But when he put the bonding coat on, it soaked in
0:17:42 > 0:17:45and the plaster just fell off.
0:17:45 > 0:17:48The problem seemed to be the original wall covering, which
0:17:48 > 0:17:51contained hidden layers of rubberised paint and paper.
0:17:51 > 0:17:55It all had to be removed and the plasterwork redone.
0:17:55 > 0:17:59The original budget to turn the main part of the building into
0:17:59 > 0:18:02their home was £270,000.
0:18:03 > 0:18:07One year in, and they'd spent nearly all of it.
0:18:07 > 0:18:10She does worry me when she tells me we've spent over £250,000 since
0:18:10 > 0:18:14we bought it, and we haven't even started on the holiday homes yet.
0:18:15 > 0:18:18But they remained undaunted.
0:18:18 > 0:18:19We just need to do it.
0:18:19 > 0:18:24It was so unloved for so long, we'll just use every penny we've got.
0:18:24 > 0:18:27We'll keep going as long as we can.
0:18:27 > 0:18:31Kieran's research on architect Baillie Scott led him across
0:18:31 > 0:18:33the Irish Sea to the Isle of Man.
0:18:37 > 0:18:40The architect spent his early career here, and not only designed
0:18:40 > 0:18:43the local police station but also his own home.
0:18:44 > 0:18:47It's mock Tudor on the outside
0:18:47 > 0:18:51but inside, the design is instantly recognisable.
0:18:52 > 0:18:55I'm standing in the space of this amazing fireplace which,
0:18:55 > 0:18:57of course, has so many parallels with Sandford.
0:18:57 > 0:18:59It's exciting to be here
0:18:59 > 0:19:01because this is a house that Baillie Scott designed for himself,
0:19:01 > 0:19:04and that always tells you a lot about an architect.
0:19:04 > 0:19:06They get to experiment and try out the things that
0:19:06 > 0:19:09perhaps clients haven't let them experiment with yet.
0:19:09 > 0:19:12And, most importantly for me and most interestingly,
0:19:12 > 0:19:16this lovely window, this kind of concealed window that just
0:19:16 > 0:19:19allows indirect light into the fireplace.
0:19:19 > 0:19:23Kieran finally had some answers and a link to Sandford.
0:19:23 > 0:19:26The layout of the inglenook fireplace was almost identical
0:19:26 > 0:19:29to the one in Ralph and Evelyn's living room, where the
0:19:29 > 0:19:33concealed window had been replaced by a hotel extractor fan.
0:19:34 > 0:19:37- Hello, Evelyn, how are you? - Fine, how are you?
0:19:37 > 0:19:39- Really good, lovely to see you. - Nice to see you.
0:19:39 > 0:19:43Two years and nearly £300,000 after Evelyn and Ralph bought
0:19:43 > 0:19:47Sandford House, I went to see how the restoration had turned out.
0:19:50 > 0:19:53The house had come a long way from its time as a hotel.
0:19:54 > 0:19:59In recent years the essence of what made this meticulously designed
0:19:59 > 0:20:04family home magical had long been ripped apart and forgotten.
0:20:19 > 0:20:23'What used to be the hotel bar is now their sitting room.'
0:20:23 > 0:20:26Oh, it's just lovely!
0:20:27 > 0:20:30What's immediately apparent now is how well it flows,
0:20:30 > 0:20:34- how you are drawn into this space here.- That's right.
0:20:34 > 0:20:37And you've got the full use of this and then you can carry on...
0:20:37 > 0:20:39- You can carry on down. - ..up or down.
0:20:39 > 0:20:41- Yes, that's right.- This is how people want to live now.
0:20:41 > 0:20:43Yes, oh, that's it.
0:20:43 > 0:20:47'In the inglenook fireplace, the extractor fan had been removed
0:20:47 > 0:20:52'and Baillie Scott's signature window put in its place.
0:20:52 > 0:20:55'The old restaurant was unrecognisable.'
0:20:55 > 0:20:56Very, very nice.
0:20:58 > 0:21:00'It's now Evelyn and Ralph's kitchen,
0:21:00 > 0:21:05'flooded with light. The leaded windows perfectly frame
0:21:05 > 0:21:08'the spectacular landscape beyond.'
0:21:10 > 0:21:14It's a fantastically light and actually kind of effortlessly
0:21:14 > 0:21:16glamorous kitchen, isn't it?
0:21:17 > 0:21:19- What have we got here? Bread? - Oh!
0:21:19 > 0:21:22Oh, they're delightful, oh, they're lovely.
0:21:22 > 0:21:25So really, you're bringing your own Arts and Crafts into the modern...
0:21:25 > 0:21:28- Yes, I think so. - ..parts of the house.
0:21:28 > 0:21:31It's these details that make the difference, isn't it?
0:21:31 > 0:21:32Yes, yes, definitely.
0:21:35 > 0:21:37'But there was still work to do.
0:21:37 > 0:21:41'The sunken lounge and the upstairs bedrooms and bathrooms weren't
0:21:41 > 0:21:45'finished, and they hadn't even started on the holiday cottages.'
0:21:54 > 0:21:58It's now 12 months later, and Kieran's on his way back
0:21:58 > 0:22:03to Sandford House to see if Ralph and Evelyn have finally finished their restoration.
0:22:06 > 0:22:10But first, he's visiting one of the talented craftswomen whose
0:22:10 > 0:22:14work was so important in that restoration.
0:22:14 > 0:22:17Liz Rowley did all the leaded windows at Sandford
0:22:17 > 0:22:20and is a stained glass expert.
0:22:20 > 0:22:23I think the important thing about Sandford was
0:22:23 > 0:22:26remembering that it was an Arts and Crafts house, and that the lead
0:22:26 > 0:22:30work in the windows was a very important, integral part of the
0:22:30 > 0:22:34architecture, and I'm really pleased that they made the decision to do
0:22:34 > 0:22:37proper lead work and not to go down the avenue of double glazed units.
0:22:37 > 0:22:39Yeah, yeah, they may have been a bit warmer,
0:22:39 > 0:22:42but they would have been spiritually weaker.
0:22:42 > 0:22:43That's right, that's right.
0:22:45 > 0:22:48Liz has finished her work at Sandford House now, and with
0:22:48 > 0:22:51her colleague, Gavin, is restoring some stained glass windows
0:22:51 > 0:22:54from an Edwardian hotel.
0:22:54 > 0:22:57This area round the side here is generally called
0:22:57 > 0:23:00the sacrificial edge, and it's there so that
0:23:00 > 0:23:05when a panel is removed, there is an edge that can be replaced
0:23:05 > 0:23:08if any damage happens when you're chiselling it out from the putty.
0:23:08 > 0:23:10But you also notice that they're actually
0:23:10 > 0:23:12constructed in a sort of brickwork pattern, which is
0:23:12 > 0:23:15really important for the structure of the window.
0:23:15 > 0:23:19The strength of that stops the lead wanting to fold at that point.
0:23:19 > 0:23:22Ah-ha, and what about these ones with this kind of very intense
0:23:22 > 0:23:25- texture, these circular ones? - Yes, these lovely round ones.
0:23:25 > 0:23:28These are hand-spun roundels, and they're made just the same
0:23:28 > 0:23:31way as a wine glass foot, and you could imagine that this is
0:23:31 > 0:23:34the foot of the wine glass and this would be the stem sticking
0:23:34 > 0:23:39out here, and they just cut the stem off and leave it as a roundel.
0:23:39 > 0:23:44In restoration, some windows just need cleaning, but more often
0:23:44 > 0:23:47than not they need more radical surgery.
0:23:47 > 0:23:51Sometimes, we do have to completely relead the window, because the lead
0:23:51 > 0:23:55has got brittle and old, and it's not doing its supporting any more
0:23:55 > 0:24:00of the glass, and so if we're going to do that we have to start off by
0:24:00 > 0:24:05making a pattern from this window, and we do that by making a rubbing.
0:24:05 > 0:24:07I'm going to put the white paper over the surface,
0:24:07 > 0:24:12and then if I rub like this with the side of my crayon...
0:24:12 > 0:24:15And then these are the leads coming through.
0:24:15 > 0:24:18..I start to get the line of the lead pattern.
0:24:18 > 0:24:20- So you make a full-size copy... - We do.
0:24:20 > 0:24:22..like a photocopy but by hand.
0:24:22 > 0:24:25Yeah, because we've then got to take the whole thing apart,
0:24:25 > 0:24:26and if we took it apart without a pattern
0:24:26 > 0:24:29we would be like a jigsaw without the box lid!
0:24:29 > 0:24:31- You know, it would be a disaster, really.- Yes, right.
0:24:31 > 0:24:35So use the side, and rub over the surface.
0:24:35 > 0:24:36Look at that.
0:24:36 > 0:24:40- So here you really see this organic pattern coming through.- Yes.
0:24:40 > 0:24:42Look at that!
0:24:42 > 0:24:45It's almost like looking at a fossil of a window or
0:24:45 > 0:24:47- something like that, isn't it? - Yes, that's right.
0:24:47 > 0:24:49It's fantastic. It's really good fun!
0:24:50 > 0:24:54So, once you've completed the rubbing of the window,
0:24:54 > 0:24:56what's the next stage of restoration?
0:24:56 > 0:25:00We would then take the window apart in a very painstaking way,
0:25:00 > 0:25:03cutting the leads away from the glass, and then we would clean the
0:25:03 > 0:25:08glass and lay the whole window out as a jigsaw puzzle on a big board.
0:25:08 > 0:25:10It looks, to me, so delicate.
0:25:10 > 0:25:13I mean, might you break a piece of historic glass or
0:25:13 > 0:25:15- something like that?- Well, you might, and that does happen.
0:25:15 > 0:25:18You know, it does sometimes happen, but you're very,
0:25:18 > 0:25:20very careful about how you're doing it.
0:25:20 > 0:25:23We also have snips, which are really good,
0:25:23 > 0:25:27which can snip through the lead very easily, and you can see
0:25:27 > 0:25:33that the lead is like a letter H on its side, and then the glass
0:25:33 > 0:25:37slots into those two grooves, and then putty rubbed into this
0:25:37 > 0:25:40bit here is very important as well, or else you will have leaky windows.
0:25:43 > 0:25:46What were the things that motivated you to get into glass?
0:25:46 > 0:25:49What do you enjoy about it so much?
0:25:49 > 0:25:53Well, I think the material is a most beautiful thing in itself,
0:25:53 > 0:25:56and to be able to use the material to actually express yourself
0:25:56 > 0:25:58is quite a special thing, I think, too.
0:26:02 > 0:26:05Three years ago, Ralph and Evelyn began one of the biggest
0:26:05 > 0:26:08restorations we've seen on this series.
0:26:08 > 0:26:11Today, Sandford House has been saved by their efforts.
0:26:13 > 0:26:17But the house wasn't finished on our last visit, so one year on,
0:26:17 > 0:26:20Kieran's come back to see what progress they've made.
0:26:20 > 0:26:22- Hi!- Oh! How are you?
0:26:22 > 0:26:24Hi, Evelyn. Nice to see you, I'm really well.
0:26:24 > 0:26:26- Hello, Ralph.- Good to see you. - Come on in.
0:26:26 > 0:26:28Thank you. It's looking great.
0:26:30 > 0:26:34The largest and most impressive room at Sandford is the sunken lounge.
0:26:34 > 0:26:38It had proved to be one of the hardest areas to restore,
0:26:38 > 0:26:42with its decaying windows, damp walls and problems with the plaster.
0:26:53 > 0:26:57- Well. Well, it's done. It's amazing. - Yeah, yes.
0:26:57 > 0:26:59No, it's an absolutely beautiful space,
0:26:59 > 0:27:02and you haven't done too much, you haven't filled it with too much.
0:27:02 > 0:27:05No, no. I mean, we wanted to still try and keep it
0:27:05 > 0:27:07fairly, you know, open.
0:27:07 > 0:27:10We don't want to crowd it with lots of different types of furniture
0:27:10 > 0:27:12- and so on.- And yet cosy. - Cosy, yeah.
0:27:17 > 0:27:21And how do you use this room? Because it's a big space, isn't it?
0:27:21 > 0:27:23Well, we'd a party a couple of months ago.
0:27:23 > 0:27:25- We had 90-odd people here. - Yes, yes.
0:27:25 > 0:27:27Really good, for your 50th and my 60th, it was excellent.
0:27:27 > 0:27:30This is a real party room, I can imagine.
0:27:30 > 0:27:32- Yes, it was good.- It has kind of like a banqueting hall feel.
0:27:32 > 0:27:35We had people down here and people up there watching what was going on.
0:27:35 > 0:27:37We had a band in the window there.
0:27:37 > 0:27:40The whole house was just full of people having a great time, and it was brilliant.
0:27:40 > 0:27:42It sort of warmed up and woke up, you know,
0:27:42 > 0:27:46- after years of slumber, as it were. - Yes.- It was good.
0:27:47 > 0:27:50The history of the building has always been an important part
0:27:50 > 0:27:53of the restoration for Ralph and Evelyn.
0:27:53 > 0:27:55Evelyn framed those.
0:27:55 > 0:27:59Yeah, these are some old photographs that we got from various sources.
0:27:59 > 0:28:00These are fantastic!
0:28:00 > 0:28:01They're quite good
0:28:01 > 0:28:04cos it's a good history of the house when it was thatched.
0:28:04 > 0:28:05It's so nice to have them,
0:28:05 > 0:28:08but why is it important to you to have this on the wall?
0:28:08 > 0:28:11I just wanted to make a sort of story of, you know,
0:28:11 > 0:28:14of the history of it, really.
0:28:14 > 0:28:18The biggest changes at Sandford House, one year on, are upstairs.
0:28:19 > 0:28:23When we last visited, the bedrooms were still unmade and the
0:28:23 > 0:28:26bathrooms just a dream.
0:28:26 > 0:28:29Now Evelyn is keen to show Kieran what they've done.
0:28:36 > 0:28:39Well, this is great! Isn't it great?
0:28:39 > 0:28:42- It's finished at last.- Yeah. - It's a lovely room.
0:28:43 > 0:28:46How does it feel to have your own bedroom finished?
0:28:46 > 0:28:47Oh, it's just fantastic.
0:28:47 > 0:28:49I mean, it's so nice to have a lovely big space.
0:28:51 > 0:28:54So, tell me which pieces you've added to this space that you're
0:28:54 > 0:28:55really happy with.
0:28:55 > 0:28:59The wardrobe is the main thing which really is Arts and Crafts style.
0:28:59 > 0:29:01These pieces of furniture,
0:29:01 > 0:29:03I mean, they really do feel at home here, don't they?
0:29:03 > 0:29:04Yeah, it just fits in there.
0:29:04 > 0:29:07It's lovely and it's just the right size and style,
0:29:07 > 0:29:10and the thing I really like, more than anything, is the stained glass.
0:29:10 > 0:29:13- I really love that turquoisey colour.- This is fantastic, isn't it?
0:29:13 > 0:29:14It's lovely.
0:29:14 > 0:29:18They've also finished the main bedroom's en suite bathroom,
0:29:18 > 0:29:20and there's a guest room down the corridor.
0:29:23 > 0:29:27For Evelyn and Ralph, it's been a long and expensive journey.
0:29:27 > 0:29:33So far they've spent three years and over £300,000 on this restoration.
0:29:37 > 0:29:42But they have saved Sandford House and restored it to its former glory.
0:29:45 > 0:29:48I was always told by all the professionals before we started,
0:29:48 > 0:29:51we'd never ever make our money back.
0:29:51 > 0:29:53It'd be far cheaper buying a bit of ground and building
0:29:53 > 0:29:58a beautiful house, but this was a challenge, and I was up for that.
0:30:03 > 0:30:05But will their restoration pass inspection
0:30:05 > 0:30:08from the Valentine family?
0:30:08 > 0:30:12Morag Henderson, the granddaughter of the original owner,
0:30:12 > 0:30:14has come to visit.
0:30:14 > 0:30:15It feels lovely to be back.
0:30:15 > 0:30:17It's quite a long time since I was last here
0:30:17 > 0:30:21and it looks amazingly improved.
0:30:22 > 0:30:26She was just a child when her grandfather, Harben Valentine,
0:30:26 > 0:30:27lived here.
0:30:30 > 0:30:32- Look at this! Hello! - It's lovely to meet you!
0:30:32 > 0:30:35- You too.- Yes. - This is a wonderful room.
0:30:35 > 0:30:37- Oh, yes, it is, yes. - Wonderful light and airy room.
0:30:37 > 0:30:40I had a slight trepidation about somebody from the Valentine family
0:30:40 > 0:30:43coming back and seeing the house, in case they...
0:30:43 > 0:30:46You know, it would be terrible if they disapproved
0:30:46 > 0:30:47of what we had actually done.
0:30:47 > 0:30:51It just shows that everybody nowadays lives in their kitchen,
0:30:51 > 0:30:54don't they? Whereas in my grandparents' time
0:30:54 > 0:31:00they would have...seen the cook once a morning, I suppose.
0:31:00 > 0:31:03It's really good to have Morag visit, because she obviously,
0:31:03 > 0:31:06you know, knows so much about the Valentine family and the house.
0:31:06 > 0:31:10This is probably my grandparents' bedroom.
0:31:10 > 0:31:13'You know, I hope in the future we can keep in touch with her.'
0:31:13 > 0:31:15I mean, my father might have been born in this room.
0:31:15 > 0:31:17You know, I just don't know.
0:31:19 > 0:31:23This is very much my grandfather's smoking room.
0:31:23 > 0:31:28This is where he would come, either with other men, or by himself
0:31:28 > 0:31:32when he wanted to smoke, and I don't think my grandmother wanted
0:31:32 > 0:31:34to have all that much to do with it.
0:31:37 > 0:31:39It would have been a cosy place to be.
0:31:42 > 0:31:44I'm delighted to be here.
0:31:44 > 0:31:47It really does feel, you know, like a home again.
0:31:47 > 0:31:49I think it's wonderful.
0:31:54 > 0:31:55I think that's the steps down to...
0:31:55 > 0:32:00Morag has brought along a link with the past, the family photo album.
0:32:00 > 0:32:03There's what we called the smoking room, which is
0:32:03 > 0:32:06now your lovely new, light room and, as you can see,
0:32:06 > 0:32:09- it's slightly masculine but dark. - Yes, very dark.
0:32:09 > 0:32:12But it was fashionable to be dark then, wasn't it?
0:32:12 > 0:32:13And there again is the well.
0:32:13 > 0:32:16Yes, it's the courtyard with the well. That's amazing!
0:32:19 > 0:32:23That's really interesting. It's great to see these.
0:32:23 > 0:32:26Most of the photographs I haven't actually seen before.
0:32:26 > 0:32:29They're just lovely and they're just really interesting to look at,
0:32:29 > 0:32:32because you can really see the way the house was originally designed
0:32:32 > 0:32:33and built.
0:32:33 > 0:32:37Oh, look, you can see what they've done there with the sort of cobbles.
0:32:37 > 0:32:40'She gave us a bit of an insight, I suppose, into what they were'
0:32:40 > 0:32:43like as a family, you could imagine them living here as a family
0:32:43 > 0:32:47just because of some of the things that, you know, she's talked about.
0:32:47 > 0:32:51It looks jolly comfy, doesn't it, and warm?
0:32:51 > 0:32:54I just hope it's going to be a family home for many,
0:32:54 > 0:32:56many years now.
0:32:56 > 0:32:59It deserves it, doesn't it? To be restored and kept.
0:33:02 > 0:33:05The restoration isn't finished yet, though.
0:33:05 > 0:33:08There's still the holiday cottages and gardens to do.
0:33:10 > 0:33:13But the main house has been brought back to life.
0:33:13 > 0:33:18It's full of beautiful Arts and Crafts furniture and details.
0:33:22 > 0:33:26...and you can't help thinking that Harben Valentine and Baillie Scott
0:33:26 > 0:33:28would instantly feel at home here.
0:33:30 > 0:33:32- Definitely home. - Yeah, no, definitely it's a home.
0:33:32 > 0:33:34Yeah, definitely.
0:33:34 > 0:33:37You can't sort of imagine living anywhere else now, really, can you?
0:33:39 > 0:33:41Oh, I don't know.
0:33:41 > 0:33:43What do you mean?!
0:33:44 > 0:33:47If someone wants to offer me Buckingham Palace!
0:33:54 > 0:33:58400 miles away in the village of Southam, Warwickshire,
0:33:58 > 0:33:59is number one, Abbey Lane.
0:34:03 > 0:34:07This house was almost a ruin when we first saw it two years ago.
0:34:08 > 0:34:11For decades it seems to have passed under the radar.
0:34:11 > 0:34:14Even though it's thought to date from Tudor times, it had
0:34:14 > 0:34:17never been given formal protection as a listed building.
0:34:20 > 0:34:21It was in a terrible state.
0:34:23 > 0:34:25The last owner had lived here for over 50 years,
0:34:25 > 0:34:28and when it was put on the market, it was clear to anyone
0:34:28 > 0:34:31who looked that it needed a lot of work.
0:34:35 > 0:34:38But locals Sally and Stuart Forgan took up the challenge and paid
0:34:38 > 0:34:42£330,000 for the house.
0:34:42 > 0:34:43It's a house that we knew.
0:34:43 > 0:34:45We lived locally, so we've walked past it.
0:34:45 > 0:34:48So we came and had a look and just really loved it.
0:34:48 > 0:34:51From the first day that we walked into the building,
0:34:51 > 0:34:52we really fell in love with it.
0:34:52 > 0:34:56It's really become a sort of passion of ours to bring it back to life.
0:34:56 > 0:34:59We've never done anything like this before, never, and, you know,
0:34:59 > 0:35:01I think we know that we're quite mad,
0:35:01 > 0:35:05because we didn't really think it through before we bought it.
0:35:05 > 0:35:10They've budgeted just £150,000 to spend on the restoration.
0:35:13 > 0:35:18Whilst it was ongoing, they stayed in their original house.
0:35:18 > 0:35:23Two mortgages meant a tight schedule, both time and money.
0:35:23 > 0:35:26On top of that, Sally was expecting their second child.
0:35:32 > 0:35:35Work started in New Year, 2011.
0:35:37 > 0:35:39This is day one, six months after buying it.
0:35:39 > 0:35:41Day one is finally here.
0:35:41 > 0:35:43Yeah, so the scaffolding goes up today.
0:35:43 > 0:35:49The scaffolding's up for 16 weeks, so that's how long they've got.
0:35:49 > 0:35:51As long as we can stick to the 16 weeks, that will mean that
0:35:51 > 0:35:55everything else can hopefully stick to the schedule and the plumbing
0:35:55 > 0:35:59and the lighting and the electrics and everything can go in on time.
0:35:59 > 0:36:02So yes, that's the plan.
0:36:02 > 0:36:06The first job was to chip away all the render and bricks that
0:36:06 > 0:36:08weren't part of the original house.
0:36:08 > 0:36:12Builder Pete Ward couldn't believe what he'd found.
0:36:12 > 0:36:17We just started to pull this off, and you can see that the
0:36:17 > 0:36:22timber underneath is just completely rotten.
0:36:22 > 0:36:26This is the sort of thing that makes me cry.
0:36:29 > 0:36:36Modern builders putting cement...
0:36:36 > 0:36:40over timber and brick,
0:36:40 > 0:36:43and the reason the brick here is disintegrating is
0:36:43 > 0:36:47because the cement is stopping the brick from breathing.
0:36:47 > 0:36:51Under here you can see it's absolutely sopping wet.
0:36:54 > 0:36:57As the render and bricks were pulled away, the ancient timber
0:36:57 > 0:36:59frame of the house was exposed.
0:37:02 > 0:37:05Architectural expert Kieran Long wanted to find out what the
0:37:05 > 0:37:09building itself could tell him about its history and when it might
0:37:09 > 0:37:11have been built.
0:37:11 > 0:37:14It's just so amazing to see it all like a skeleton there,
0:37:14 > 0:37:16kind of completely stripped back.
0:37:19 > 0:37:23The timber frame is a simple design, rather like series of goal posts
0:37:23 > 0:37:26standing parallel to each other and joined by beams.
0:37:28 > 0:37:31The problem with having sets of goalposts,
0:37:31 > 0:37:33if you imagine that they want to fall that way.
0:37:33 > 0:37:36They don't have much stiffness in that direction, so you need to brace
0:37:36 > 0:37:39them diagonally, and the interesting thing about this is that you see
0:37:39 > 0:37:43lots and lots of office buildings today, for instance, skyscrapers,
0:37:43 > 0:37:46built with cross-bracing and it's exactly the same principle.
0:37:47 > 0:37:52And down in the cellar, there were clues that Abbey Lane may not
0:37:52 > 0:37:54always have been just a house.
0:37:54 > 0:37:57You can see that there's some decent quality stone here,
0:37:57 > 0:38:01and another thing that has caught my eye is this floor,
0:38:01 > 0:38:05because it's brick, very functional, which suggests maybe there was some
0:38:05 > 0:38:10kind of use, you know, they wear well, but it's really nicely done.
0:38:10 > 0:38:14There's a kind of herringbone pattern here, going round a corner.
0:38:14 > 0:38:16To me this cellar gives me
0:38:16 > 0:38:20a clue that this building was used for work.
0:38:20 > 0:38:24Historian Dr Kate Williams would try and track down what kind of
0:38:24 > 0:38:27work had taken place here and who the previous occupants were.
0:38:29 > 0:38:33She started her investigation at the Cardall Collection, a local
0:38:33 > 0:38:36history archive in Southam.
0:38:36 > 0:38:40Chairman Bernard Cadogan had some old pictures of Abbey Lane.
0:38:40 > 0:38:43One of the most fascinating ones, I think, is this
0:38:43 > 0:38:46one of the chappie on horseback, but you can see he's standing on the
0:38:46 > 0:38:52green in front of the house, and at this time the house is all rendered.
0:38:52 > 0:38:55- It's probably about 1920s, isn't it? - Yes, it probably...
0:38:55 > 0:38:58Judging from his kind of hairstyle and shoes.
0:38:58 > 0:39:02And then we've got another one over here, where we've got again it's...
0:39:02 > 0:39:03Rendered again.
0:39:03 > 0:39:07..rendered, and it's white, but you see what looks like the pump
0:39:07 > 0:39:11in front on the green there and a little lamp, a gas lamp probably.
0:39:13 > 0:39:16So the house had been rendered over 100 years ago,
0:39:16 > 0:39:20and it was that which had caused many of its problems.
0:39:24 > 0:39:28As the work continued at Abbey Lane, it soon became clear that the
0:39:28 > 0:39:31restoration was going to take a lot longer than Sally and Stuart
0:39:31 > 0:39:33had allowed for.
0:39:35 > 0:39:38One thing, though, did remain on schedule -
0:39:38 > 0:39:40the birth of Florence Ila Forgan.
0:39:40 > 0:39:44So relieved that she's finally here. The last few weeks really dragged.
0:39:44 > 0:39:46We didn't know if we were having a boy or a girl,
0:39:46 > 0:39:50so it was a nice surprise, another little girl.
0:39:50 > 0:39:52But, yeah, really glad it's over!
0:39:56 > 0:40:00Four months into the restoration, I made my first visit to Abbey Lane.
0:40:00 > 0:40:03In the original plan, the scaffolding was meant to have
0:40:03 > 0:40:05come down by now.
0:40:05 > 0:40:07They were nowhere near that point yet.
0:40:08 > 0:40:10What do you love about the house?
0:40:10 > 0:40:13I think that, you know, the history of the house, the history in here,
0:40:13 > 0:40:19the sense of history and the wood, you know, this amazing timber here.
0:40:19 > 0:40:24- It's very beautiful, isn't it? All wonky.- Very wonky.
0:40:24 > 0:40:26- Just holding up the house.- Yeah.
0:40:26 > 0:40:28So this one here is a structural beam,
0:40:28 > 0:40:31but it appears to be just sitting on, what, a cobweb, actually!
0:40:31 > 0:40:34A cobweb and a tiny bit of rubble here.
0:40:34 > 0:40:36Yeah, there's not a lot. I wouldn't push too much away.
0:40:36 > 0:40:41- No. Do you think that might just collapse?- It might do.
0:40:41 > 0:40:45'In fact, the house's main timber frame was in a terrible state.
0:40:45 > 0:40:49'About half the rear frame needed to be rebuilt.
0:40:49 > 0:40:53'It was a massive job that needed a specialist craftsman, framing
0:40:53 > 0:40:56'carpenter Brendan White.
0:40:56 > 0:40:59'Brendan had worked on timber framed buildings for nearly 30 years,
0:40:59 > 0:41:03'often with English Heritage.'
0:41:03 > 0:41:06You've got to prepare yourself, and look around the actual job
0:41:06 > 0:41:10and see where it's the most unsafe and go for that one first.
0:41:10 > 0:41:14You've got to take a little bit out and put a little bit back in.
0:41:14 > 0:41:17Over half the building's surviving timbers were beyond repair,
0:41:17 > 0:41:19and had to be completely replaced.
0:41:19 > 0:41:24Others were partly rotted just at the ends or on the surface.
0:41:24 > 0:41:27I'll only put the new stuff in where I've got no choice to.
0:41:27 > 0:41:30Strength-wise, we're going to face a lot of the timbers.
0:41:30 > 0:41:33These posts will have to stay. We'll face them where we need to.
0:41:33 > 0:41:37The horizontals and verticals, where they're too decayed,
0:41:37 > 0:41:41we will replace them completely, put splice in where we have to.
0:41:41 > 0:41:43I've worked on a lot worse.
0:41:43 > 0:41:47I mean, this now is not as bad as the front, but it looks bad.
0:41:48 > 0:41:51It took Brendan and another carpenter more than four weeks
0:41:51 > 0:41:54to do the repairs to the front.
0:41:54 > 0:41:57Wherever possible, they used traditional methods like wooden
0:41:57 > 0:42:01pegs to hold the joints together, so that the new matched the old.
0:42:04 > 0:42:08Sally and Stuart were determined to restore the house as
0:42:08 > 0:42:09sympathetically as possible.
0:42:13 > 0:42:16The infill panels between the timbers were originally
0:42:16 > 0:42:19wattle and daub, made of sticks, mud and plaster.
0:42:20 > 0:42:24But here, the craftsmen filled them with a mixture of traditional
0:42:24 > 0:42:26and modern materials.
0:42:26 > 0:42:29Adam Williams used a hi tech fibre board.
0:42:31 > 0:42:33It's called Heracliff boarding,
0:42:33 > 0:42:36and it's basically a breathable material.
0:42:36 > 0:42:40They waterproofed the boarding in the old-fashioned way.
0:42:42 > 0:42:45This stuff, it's called caulking.
0:42:45 > 0:42:50It's made of hair and it's got a type of grease, oil.
0:42:50 > 0:42:52We use this stuff, well, because, basically, it was
0:42:52 > 0:42:57used in the ancient years when the houses were first erected.
0:42:57 > 0:43:01On the inside, they added a layer of insulation made from sheep's
0:43:01 > 0:43:04wool, and then modern plasterboard.
0:43:04 > 0:43:08On the outside, they used lime plaster which, unlike modern
0:43:08 > 0:43:10plaster, allows the building to breathe.
0:43:12 > 0:43:14It's a part of heritage, isn't it?
0:43:14 > 0:43:18It's how the old boys used to do it.
0:43:18 > 0:43:21But five months into the restoration, Sally and Stuart
0:43:21 > 0:43:24had to face some difficult decisions.
0:43:24 > 0:43:29They had allowed £150,000 for the whole project, but they'd now
0:43:29 > 0:43:33realised that to finish it was going to cost a whole lot more.
0:43:34 > 0:43:36At the beginning of the week,
0:43:36 > 0:43:40we had a list of jobs and prices for the remainder of the work that was
0:43:40 > 0:43:43more than the original budget, which obviously is a bit of a problem!
0:43:43 > 0:43:47That would mean it was going to be twice your initial budget, presumably?
0:43:47 > 0:43:49Yes, and the house isn't worth the money that we're
0:43:49 > 0:43:52spending on it, and we haven't got any more money anyway.
0:43:57 > 0:44:01With only a limited budget, Sally and Stuart had a tough decision.
0:44:01 > 0:44:03You know, we love it and we want to finish it,
0:44:03 > 0:44:08but sometimes it just feels like too much of a problem.
0:44:08 > 0:44:11It's just, like, why did we ever start it?
0:44:11 > 0:44:14Why didn't we just buy a little tiny house somewhere?
0:44:14 > 0:44:15And why didn't you?
0:44:15 > 0:44:17Because we loved it, really.
0:44:17 > 0:44:20That's the only reason, because we came in
0:44:20 > 0:44:24and it felt like somewhere we could make a really nice home.
0:44:27 > 0:44:30With only a limited budget, Sally and Stuart had to take a
0:44:30 > 0:44:33tough decision.
0:44:33 > 0:44:36They stopped the work.
0:44:36 > 0:44:39We always knew that, you know, this kind of job is a bit unpredictable,
0:44:39 > 0:44:41and we know that there have been things that have cost more
0:44:41 > 0:44:46money and taken longer, and we have agreed to those things happening
0:44:46 > 0:44:50and, you know, slightly do things differently than the original plan.
0:44:50 > 0:44:53But there has always been a finite amount of money,
0:44:53 > 0:44:56which we've been quite open about.
0:44:56 > 0:44:59It's just really frustrating, because, you know, the guys were
0:44:59 > 0:45:04doing a great job, we were happy with the work, it's really exciting.
0:45:04 > 0:45:07It's getting to the stage now where everything's coming together,
0:45:07 > 0:45:10so to stop now is just really frustrating.
0:45:15 > 0:45:18In her research on the history of the house, though, Kate had
0:45:18 > 0:45:20made a breakthrough.
0:45:20 > 0:45:23In the county archive in Warwick, she was trying to find out
0:45:23 > 0:45:28more about the story of Abbey Lane by researching previous owners,
0:45:28 > 0:45:33and she found one who could unlock the secrets of the house's cellar.
0:45:33 > 0:45:35So what I've got, first of all,
0:45:35 > 0:45:38is the Registers of Marriage for the parish at the time,
0:45:38 > 0:45:42and we've got here, in 1791, the marriage of Thomas Wood.
0:45:42 > 0:45:46So it's Thomas Wood, tanner, of Southam, marrying Mary Miffe
0:45:46 > 0:45:48but that's most fascinating cos he's a tanner.
0:45:48 > 0:45:51Here's his life, here's his occupation.
0:45:51 > 0:45:55If Thomas Wood was a tanner, what did that mean for Abbey Lane?
0:45:55 > 0:45:59So what I've got here is the will of Thomas Wood's father,
0:45:59 > 0:46:05John Wood, in 1781, and here we are, with Thomas Wood being left
0:46:05 > 0:46:08Abbey Lane, and it says here that, "I'm going to leave it to my son,
0:46:08 > 0:46:12"together with the yard garden, the backside buildings, the vats,
0:46:12 > 0:46:16"kilns, fixtures and appurtenances belonging to the house."
0:46:16 > 0:46:19So, you know, this isn't just an ordinary family house,
0:46:19 > 0:46:23it actually is a place where work was carried on.
0:46:23 > 0:46:24This most likely is a tannery.
0:46:26 > 0:46:28Kieran's hunch had been right.
0:46:28 > 0:46:31The cellar had been used for work.
0:46:31 > 0:46:35There's no evidence of a tannery left at the house now, but
0:46:35 > 0:46:37there was a welcome sight.
0:46:38 > 0:46:41Builders back at work.
0:46:41 > 0:46:44After six weeks of down time, Sally and Stuart had decided that
0:46:44 > 0:46:48by taking charge of the restoration themselves, they could
0:46:48 > 0:46:51continue with the work in a more cost-effective way.
0:46:51 > 0:46:54We've really taken back the project, so we're managing it
0:46:54 > 0:46:59ourselves now, which is a bit daunting but loads less stressful.
0:46:59 > 0:47:02We know exactly what we're spending. We know where it's going.
0:47:02 > 0:47:05We know what things are costing, and it feels a lot better.
0:47:05 > 0:47:08But it's really good to see something happening,
0:47:08 > 0:47:10people back here.
0:47:10 > 0:47:13Brendan, who's the timber framer, he said he'd come back,
0:47:13 > 0:47:16and he's brought some people in to work with him, which is
0:47:16 > 0:47:19brilliant, so he obviously knows the building really well
0:47:19 > 0:47:22and, you know, he's just getting on with things.
0:47:22 > 0:47:24At the end of the day, I've started the contract
0:47:24 > 0:47:27and I want to finish it. The client's happy with me being here.
0:47:27 > 0:47:30The work's great, I can get on with it,
0:47:30 > 0:47:34get a few more people involved and we'll go from there.
0:47:34 > 0:47:39Inside, Brendan had just one last structural beam to put in,
0:47:39 > 0:47:43half a ton of solid oak to support the lounge ceiling.
0:47:43 > 0:47:45If it was slipping as we were trying to get it in, it would
0:47:45 > 0:47:47obviously do a lot of damage to us
0:47:47 > 0:47:51and it might take this side of the wall out and pull the house out.
0:47:51 > 0:47:54All right, push it over, kid!
0:47:54 > 0:47:56It's not all touching all over.
0:47:56 > 0:47:59You see the joint, the half lap, I want it touching top
0:47:59 > 0:48:02and bottom, so I have to saw a cut at the bottom,
0:48:02 > 0:48:05saw a cut at the top, and then tap it up so it touches everywhere.
0:48:07 > 0:48:09I'm not going to cut them, like.
0:48:13 > 0:48:16That's it, it's in! This is the turning point now.
0:48:16 > 0:48:19That's all the structural work done.
0:48:21 > 0:48:24But there was still a very long way to go.
0:48:24 > 0:48:25When I made my second visit,
0:48:25 > 0:48:3011 months into the build, Brendan was still working on the roof.
0:48:30 > 0:48:32He felt their new schedule was optimistic.
0:48:32 > 0:48:35- They want to move in for Christmas, but...- I know.
0:48:35 > 0:48:37..I'm saying nothing!
0:48:37 > 0:48:39What do you think, really? Realistically.
0:48:39 > 0:48:41Realistically, no.
0:48:41 > 0:48:44I think they could be in for January, end of January.
0:48:44 > 0:48:46- Are you proud of what you've done here?- Yeah, I am, actually.
0:48:46 > 0:48:48- Yeah.- Yeah.
0:48:48 > 0:48:51You should be, because it's looking absolutely incredible.
0:48:51 > 0:48:54- I enjoy the building trade. I love building, yeah, so...- Do you?
0:48:54 > 0:48:57Yeah, from day one I was going to be a carpenter, since I was a kid.
0:48:57 > 0:48:59It's my dad's fault.
0:48:59 > 0:49:02He bought me a tool kit, a carpentry kit when I was about five.
0:49:02 > 0:49:04I think he did it because he wanted me
0:49:04 > 0:49:06to do all the jobs around the house, cos he's...
0:49:06 > 0:49:10I'm just thinking, I'm wondering if I can get my husband one
0:49:10 > 0:49:12- for his birthday! - That's it. Never too old.
0:49:12 > 0:49:15As the work headed towards completion, Kieran had been
0:49:15 > 0:49:20trying to find out exactly when Abbey Lane had been built.
0:49:20 > 0:49:23And the clues were in its timber frame.
0:49:25 > 0:49:29The style of timber frame houses changed over time.
0:49:29 > 0:49:33So comparing patterns can help establish a date.
0:49:35 > 0:49:39Abbey Lane had a distinct design, with upright supports called
0:49:39 > 0:49:44studs, arranged parallel downstairs, and a plain box pattern above.
0:49:46 > 0:49:5120 miles away, in Stratford upon Avon, Kieran had found a match.
0:49:51 > 0:49:57If he was right, then Abbey Lane could have a very famous relative
0:49:57 > 0:50:00because this is Hall's Croft, the one-time home of
0:50:00 > 0:50:03William Shakespeare's daughter, Suzanna.
0:50:03 > 0:50:07Although it's much grander and there are cosmetic differences,
0:50:07 > 0:50:09the general pattern is the same, isn't it?
0:50:09 > 0:50:12We have this stone foundation, this close studded lower storey,
0:50:12 > 0:50:16and then square pattern in the studs on the upper storey.
0:50:16 > 0:50:19Perhaps we can confidently now say that Abbey Lane can be
0:50:19 > 0:50:22dated from the first or second decades of the 17th century.
0:50:27 > 0:50:30400 years and four months later, Abbey Lane, with its Tudor
0:50:30 > 0:50:35timber frame, was finally finished, and Sally and Stuart had moved in.
0:50:43 > 0:50:46It looks incredible!
0:50:47 > 0:50:50It's a bit better than last time. People have been really positive
0:50:50 > 0:50:53and we even had a letter from the local civic forum or something,
0:50:53 > 0:50:57- saying what a great job we've done for the town, which was nice. - Oh, that's nice!
0:50:57 > 0:51:00- Really nice.- So the town is appreciative of your efforts.
0:51:00 > 0:51:02- Apparently so, yes. - Let's see if I am. Come on!
0:51:05 > 0:51:09When Stuart and Sally bought this house, it was in a terrible state.
0:51:09 > 0:51:12The 17th-century building was filled with 20th-century
0:51:12 > 0:51:15additions that were damaging it.
0:51:15 > 0:51:19Once stripped away, there was virtually nothing left, just
0:51:19 > 0:51:21a fragile skeleton.
0:51:21 > 0:51:24The living room on the ground floor had some of the most
0:51:24 > 0:51:26devastating problems.
0:51:26 > 0:51:30The wood had been suffocated by concrete, leaving the original
0:51:30 > 0:51:33timber frame in desperate need of help.
0:51:33 > 0:51:37The upstairs rooms were barely accessible then, rotten timbers
0:51:37 > 0:51:41outnumbering the good. They had come a long way in two years.
0:51:51 > 0:51:55This is awe-inspiring!
0:51:55 > 0:51:58It's brilliant, and it feels so open and...
0:51:58 > 0:52:01I mean, it was open the last time I was here, but it was open
0:52:01 > 0:52:05to the elements, and now it's become tranquil and beautiful, hasn't it?
0:52:05 > 0:52:08It feels really nice. It's a nice place to be.
0:52:11 > 0:52:14Sally and Stuart had done an amazing restoration.
0:52:16 > 0:52:19In the living room, the new beams are the backdrop to a modern
0:52:19 > 0:52:21family home.
0:52:23 > 0:52:26Ah, this is gorgeous, this room!
0:52:26 > 0:52:32And upstairs, there is a study, a bathroom and two beautiful bedrooms.
0:52:37 > 0:52:41- I love this, Stuart. - Yeah, we're pleased with that.
0:52:41 > 0:52:42Why did you leave that exposed?
0:52:42 > 0:52:45Well, we wanted to show some of the original fabric of the house.
0:52:45 > 0:52:47It's really wonderful, isn't it,
0:52:47 > 0:52:50because it is like a little window into history.
0:52:50 > 0:52:52If you and Sally hadn't come along,
0:52:52 > 0:52:57what would have happened to Abbey Lane?
0:52:57 > 0:52:59Well, it's difficult to say.
0:52:59 > 0:53:02I mean, had we not spent the time in taking it right the way
0:53:02 > 0:53:03back to the start, you know, I think
0:53:03 > 0:53:07the house would have just got into more and more problems.
0:53:07 > 0:53:10Yeah. It feels a happy place to be.
0:53:10 > 0:53:12It looks beautiful.
0:53:12 > 0:53:13Yeah, well, we're pleased.
0:53:18 > 0:53:21Now, 12 months later, we've come back to Abbey Lane to see how
0:53:21 > 0:53:23Sally and Stuart have got on.
0:53:23 > 0:53:24Really?
0:53:24 > 0:53:28They moved in over a year ago now, and have made a home for
0:53:28 > 0:53:29Scarlett and Florence.
0:53:33 > 0:53:35The house is almost finished, but not quite.
0:53:38 > 0:53:40The main change here is upstairs.
0:53:44 > 0:53:46He's four weeks old.
0:53:46 > 0:53:50Esther is their third child and, of course, she's slowed things down a
0:53:50 > 0:53:54bit, but the other reason Sally and Stuart haven't finished is money.
0:53:54 > 0:53:59They've spent 175,000 so far on this restoration,
0:53:59 > 0:54:02£25,000 more than they planned.
0:54:02 > 0:54:05If somebody sat you down when you bought a house like this
0:54:05 > 0:54:08and said, "This is what it's going to cost you
0:54:08 > 0:54:12"in there years you still won't have a kitchen," you wouldn't do it.
0:54:12 > 0:54:15Nobody would, because it doesn't make sense.
0:54:15 > 0:54:19But it's just as well you don't know exactly what's going to happen,
0:54:19 > 0:54:22because otherwise these houses would just all fall down because...
0:54:22 > 0:54:24it's crazy, really.
0:54:24 > 0:54:27You know, you've spent tens and tens of thousands of pounds
0:54:27 > 0:54:30and it's all gone in places where you can't necessarily see it,
0:54:30 > 0:54:32but, you know, do we regret spending that money?
0:54:32 > 0:54:34Well, no, because it's got us
0:54:34 > 0:54:37to a point where we have this lovely house.
0:54:41 > 0:54:43Many craftsmen worked on this restoration.
0:54:43 > 0:54:47There was one in particular who Sally and Stuart couldn't
0:54:47 > 0:54:48have done without.
0:54:48 > 0:54:51Brendan was really important because, I mean, he's been here from
0:54:51 > 0:54:54the beginning of the restoration on the frame anyway, so he knew
0:54:54 > 0:54:58the house, and he just was such a positive person to have around.
0:54:58 > 0:54:59He obviously loved his job.
0:54:59 > 0:55:01He's excellent at what he does,
0:55:01 > 0:55:04and, I mean, he's all over this house.
0:55:04 > 0:55:07- Stuart?- Hello, Brendan! - Hi!
0:55:09 > 0:55:13Brendan hasn't seen Abbey Lane finished and decorated, so
0:55:13 > 0:55:15today he's been invited for a visit.
0:55:15 > 0:55:18I think up here was my favourite part,
0:55:18 > 0:55:20- because this is the first part I finished.- Yeah, I think...
0:55:20 > 0:55:23- For the girls to move in. - So Florrie's in here.
0:55:23 > 0:55:24Look at the chimney!
0:55:29 > 0:55:30What a house!
0:55:33 > 0:55:37It's lovely to see it finished now and actually furnished and lived in.
0:55:37 > 0:55:39Lived in, well, it's definitely lived in!
0:55:39 > 0:55:41Huh, that's lovely!
0:55:45 > 0:55:47- This is the best room. - Some beautiful beams in here.
0:55:47 > 0:55:51So this ends up being the play room, and everybody-in-it room.
0:55:51 > 0:55:54I'm still dubious about the chimney you painted pink.
0:55:54 > 0:55:56Oh, apparently, I've got to paint
0:55:56 > 0:55:58the rest of the wall pink now, she says.
0:55:58 > 0:56:00- I remember you said that to me. - It could have been worse.
0:56:00 > 0:56:04Like, when you said to me, "I'm sorry, I've had to paint that pink", I went, "OK."
0:56:04 > 0:56:06- No, I think the whole wall... - I think it looks lovely.
0:56:06 > 0:56:09I think it sets it off as it is! I think it sets off the girl's room.
0:56:11 > 0:56:14This is the bit I remember most, when the roof was off and that
0:56:14 > 0:56:20looked like it wouldn't even survive and now I just love it up here.
0:56:20 > 0:56:23Yeah, we love it already. We loved it when we bought it.
0:56:26 > 0:56:28It feels lovely to be back, actually.
0:56:28 > 0:56:30It's a lovely house, but it needs to be a home,
0:56:30 > 0:56:31cos that's what it's all about.
0:56:31 > 0:56:34It's Sally and Stuart's house, really.
0:56:36 > 0:56:39Three years after they'd begun this ambitious project, Stuart and
0:56:39 > 0:56:44Sally are ready to begin the final push to finish Abbey Lane.
0:56:45 > 0:56:49The foundations have been laid for a rear extension, and they plan
0:56:49 > 0:56:52to start building their dream kitchen, a garage and a
0:56:52 > 0:56:54garden at the back soon.
0:56:55 > 0:56:57It's all quite exciting again, now it's got going again,
0:56:57 > 0:56:59because it means not only having a kitchen,
0:56:59 > 0:57:02but it also means that we can do the garden and we can, you know,
0:57:02 > 0:57:06fence it in, so the girls can be out there and it'll be much safer.
0:57:06 > 0:57:09I can't wait. Really excited!
0:57:12 > 0:57:16But for now, Sally and Stuart are encouraged by the letters of
0:57:16 > 0:57:19support from viewers, and praise from local groups.
0:57:21 > 0:57:24We had lots of visitors and lots of letters
0:57:24 > 0:57:27and then people in the town that have, you know, remembered
0:57:27 > 0:57:31when they were little and all sorts of things about coming to play
0:57:31 > 0:57:34in the fields where the flats are now, all sorts of things like that.
0:57:34 > 0:57:37The house, obviously, has been here forever,
0:57:37 > 0:57:39and nobody was noticing it before, so it's lovely that
0:57:39 > 0:57:44people are actually noticing it and enjoying it like we do.
0:57:49 > 0:57:53Next time, we revisit The Elms, a Georgian restoration in
0:57:53 > 0:57:57Derbyshire, and uncover a love story and a scandal.
0:57:57 > 0:58:00We used to go to The Elms, my dad and I, every Wednesday,
0:58:00 > 0:58:03but my mum wasn't allowed to go.
0:58:03 > 0:58:05Hello!
0:58:05 > 0:58:08In North Yorkshire, we find out why Coulton Mill has become
0:58:08 > 0:58:10a local attraction.
0:58:10 > 0:58:13I'd come outside and there would be ten cars parked out here.
0:58:13 > 0:58:17"Can we just have a look around? Can we see the wheel?"
0:58:19 > 0:58:24And we'll meet the craftsmen who helped save these restoration homes.
0:58:24 > 0:58:27I couldn't do my job without these tools, and they symbolise
0:58:27 > 0:58:31stonemasonry going back thousands and thousands of years.