0:00:02 > 0:00:06'On the last series of Restoration Home, we followed the stories
0:00:06 > 0:00:10'of six historic buildings that desperately needed saving.'
0:00:13 > 0:00:14Yeah, we love it, we want to finish it,
0:00:14 > 0:00:17but sometimes it just feels like too much.
0:00:17 > 0:00:19Lift and push.
0:00:19 > 0:00:22'Six new owners spent hundreds of thousands of pounds
0:00:22 > 0:00:25'transforming them into their dream homes.'
0:00:27 > 0:00:29It looks incredible.
0:00:33 > 0:00:36You've got your dream kitchen, and it 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, and we'll spite them all.
0:00:41 > 0:00:45'So, one year on, we're going back to see what's changed.'
0:00:45 > 0:00:47Wow. Well, it's done.
0:00:47 > 0:00:49What a house.
0:00:49 > 0:00:53It's lovely to see it finished now and actually furnished and lived in.
0:00:53 > 0:00:55'We'll meet the craftspeople whose work helped save
0:00:55 > 0:00:57'these historic homes.
0:00:58 > 0:01:02'And the people whose stories provide a living link to the past.'
0:01:02 > 0:01:03That's amazing.
0:01:12 > 0:01:15Nestling in the beautiful North Yorkshire countryside is
0:01:15 > 0:01:17a collection of rural buildings,
0:01:17 > 0:01:19some of which date back to the 1700s.
0:01:21 > 0:01:23This is Coulton Mill.
0:01:27 > 0:01:31For centuries, the old water mill had turned grain into flour,
0:01:31 > 0:01:35but it stopped working just after the Second World War.
0:01:37 > 0:01:41Now its ancient wooden machinery was gradually rotting away.
0:01:45 > 0:01:48The miller's house next door had serious rising damp.
0:01:50 > 0:01:54Two barns across the road were derelict and in danger of collapse.
0:01:57 > 0:01:59The property had a Grade II listing.
0:01:59 > 0:02:03It came with ten acres of land and needed a lot of work.
0:02:05 > 0:02:08But Yorkshireman Nick Burrows and his American wife
0:02:08 > 0:02:11Heather were determined to rescue it.
0:02:11 > 0:02:14I loved this place from the minute Nick showed me the brochure of it.
0:02:14 > 0:02:16He was like, "Don't you want to go and see it?"
0:02:16 > 0:02:18And I said, "No, I don't need to." I said, "I want to live there."
0:02:18 > 0:02:22Heather came to England as a student and stayed on to do her PHD.
0:02:24 > 0:02:26Nick spent much of his time overseas.
0:02:26 > 0:02:28He was then in Afghanistan
0:02:28 > 0:02:31working for the government's reconstruction team.
0:02:31 > 0:02:34They had a three-year-old daughter, Sibylla.
0:02:34 > 0:02:37I spent a lot of time all over the world trying to help other
0:02:37 > 0:02:39people build their own lives.
0:02:39 > 0:02:42But to build something which is our own rural idyll, I think,
0:02:42 > 0:02:43is something most people dream about.
0:02:43 > 0:02:45Come on. Come on. Come on.
0:02:48 > 0:02:53Nick and Heather paid £305,000 to buy the derelict property,
0:02:53 > 0:02:54the barns and the land.
0:02:54 > 0:02:57Make sure the gates are closed.
0:02:57 > 0:03:00Heather grew up in rural North America, and she was keen to
0:03:00 > 0:03:05use the land and the outbuildings to create her own small farm.
0:03:05 > 0:03:08I think that's more important than the house, actually.
0:03:08 > 0:03:10Nick was like, "What do you want first?
0:03:10 > 0:03:13"Do you want kitchen floors or do you want pigs?"
0:03:13 > 0:03:14Pigs.
0:03:15 > 0:03:18But the immediate priority was to make the house fit to live in
0:03:18 > 0:03:21as their home, and they had a rough budget.
0:03:21 > 0:03:26We need to spend £50,000, but that's on the underside.
0:03:26 > 0:03:27To do everything we want to do,
0:03:27 > 0:03:29we'll need to spend quite a bit more.
0:03:32 > 0:03:34Architectural expert Kieran Long
0:03:34 > 0:03:37began his investigation of Coulton Mill
0:03:37 > 0:03:39looking at the buildings themselves.
0:03:43 > 0:03:46We have the road running through the site here.
0:03:46 > 0:03:50Almost kind of embracing the house in its kind of elbow,
0:03:50 > 0:03:53and then behind us, we have these two rather charmingly
0:03:53 > 0:03:57dilapidated barns, creating a very interesting little
0:03:57 > 0:04:01complex of little spaces in between these various buildings.
0:04:01 > 0:04:04It's kind of very typical of a kind of...of a pre-industrial,
0:04:04 > 0:04:07if you like, farm complex, and it's really, really beautiful.
0:04:07 > 0:04:11And the house itself has a certain kind of grace, you know.
0:04:11 > 0:04:13It's not just a farmhouse,
0:04:13 > 0:04:16there's definitely some sort of thought gone into it, large windows.
0:04:18 > 0:04:21Originally, there would have been a mill pond above the house,
0:04:21 > 0:04:24and Kieran quickly realised it must have always had a running battle
0:04:24 > 0:04:26with its natural surroundings.
0:04:26 > 0:04:29Here, they've had to build a huge retaining wall to hold back
0:04:29 > 0:04:33the hillside and carve a little space for the house to sit.
0:04:33 > 0:04:34It's incredibly damp here.
0:04:34 > 0:04:38There must be all of the water from surrounding hillsides kind of
0:04:38 > 0:04:41funnelling itself into this basin, undermining the building
0:04:41 > 0:04:45more or less, or, at the very least, kind of compromising its fabric.
0:04:45 > 0:04:48So, it's quite amazing that the building's still here.
0:04:50 > 0:04:53Even though there was no proper heating and the walls were green
0:04:53 > 0:04:57with damp, the family moved in as soon as they bought the mill.
0:05:00 > 0:05:05Restoration work started at New Year, 2011.
0:05:07 > 0:05:09For Heather and three-year-old Sibylla,
0:05:09 > 0:05:12it meant months of living in a cold, damp house with builders
0:05:12 > 0:05:14working around them.
0:05:15 > 0:05:17The only heating that's been in the house
0:05:17 > 0:05:20is from the coal fires, the wood fires that she's got.
0:05:20 > 0:05:24And you can see, if you come a bit further down there, look.
0:05:24 > 0:05:26Look at all this, it's just...
0:05:26 > 0:05:29This is damp, that is actually damp, is that.
0:05:29 > 0:05:30That was a bit drier up there, look.
0:05:30 > 0:05:32This is actually damp, is this.
0:05:32 > 0:05:38You can see how it's tacky - just... And that's it.
0:05:39 > 0:05:41That's all the way through the house.
0:05:42 > 0:05:46I think she's an amazing woman to actually live through this,
0:05:46 > 0:05:50you know - everything, from the floors to the roof, the walls,
0:05:50 > 0:05:54the insulation, the electrics, heating, everything.
0:05:55 > 0:06:00It's dirty and it's cold and there's mud everywhere.
0:06:00 > 0:06:01Sibylla loves it.
0:06:01 > 0:06:03It's so important to me
0:06:03 > 0:06:06to know that she has a place where she can call home
0:06:06 > 0:06:09and just to be able to explore and have that freedom, but she does
0:06:09 > 0:06:14say it's cold and she's wondering when the house is going to be fixed.
0:06:20 > 0:06:23'When I paid my first visit to Coulton Mill,
0:06:23 > 0:06:26'the builders had been working for several months.
0:06:26 > 0:06:29'To try and tackle the damp, they installed underfloor heating,
0:06:29 > 0:06:33'the first time the house had had any source of warmth,
0:06:33 > 0:06:35'apart from coal fires.
0:06:36 > 0:06:39'But when the builders dug out the floor to install the heating pipes,
0:06:39 > 0:06:41'they discovered a bigger problem.'
0:06:41 > 0:06:43- Hello.- Hi, what are you doing?
0:06:43 > 0:06:45We're doing some drainage
0:06:45 > 0:06:48to take the water out of the house.
0:06:48 > 0:06:51Oh, it's actually... There's water in the house at the moment?
0:06:51 > 0:06:53Well, it's just below the floor.
0:06:53 > 0:06:54- OK.- Cos when we excavated the floor,
0:06:54 > 0:06:59we found virtually a pond just below the floor.
0:06:59 > 0:07:02So the mill pond has made its way under the house, has it?
0:07:02 > 0:07:04Yeah, yeah - usually mill ponds
0:07:04 > 0:07:07- aren't supposed to be in the dwelling(!)- No.
0:07:09 > 0:07:12'The builders had to put in an extra drainage system
0:07:12 > 0:07:14'to reduce the risk of flooding.'
0:07:14 > 0:07:16- That's on.- Stop.
0:07:20 > 0:07:23It just wasn't escaping, and that should now keep
0:07:23 > 0:07:28the water table at least another foot lower than it was.
0:07:28 > 0:07:31'Sorting out the drainage cost £3,000.
0:07:33 > 0:07:37'But, indoors, the underfloor heating had made a big difference.'
0:07:37 > 0:07:38When they turned the heating on,
0:07:38 > 0:07:41we just thought it was the most amazing thing.
0:07:41 > 0:07:44Because, within a day, it took it about 24 hours to warm up, you could
0:07:44 > 0:07:48start feeling the warmth come up from the floor and it was fantastic.
0:07:51 > 0:07:56'And, outdoors, Heather's small farm was beginning to take shape.'
0:07:58 > 0:08:02Sibylla and I really love animals. Nick is getting there.
0:08:03 > 0:08:08- My wife has a way of collecting things when I'm away.- Yeah!
0:08:09 > 0:08:12Piggy, piggy, piggy. Piggy.
0:08:15 > 0:08:19'Coulton Mill's water wheel hadn't turned for over half a century.
0:08:19 > 0:08:22'So Nick and Heather called in Yorkshire mill historian
0:08:22 > 0:08:26'John Harrison, to see if anything could be done.'
0:08:29 > 0:08:31Ah, now, look at that.
0:08:31 > 0:08:33Oh, wow.
0:08:33 > 0:08:35Now, that wheel is really old.
0:08:36 > 0:08:41Completely made of wood, it's got to be 18th-century, I think,
0:08:41 > 0:08:43which is really old for any kind of water mill.
0:08:43 > 0:08:46'Frozen in time since the mill closed,
0:08:46 > 0:08:49'the antiquated machinery was riddled with woodworm
0:08:49 > 0:08:50'and beyond repair.'
0:08:53 > 0:08:56- Ah. Oh, look, you can see the round. - Yeah. There we go.
0:09:00 > 0:09:03'Hidden beneath sheets of corrugated iron was the hole
0:09:03 > 0:09:06'where two mill stones once ground against each other
0:09:06 > 0:09:08'to turn grain into flour.'
0:09:08 > 0:09:11- See the...- Oh, wow.
0:09:12 > 0:09:14'But the stones were missing,
0:09:14 > 0:09:17'and the mill's workings silted up and waterlogged.
0:09:19 > 0:09:22'John thought the crumbling water wheel was unique.'
0:09:23 > 0:09:26I've looked at mills across this country and other places as well,
0:09:26 > 0:09:29and I haven't seen another one of this layout.
0:09:29 > 0:09:32It's a very old design.
0:09:34 > 0:09:37The current mill house dated back to the 18th century.
0:09:37 > 0:09:39But historian Dr Kate Williams
0:09:39 > 0:09:43wanted to know how long a mill had stood on the site.
0:09:43 > 0:09:46In the county records office, she found a very rare
0:09:46 > 0:09:48and crucial 13th-century manuscript.
0:09:50 > 0:09:53It's a legal document which records a Walter of Coulton acquiring
0:09:53 > 0:09:56a mill owned by the local abbey.
0:09:58 > 0:10:00This piece of paper is over 700 years old,
0:10:00 > 0:10:05about 1234, and it's about Coulton Mill being sold,
0:10:05 > 0:10:09being swapped for some land to a local man.
0:10:09 > 0:10:11It shows me what abbey it is.
0:10:11 > 0:10:14It's the Convent of Byland, which is an abbey that we know was
0:10:14 > 0:10:16very near to here, and it was one of the big
0:10:16 > 0:10:19and most important abbeys of the area.
0:10:19 > 0:10:23It's so rare in Britain we can trace back our houses,
0:10:23 > 0:10:26many of our buildings, to that far back - I mean, this is the kind of
0:10:26 > 0:10:30thing we associate with Westminster Abbey, not somewhere we might live.
0:10:30 > 0:10:34Byland Abbey is less than ten miles away from Coulton Mill.
0:10:34 > 0:10:37It was here that the medieval monks lived.
0:10:43 > 0:10:45We've made a really exciting discovery that connects
0:10:45 > 0:10:50a mill at Coulton with this place, one of the three extraordinary,
0:10:50 > 0:10:53huge, rich, wealthy monasteries of this area of Yorkshire.
0:10:53 > 0:10:55Probably the other two are more famous,
0:10:55 > 0:10:58Rievaulx and Fountains, and these three abbeys dominated
0:10:58 > 0:11:02the landscape economically and were exactly the kind of concentrations
0:11:02 > 0:11:06of power and wealth that in fact the Reformation of Henry VIII wanted
0:11:06 > 0:11:10to destroy, and indeed did, which is why we see this thing in ruins.
0:11:11 > 0:11:14The news that for 700 years there was a mill at Coulton,
0:11:14 > 0:11:17and that it used to be owned by the monks at Byland Abbey,
0:11:17 > 0:11:19gave Nick and Heather a new impetus
0:11:19 > 0:11:22to try and find funds to restore the mill wheel.
0:11:26 > 0:11:30There's a bottom line with all these things and cost is that bottom line.
0:11:30 > 0:11:33I don't know exactly how much it's going to cost but I think
0:11:33 > 0:11:36it's really worth making the effort with the wheel, because it's so
0:11:36 > 0:11:38fundamental to what the building is and its past,
0:11:38 > 0:11:40and it should be part of its future.
0:11:42 > 0:11:45They didn't have the money to do it themselves,
0:11:45 > 0:11:48so they applied for a grant from Natural England to help
0:11:48 > 0:11:51restore the wheel and the outbuildings.
0:11:51 > 0:11:54Heather hoped the idea of opening Coulton Mill to the public
0:11:54 > 0:11:56would help the application.
0:11:57 > 0:12:01I'm sort of pushing the education side of it, where I do want to have
0:12:01 > 0:12:05school visits, and I do want to do quite a few of them because of the
0:12:05 > 0:12:09historical importance of the mill and its use within the community.
0:12:09 > 0:12:13We know that we have to do something like that in order to achieve
0:12:13 > 0:12:15the thing that we want to achieve.
0:12:20 > 0:12:24Inside the house, work was continuing apace.
0:12:24 > 0:12:28They'd commissioned a natural stone fireplace made by local craftsmen.
0:12:31 > 0:12:33It cost over £3,000.
0:12:33 > 0:12:35We've made it in our workshop just up the road.
0:12:35 > 0:12:39And it's made out of Tadcaster limestone.
0:12:39 > 0:12:41It's York's most local limestone,
0:12:41 > 0:12:45and at the moment it's being used on the restoration of York Minster.
0:12:45 > 0:12:48And it's all been hand-carved with mallets and chisels
0:12:48 > 0:12:51and, you know, traditional stonemasonry tools,
0:12:51 > 0:12:53and the customer wants it looking perfect.
0:12:55 > 0:12:57Let's have a look. A-ha.
0:12:57 > 0:13:00Oh, it's absolutely stunning.
0:13:00 > 0:13:02You can now really see where the house is going.
0:13:02 > 0:13:04What are you going to toast on the fire?
0:13:04 > 0:13:06Toast.
0:13:06 > 0:13:09Yes. That makes sense. And what about marshmallows?
0:13:09 > 0:13:11Marshmallows.
0:13:11 > 0:13:13Yeah. Isn't that beautiful?
0:13:20 > 0:13:23'With winter approaching, I came back to Coulton Mill
0:13:23 > 0:13:26'to see how Heather was coping with Nick away.'
0:13:30 > 0:13:33- Hello!- Hello.- How are you?
0:13:33 > 0:13:37- I'm fine.- How lovely to see you again.- You too.
0:13:37 > 0:13:40'They were still waiting to hear back from Natural England
0:13:40 > 0:13:41'about their grant application.
0:13:41 > 0:13:45'It meant that the restoration of the barns would have to wait,
0:13:45 > 0:13:47'because finances were tight.'
0:13:49 > 0:13:52Every month, we have money go in, about the second week,
0:13:52 > 0:13:56it all goes back out. And so it's difficult at the moment.
0:13:56 > 0:14:00'Some would see picturesque barns like these as prime candidates
0:14:00 > 0:14:02'for conversion into holiday homes.
0:14:02 > 0:14:04'Not Heather.
0:14:04 > 0:14:06'She was counting on them to house more of the farm animals
0:14:06 > 0:14:09'she liked to collect whilst Nick was away.'
0:14:11 > 0:14:13Tell me what you've got.
0:14:13 > 0:14:16Is Nick going to find out about this?
0:14:16 > 0:14:17Not, not, not yet.
0:14:17 > 0:14:20- We have Pansy the goat...- Yes. - ..who came with Sammy.
0:14:20 > 0:14:23- Yes.- The...- The Shetland? - The very fat Shetland pony.
0:14:23 > 0:14:28And then I have the 13 ewes that are in the fields, and then five pigs.
0:14:28 > 0:14:32I've got Gloria, Penelope - big piggy -
0:14:32 > 0:14:33then Cabbage and Wilbur,
0:14:33 > 0:14:36and Cabbage is going to be sausages very soon.
0:14:36 > 0:14:39And Wilbur is our boar, who is a typical man.
0:14:39 > 0:14:42He never escapes because he knows that we just bring the food to him.
0:14:43 > 0:14:46'But Wilbur was about to blot his copy book.'
0:14:51 > 0:14:53This is Sammy. Sammy!
0:14:53 > 0:14:54Oh!
0:14:54 > 0:14:58'I discovered that feeding time at Coulton Mill could be
0:14:58 > 0:14:59'a chaotic affair.'
0:15:01 > 0:15:03Everybody's coming!
0:15:03 > 0:15:04SHE LAUGHS
0:15:04 > 0:15:06Hello, big, fat pony.
0:15:08 > 0:15:10- Oh, no. Pigs are out!- Oh, cripes.
0:15:12 > 0:15:16'Instead of being in the field, the pigs had got onto the road.'
0:15:16 > 0:15:17Penelope.
0:15:20 > 0:15:23'And prize boar Wilbur, who never escaped,
0:15:23 > 0:15:27'had to be wrangled towards his food.'
0:15:30 > 0:15:32Good, his bottom's in.
0:15:33 > 0:15:35Oh, no, there's the other one.
0:15:37 > 0:15:39That's Gloria. Oh, dear.
0:15:40 > 0:15:42That's really embarrassing!
0:15:50 > 0:15:51In his architectural research,
0:15:51 > 0:15:56Kieran had found a book of early 19th-century countryside sketches
0:15:56 > 0:15:59by the Yorkshire artist George Nicholson.
0:16:03 > 0:16:06It's very exciting for us to see, you know, that he
0:16:06 > 0:16:09was at Coulton Mill on August 15th, 1823.
0:16:09 > 0:16:12In this drawing here, we have a beautiful rendition of the mill
0:16:12 > 0:16:16pond, which of course we can't see today, so that's incredibly valuable
0:16:16 > 0:16:20to us, with the bank here kind of fronded with grass and everything.
0:16:20 > 0:16:23And then of course there's a lot of attention paid to the wheel itself.
0:16:23 > 0:16:27That very distinctive structure is represented here.
0:16:28 > 0:16:31We wish that some of the mechanisms were in the state
0:16:31 > 0:16:34they were in here 200 years ago, we could still see that wheel turning.
0:16:34 > 0:16:36But, nonetheless, there's so much atmosphere here
0:16:36 > 0:16:38that still remains at Coulton Mill.
0:16:40 > 0:16:43And then of course the miller here, standing at the doorway.
0:16:43 > 0:16:46I'm imagining that this is the gentleman who was responsible
0:16:46 > 0:16:49for the mill in the 1820s. Other than the wheel in perfect
0:16:49 > 0:16:53working order and so on, this could be Heather standing outside
0:16:53 > 0:16:56the front door of the building today. Not much has changed.
0:16:59 > 0:17:03This is the last family to mill at Coulton, the Harrisons,
0:17:03 > 0:17:06who took over in 1881.
0:17:11 > 0:17:13They kept Coulton's water wheel turning
0:17:13 > 0:17:15until well into the 20th century.
0:17:18 > 0:17:25Gillian Smith, nee Harrison, was born at Coulton Mill in the 1940s.
0:17:25 > 0:17:32This is a picture in the actual mill house of my grandfather, my mum
0:17:32 > 0:17:37and my uncle, sitting in amongst the sacks of grain.
0:17:37 > 0:17:39Or flour, perhaps.
0:17:43 > 0:17:47Gillian remembers the house in the last years of its prime.
0:17:49 > 0:17:51It was very, very tidy outside.
0:17:51 > 0:17:55There was a white picket fence round the garden at the front,
0:17:55 > 0:17:56by the front door.
0:17:56 > 0:18:00And then, you know, over the years,
0:18:00 > 0:18:04it seemed to lose its pristine appearance,
0:18:04 > 0:18:09and it's such a shame to see a place like that deteriorate.
0:18:13 > 0:18:16'Generations of millers had left their mark at Coulton Mill.
0:18:16 > 0:18:20'But, after years of decay, I was going back to see
0:18:20 > 0:18:22'if it was ready for a new chapter,
0:18:22 > 0:18:26'as a family home to Heather, Nick, Sibylla and their animals.'
0:18:27 > 0:18:30It feels like a proper little farmyard now.
0:18:30 > 0:18:32- It's alive again. - It is alive again, isn't it?
0:18:35 > 0:18:37It had taken them two years.
0:18:37 > 0:18:40When they started, it was a building consumed by damp
0:18:40 > 0:18:41and carpeted in mould.
0:18:42 > 0:18:46Living amongst this restoration had been a constant battle.
0:18:46 > 0:18:49So how did the inside of Coulton Mill look now?
0:18:55 > 0:18:57'They had transformed the old miller's parlour
0:18:57 > 0:19:00'into a stately family dining room.'
0:19:00 > 0:19:02Oh, this is beautiful, Heather.
0:19:08 > 0:19:11It's a finished living space.
0:19:11 > 0:19:14How do you feel to be in here?
0:19:14 > 0:19:15It's wonderful.
0:19:15 > 0:19:18I mean, I still remember trying to come through the front door
0:19:18 > 0:19:22with wellies on, wading through the mud to get to the kitchen.
0:19:22 > 0:19:25And to actually have heating!
0:19:25 > 0:19:30- Yeah.- So that we walk around in socks most of the time.
0:19:33 > 0:19:37'They had budgeted £50,000 to restore the mill house.
0:19:37 > 0:19:40'So far, they had spent £60,000.
0:19:42 > 0:19:45'Upstairs, Sibylla had her own bedroom.
0:19:48 > 0:19:50'It's a peaceful space where she can play with her toys
0:19:50 > 0:19:52'and briefly not be covered in mud.
0:19:57 > 0:20:00'Downstairs, in the room that was once in danger of floating away,
0:20:00 > 0:20:03'there was now a warm and dry sitting room.'
0:20:03 > 0:20:05Ah.
0:20:07 > 0:20:10Your beautiful sitting room.
0:20:11 > 0:20:15I get a very real sense that this is starting to feel
0:20:15 > 0:20:17like a real family home.
0:20:17 > 0:20:21It's just been a massive switchover from all of the mess
0:20:21 > 0:20:24to where we can actually just sit down.
0:20:24 > 0:20:28I can actually read stories to her in this room without
0:20:28 > 0:20:31having, you know, dust flying everywhere.
0:20:31 > 0:20:35Do you feel like you are almost part of the land and the house here?
0:20:35 > 0:20:37Everyone has put their own mark on the place.
0:20:37 > 0:20:40All the... I mean, what, for almost 1,000 years,
0:20:40 > 0:20:44all the millers that have been here and their families
0:20:44 > 0:20:49and the animals, they've all added their own mark to the place.
0:20:49 > 0:20:52Do you see your future very much here?
0:20:52 > 0:20:54I'm not going anywhere!
0:20:54 > 0:20:56I am not going anywhere.
0:20:56 > 0:21:00I'm not living in a building site again. Nope.
0:21:00 > 0:21:01I'm staying right here.
0:21:01 > 0:21:05So you'll be here for as long as you can imagine?
0:21:05 > 0:21:06Well, when the barns are finished
0:21:06 > 0:21:09then we're getting some cows, hens!
0:21:12 > 0:21:15'And work on the barns was scheduled to start, because their grant
0:21:15 > 0:21:19'application from Natural England had finally been approved.'
0:21:24 > 0:21:28In the restoration of all period properties, it's the skill
0:21:28 > 0:21:31of the local craftsmen that helps bring the houses back to life.
0:21:33 > 0:21:37At Coulton Mill, the fireplaces were carved by stonemason
0:21:37 > 0:21:39Robin Winterton.
0:21:42 > 0:21:44Kieran had come to meet him to find out more
0:21:44 > 0:21:46about the stonemason's craft.
0:21:48 > 0:21:50- Hi, Robin. - Hello there, how are you?
0:21:50 > 0:21:51You're hard at work here.
0:21:51 > 0:21:53I've seen your beautiful work at Coulton Mill,
0:21:53 > 0:21:55but what's going on in the workshop today?
0:21:55 > 0:21:58- What exactly are you working on? - Well, we're basically...
0:21:58 > 0:22:00This is a top mantelpiece for a
0:22:00 > 0:22:02fireplace which is due to be fitted tomorrow.
0:22:04 > 0:22:07Robin trained at York Minster 40 years ago,
0:22:07 > 0:22:11and has worked on many prestigious cathedral restorations since.
0:22:11 > 0:22:15Today, though, most of his work is on domestic stonework.
0:22:24 > 0:22:27What strikes me is that the average DIY-er at home would have
0:22:27 > 0:22:30- more tools than you've got on this bench.- That's right, yeah.
0:22:30 > 0:22:31Basically, the tools, they're very,
0:22:31 > 0:22:35very similar to the tools that we used thousands of years ago.
0:22:35 > 0:22:36The difference being...
0:22:36 > 0:22:38This looks like something a caveman would use!
0:22:38 > 0:22:40Well, yeah, when I first started,
0:22:40 > 0:22:43normally there would've been... You'd have a wooden mallet.
0:22:43 > 0:22:45This is a nylon one.
0:22:45 > 0:22:49The chisels, instead of being steel-sharpened, they're actually
0:22:49 > 0:22:52tungsten-tipped, and they come in various different sizes.
0:22:52 > 0:22:56A wider chisel, like a bolster, like that, is basically for a fine
0:22:56 > 0:23:00finish like that, where you could cover a lot of area,
0:23:00 > 0:23:01because of the width of it.
0:23:01 > 0:23:07Whereas something narrower - basically, that is for finer detail.
0:23:07 > 0:23:10Then we go down to a half-inch and a quarter-inch.
0:23:10 > 0:23:14You've also got a beautiful old brass set square here.
0:23:14 > 0:23:16That's right, yeah. I mean, that is an old one, actually.
0:23:16 > 0:23:18It's far older than I am, so...
0:23:18 > 0:23:21Really? I mean, your mallet and the set square,
0:23:21 > 0:23:22they've seen a bit of service.
0:23:22 > 0:23:25I mean, does it mean a lot to you to use old tools?
0:23:25 > 0:23:28I couldn't do my job without these tools and they symbolise
0:23:28 > 0:23:31stonemasonry going back thousands and thousands of years.
0:23:35 > 0:23:37I say, it's malleable, the stone, isn't it?
0:23:37 > 0:23:38It really comes off in quite fine...
0:23:38 > 0:23:41Well, why don't you have a go and see what you think?
0:23:41 > 0:23:43Well, I'll give it a try. I warn you that I'm...
0:23:43 > 0:23:46So it's a right-handed mallet, that. Is that all right?
0:23:46 > 0:23:48- That's good. I'm right-handed. - OK, fair enough.
0:23:48 > 0:23:51- Hold the chisel a little lower down.- Like... Oh, down here.
0:23:51 > 0:23:53Yeah, that's it, yeah. And see what you think.
0:23:55 > 0:23:58So, more across then...? Oh, there you go.
0:23:59 > 0:24:01It comes away remarkably easily.
0:24:01 > 0:24:03Well, yes, it's a nice stone to mason.
0:24:04 > 0:24:08This is a limestone and it's from Lincolnshire.
0:24:08 > 0:24:10Very therapeutic. Kind of, you know,
0:24:10 > 0:24:13you see it gradually whittling away there.
0:24:13 > 0:24:14I mean, there is this risk,
0:24:14 > 0:24:17- presumably, that you could just really...?- There is a risk.
0:24:17 > 0:24:19You can be literally working a mantelpiece like that
0:24:19 > 0:24:22and the other end will drop off, because it's got faults in it
0:24:22 > 0:24:24and this, that and the other.
0:24:24 > 0:24:26I'm getting worried now I'm going to completely mess up this
0:24:26 > 0:24:28beautiful piece of stone.
0:24:30 > 0:24:33The risk of things going wrong is greater doing delicate carvings,
0:24:33 > 0:24:36but these are the pieces Robin enjoys most.
0:24:36 > 0:24:39Because we're doing some quite intricate work,
0:24:39 > 0:24:44we've got to use a narrow chisel and be very, very careful
0:24:44 > 0:24:49so that we don't take a piece out that we don't want to take out.
0:24:49 > 0:24:52It's interesting, because you've drawn something 2D,
0:24:52 > 0:24:55but, obviously, in your mind, it's always going to be in 3D, isn't it?
0:24:55 > 0:24:58Yeah, I've got to see it as a finished piece rather than
0:24:58 > 0:25:00just a drawing on a piece of stone.
0:25:07 > 0:25:09I mean, as you're doing this,
0:25:09 > 0:25:12this just already is such a beautiful curved surface.
0:25:12 > 0:25:15I mean, this is the kind of thing people will touch
0:25:15 > 0:25:17- and feel and run their hands along.- Yeah.
0:25:17 > 0:25:21I mean, it never ceases to amaze me, even though I've been a stonemason
0:25:21 > 0:25:25all these years, that, you know, people do find stone very tactile.
0:25:25 > 0:25:28The first thing people do when they come and see these fireplaces,
0:25:28 > 0:25:30they want to touch 'em.
0:25:30 > 0:25:34Robin and his team get through more than 20 tonnes of rock to
0:25:34 > 0:25:37carve the 70 fireplace surrounds they produce every year.
0:25:40 > 0:25:42The trade is very, very old.
0:25:42 > 0:25:46And I don't think a lot of people realise that there's still
0:25:46 > 0:25:48people doing this sort of work.
0:25:48 > 0:25:51It's a very, very traditional craft and, to be fair,
0:25:51 > 0:25:53it's barely changed over hundreds of years.
0:25:59 > 0:26:01Since the programme was first broadcast last year,
0:26:01 > 0:26:05Coulton Mill has become a local attraction.
0:26:05 > 0:26:08After the programme, there was so much interest in the place.
0:26:08 > 0:26:11I'd come outside and there would be ten cars parked out here.
0:26:11 > 0:26:14"Can we just have a look around? Can we see the wheel?"
0:26:14 > 0:26:16They loved all the animals.
0:26:16 > 0:26:18The pigs, they have a massive fan club.
0:26:23 > 0:26:26One year ago, the barns were in danger of collapse
0:26:26 > 0:26:27and being lost for ever.
0:26:32 > 0:26:35Now, with the grant from Natural England, they have been saved.
0:26:40 > 0:26:43The upper level of the big barn has been turned into an
0:26:43 > 0:26:45educational space for groups and visitors.
0:26:52 > 0:26:55Nigel Copsey is project-managing the restoration for Natural England.
0:26:58 > 0:27:01Repointing has been done, but not universally,
0:27:01 > 0:27:03just where it was necessary. The walls of these buildings
0:27:03 > 0:27:07are built with earth mortar, which, again, is a very traditional mortar
0:27:07 > 0:27:09in this area, and then pointed with lime,
0:27:09 > 0:27:12and we've just pointed where that pointing was necessary.
0:27:12 > 0:27:15We're not here to make these buildings look new.
0:27:15 > 0:27:19We're here to make them look almost as they did before,
0:27:19 > 0:27:23but to be performing properly again, and in good order again.
0:27:24 > 0:27:28They've restored the roofs using original materials and techniques.
0:27:28 > 0:27:32Under the pan tiles, there's lime mortar and lath.
0:27:32 > 0:27:35Nigel believes it's still the best way.
0:27:37 > 0:27:39These roofs have very often lasted 200 years.
0:27:39 > 0:27:43Roofing felt is unlikely to last more than 50,
0:27:43 > 0:27:45and so that's the greatest satisfaction I've had,
0:27:45 > 0:27:49that we've managed to get these roofs back on these buildings
0:27:49 > 0:27:52and on other projects we've been doing with Natural England.
0:27:54 > 0:27:56There's one thing, though, that hasn't changed here.
0:27:56 > 0:27:59Heather's love of animals.
0:27:59 > 0:28:03Tessie! Come on, Tess. Hello.
0:28:03 > 0:28:05This is Tess.
0:28:07 > 0:28:09She's a Northern Dairy Shorthorn cow,
0:28:09 > 0:28:13one of the rarest breeds of cattle in the country.
0:28:13 > 0:28:16She's just a heifer, though, so she's just a baby, nine months.
0:28:16 > 0:28:18Having a Northern Dairy Shorthorn
0:28:18 > 0:28:21come back to Yorkshire, which is where they were originally from,
0:28:21 > 0:28:25and they're originally from this area, is a really exciting
0:28:25 > 0:28:28thing, and especially considering that they are so rare.
0:28:32 > 0:28:35Today is a big day for Coulton Mill.
0:28:35 > 0:28:37Welcome to Coulton Mill.
0:28:37 > 0:28:4040 members of the British Agricultural History Society
0:28:40 > 0:28:43have come to see the restoration for themselves.
0:28:44 > 0:28:47Nigel is giving them a talk about the work.
0:28:47 > 0:28:50I'm so excited. They all fit, firstly, in the classroom.
0:28:50 > 0:28:56There's a lot of them and they seem absolutely riveted to Nigel's talk.
0:29:00 > 0:29:03Something like this, which is nearly in its original state,
0:29:03 > 0:29:05is absolutely brilliant.
0:29:05 > 0:29:07It's very, very interesting,
0:29:07 > 0:29:11and, you know, it's worthwhile to see things being restored.
0:29:11 > 0:29:14And I think it's important that places like this are preserved.
0:29:15 > 0:29:18But what everyone wants is to see the old mill wheel
0:29:18 > 0:29:20turning once again.
0:29:20 > 0:29:22And with the grant from Natural England,
0:29:22 > 0:29:24it may not be much longer before it does.
0:29:26 > 0:29:30The mill wheel will be made new, like for like,
0:29:30 > 0:29:33and it will turn, and the mill will then be there
0:29:33 > 0:29:36as an educational resource and for people to see,
0:29:36 > 0:29:40and we want to conserve the historic fabric of that mill.
0:29:43 > 0:29:47In two years, Coulton Mill has gone from a ruin to a restoration home.
0:29:48 > 0:29:51Nick and Heather took on a very ambitious project here,
0:29:51 > 0:29:53but now it's almost done.
0:29:54 > 0:29:57With the restoration of the wheel due to start shortly,
0:29:57 > 0:30:00Coulton Mill has become a home with a living history.
0:30:09 > 0:30:11Our next restoration home was in the Derbyshire village
0:30:11 > 0:30:13of North Wingfield.
0:30:15 > 0:30:17The Elms is an early Georgian house that must have been
0:30:17 > 0:30:22one of the grandest houses for miles around when it was built.
0:30:22 > 0:30:27But for the last eight years, it stood empty and was almost a ruin.
0:30:33 > 0:30:37Then, three generations of the Holmwood family came along.
0:30:37 > 0:30:41Suzanne, her son Gavin, his partner Ann,
0:30:41 > 0:30:44and their six-year-old daughter Caitlin.
0:30:46 > 0:30:49The first time I saw The Elms, I can remember thinking,
0:30:49 > 0:30:52that's a big, grand house, but it does need a lot of work doing.
0:30:55 > 0:30:58We went in, couldn't see very much, it was late at night.
0:30:58 > 0:31:01And we came out and I think we'd only looked round it 15 minutes,
0:31:01 > 0:31:03and we said we want it.
0:31:04 > 0:31:07I think it needs a lot of work done.
0:31:07 > 0:31:08But it's good.
0:31:08 > 0:31:11I can see a property that is going to look amazing.
0:31:11 > 0:31:14It's going to look fantastic when it's done.
0:31:14 > 0:31:17They bought it for £115,000.
0:31:19 > 0:31:22But the house was in such a terrible state,
0:31:22 > 0:31:25it was going to cost more to restore than it did to buy.
0:31:26 > 0:31:30They budgeted £180,000 to do the work.
0:31:30 > 0:31:34To help with the costs, Gavin's mum, Suzanne, also invested.
0:31:34 > 0:31:38She was keen to swap her bungalow for part of the house.
0:31:40 > 0:31:43I thought it was a really big project to take on
0:31:43 > 0:31:45but a wonderful property.
0:31:47 > 0:31:50The plan was to divide the L-shaped house into two.
0:31:50 > 0:31:53Suzanne would have the formal-looking front,
0:31:53 > 0:31:55while Gavin and Ann would get the back half.
0:31:57 > 0:32:00Gavin is a technical architect and works from home.
0:32:00 > 0:32:05He's also a keen DIY-er, and planned to do much of the work himself.
0:32:05 > 0:32:09Whilst he was busy on the house, Ann, who is a social worker,
0:32:09 > 0:32:12was the principal breadwinner.
0:32:12 > 0:32:14In this family, there's a clear division of labour.
0:32:14 > 0:32:17'I'm going to absolutely let Gav just get on with it.'
0:32:17 > 0:32:20And then just ask him how his day's been.
0:32:20 > 0:32:23Probably go round obviously at evenings and say,
0:32:23 > 0:32:25"Oh, you've not done much yet."
0:32:29 > 0:32:33'I made my first visit in the spring when work was about to start.'
0:32:35 > 0:32:36What's your timescale here?
0:32:36 > 0:32:39I'd like to think the whole project's 12 months.
0:32:39 > 0:32:44OK, so, a year, really, from start to finish.
0:32:44 > 0:32:47- Yes.- I don't think you can do this in a year,
0:32:47 > 0:32:51so I'm going to bet you £5 that you can't do this in your timescale.
0:32:51 > 0:32:53- From year, from May to May. - May to May, £5.
0:32:53 > 0:32:55Yeah, can't be done, or I owe you a fiver.
0:32:55 > 0:32:58But you haven't seen inside, so you might want to make it £50 yet.
0:32:58 > 0:32:59THEY LAUGH
0:32:59 > 0:33:01'The interior was bad,
0:33:01 > 0:33:03'and the original Georgian staircase was missing.
0:33:03 > 0:33:06'But there was something to be positive about.'
0:33:06 > 0:33:13Oh, yes, proper panelled roof! It's big, it's huge, I can see the roof!
0:33:13 > 0:33:15Yes, I really can see the roof.
0:33:15 > 0:33:17No, that's not a good thing.
0:33:17 > 0:33:18THEY LAUGH
0:33:20 > 0:33:25It's a massive pile, this, and now you are going from the small
0:33:25 > 0:33:29house basically to living in showbiz mansions, aren't you, really?
0:33:29 > 0:33:32Well, just call us lord and lady of the manor!
0:33:32 > 0:33:34That's what our friends are doing.
0:33:34 > 0:33:37How do you feel about that? Your ladyship?
0:33:37 > 0:33:39Well, delighted!
0:33:40 > 0:33:43'In fact, it was Gavin's mum Suzanne
0:33:43 > 0:33:46'who was having the posher front of the house.'
0:33:47 > 0:33:50You're going to be living in the rather grand front
0:33:50 > 0:33:51quarters of the house, aren't you?
0:33:51 > 0:33:55I am, yes. I'm having the panelled room as my dining room.
0:33:55 > 0:33:58You're going to be lady of the manor, aren't you?
0:33:58 > 0:33:59Well...
0:33:59 > 0:34:02- A little bit.- A little bit, yeah.
0:34:06 > 0:34:11One of the first priorities was to make the building structurally safe.
0:34:11 > 0:34:14Gavin had to replace a rotten beam on the top floor.
0:34:14 > 0:34:16He built a scaffold platform outside
0:34:16 > 0:34:20and another one inside, to make a temporary floor to work on.
0:34:21 > 0:34:24The new beam was seven metres long, made of solid oak,
0:34:24 > 0:34:26and weighed almost half a tonne.
0:34:28 > 0:34:31It needed a crane to get it up onto the outside platform.
0:34:34 > 0:34:36That's the easy part, really. Lifted it up with a crane.
0:34:36 > 0:34:38Now the hard part's going to be
0:34:38 > 0:34:40actually getting the new beam in there.
0:34:41 > 0:34:44The beam was too heavy to try to manhandle through the window,
0:34:44 > 0:34:49but Gavin had a plan inspired by the building of the ancient pyramids.
0:34:49 > 0:34:52It's a good old tried and tested technique from the Egyptians,
0:34:52 > 0:34:54anyway, rolling stuff on rollers.
0:34:56 > 0:34:58With a small hole cut in the outside wall,
0:34:58 > 0:35:01the plan was just to roll the beam in through the gap.
0:35:11 > 0:35:13Hello!
0:35:13 > 0:35:15One, two... Are you ready?
0:35:15 > 0:35:18One, two, three, lift and push.
0:35:20 > 0:35:24The rollers worked a treat. The Egyptians would have been proud.
0:35:33 > 0:35:36They're very good at beam installation.
0:35:36 > 0:35:38No, I'm very happy, it went well.
0:35:40 > 0:35:41As the building work moved ahead,
0:35:41 > 0:35:45our research into the history of The Elms got under way.
0:35:46 > 0:35:50Historian Dr Kate Williams would be delving into the archives
0:35:50 > 0:35:54to track down the people whose lives were bound up with the house.
0:35:54 > 0:35:56Architectural expert Kieran Long
0:35:56 > 0:35:59wanted to find out about the history of the house itself.
0:36:01 > 0:36:05He started his investigation at the Derbyshire Record Office
0:36:05 > 0:36:09in Matlock, where he found a tithe map of the village from 1842.
0:36:11 > 0:36:14One of the things that's really interesting about this
0:36:14 > 0:36:17is that it shows, of course, that The Elms is part of a village.
0:36:17 > 0:36:21It's not a building sat on its own in a landscape, it's sat amongst
0:36:21 > 0:36:25lots of buildings without any particular architectural order,
0:36:25 > 0:36:27ie they look like they're working buildings.
0:36:27 > 0:36:30Buildings of different sizes and different kinds,
0:36:30 > 0:36:33all with relationships to different kinds of plots of land.
0:36:33 > 0:36:36So this is a farming landscape, a farming community,
0:36:36 > 0:36:37and a working community,
0:36:37 > 0:36:40of which The Elms is, if you like, the heart.
0:36:42 > 0:36:45This is a tithe map, and what's interesting about that is,
0:36:45 > 0:36:48of course, that it records land ownership. And here it is.
0:36:48 > 0:36:52We have the name Clay, John Wilkinson.
0:36:52 > 0:36:54So this is extremely exciting.
0:36:54 > 0:36:58This is the name of the man who was occupying The Elms in 1842.
0:36:58 > 0:37:03With a name to go on, historian Kate Williams could start digging.
0:37:04 > 0:37:06I've been looking through the records to try
0:37:06 > 0:37:08and find out more about him.
0:37:08 > 0:37:11And what I've found is this beautiful register of the Parish
0:37:11 > 0:37:12of North Wingfield that gives us
0:37:12 > 0:37:17all the records of the Parish from 1751, where it starts, to 1812.
0:37:17 > 0:37:21And what we have here are the baptisms, the marriages
0:37:21 > 0:37:22and the deaths.
0:37:26 > 0:37:31So, here he is, John Wilkinson Clay, I've found him in 1779.
0:37:31 > 0:37:34He was baptised on June 30th, so he might have been born
0:37:34 > 0:37:36up to a year before then.
0:37:36 > 0:37:40But what's fascinating is that he is not legitimate.
0:37:40 > 0:37:42John Wilkinson Clay is "of spurious birth",
0:37:42 > 0:37:45which is a term for illegitimate in the register,
0:37:45 > 0:37:48and he is listed as John Wilkinson, the son of Sarah Clay.
0:37:48 > 0:37:52We don't know the name of his father at all.
0:37:52 > 0:37:54It's my suspicion that the father was called Clay as well,
0:37:54 > 0:37:56and Sarah Clay has taken on his name,
0:37:56 > 0:38:00because that's what often your kind of common-law wife would do.
0:38:00 > 0:38:04So I think that this is a local girl who has taken up with a Mr Clay
0:38:04 > 0:38:06and she's taken on his name.
0:38:06 > 0:38:09So it's marvellous that I've found him, that's a great start,
0:38:09 > 0:38:12but actually the mystery has now deepened, because I have to try
0:38:12 > 0:38:15and find out who the father was
0:38:15 > 0:38:17and why it was that he had an illegitimate child.
0:38:21 > 0:38:24Back on site, the building work was powering ahead.
0:38:27 > 0:38:29The steel's here, steel's going in.
0:38:29 > 0:38:31Partition walls are going up.
0:38:31 > 0:38:33We've got temporary floors delivered yesterday
0:38:33 > 0:38:36so we can start decking out all the floors to actually get up there.
0:38:38 > 0:38:41And when Gavin did get up there, he made a discovery.
0:38:43 > 0:38:46Basically, it's all the old staircase from the first...
0:38:46 > 0:38:48from the ground to the first floor.
0:38:48 > 0:38:52The missing Georgian stairs had been hidden in an alcove in the attic
0:38:52 > 0:38:54and then boarded up for safekeeping.
0:38:54 > 0:38:56I think in my head, I think on paper,
0:38:56 > 0:39:00I think on the provisional sum, I'd allowed about ten, 15 grand.
0:39:01 > 0:39:03It was a welcome saving.
0:39:05 > 0:39:08Downstairs, the plasterers had arrived and, as the house is
0:39:08 > 0:39:12Grade II listed, they were using lime plaster on the walls.
0:39:14 > 0:39:17I think you get a feeling that you're doing the right thing
0:39:17 > 0:39:20and also that you're doing something that was practised
0:39:20 > 0:39:22hundreds of years ago.
0:39:22 > 0:39:25Lime plaster is a mixture of sand, water and lime.
0:39:26 > 0:39:28It's usually put on in three layers,
0:39:28 > 0:39:31and each one can take up to a month to set.
0:39:32 > 0:39:36The first two layers also contain another vital ingredient,
0:39:36 > 0:39:37animal hair.
0:39:37 > 0:39:41The hair that used to be used in the old days was cow hair.
0:39:41 > 0:39:43What we actually use now is horse hair,
0:39:43 > 0:39:48and basically the hair acts as a matrix and holds the lime together.
0:39:50 > 0:39:53Working with lime plaster requires patience and dedication,
0:39:53 > 0:39:56and craftsmen like Andrew are a vanishing breed.
0:39:56 > 0:40:01I'm a lime geek, and I'm just crazy about the material,
0:40:01 > 0:40:05but if my wife catches hold of this message again,
0:40:05 > 0:40:09she'll just say, "Oh, it's lime again, and it's continuous."
0:40:09 > 0:40:11She's had enough of lime, I think, basically.
0:40:11 > 0:40:13She hates it!
0:40:15 > 0:40:18The custom-made sash windows were the next challenge.
0:40:18 > 0:40:21Gavin and his mate Chris were fitting them.
0:40:22 > 0:40:24We've never put sash windows in.
0:40:24 > 0:40:27But we read about it on the internet.
0:40:30 > 0:40:33It's a bit of a sequence to it, you have to...
0:40:33 > 0:40:35It's a bit like a jigsaw, isn't it?
0:40:35 > 0:40:37Putting them back together, each one you have to put it back
0:40:37 > 0:40:40in the exact sequence to get... That one has to be on the bottom,
0:40:40 > 0:40:43you put the middle beam back in, and you have to move the sash window up,
0:40:43 > 0:40:45etc, etc.
0:40:45 > 0:40:48So it is quite a lot more time-consuming than just a normal window.
0:40:48 > 0:40:52Once the first one's cracked, we've got the pattern how to do it.
0:40:54 > 0:40:57- That's right, we've done it. - That's it, perfect.
0:41:01 > 0:41:04Look at that. That's sweet, isn't it?
0:41:04 > 0:41:06Fantastic.
0:41:07 > 0:41:10So, that was one down, 37 still to go.
0:41:15 > 0:41:20'My next visit was in November, six months into our 12-month bet.'
0:41:22 > 0:41:24Oh, lovely windows.
0:41:26 > 0:41:28- Hello, Gavin.- Caroline.
0:41:28 > 0:41:30- Fabulous windows.- Thank you, yeah.
0:41:30 > 0:41:32Fabulous! I bet they cost next to nothing(!)
0:41:32 > 0:41:36They were pennies. No, yeah, expensive but well worth it.
0:41:36 > 0:41:37How much?
0:41:37 > 0:41:43I think windows and doors came to, I think it was at £37,000 something.
0:41:43 > 0:41:47Bless your heart. That's a lot of money, isn't it?
0:41:47 > 0:41:49It is, it's the most expensive single item.
0:41:49 > 0:41:51And has Ann been happy with the build so far?
0:41:51 > 0:41:54I think so, yeah. We're in negotiations about kitchens, so...
0:41:54 > 0:41:57What do you mean? You don't want the same thing, or...?
0:41:57 > 0:42:00Well, I want a cheaper one, she wants an expensive one.
0:42:00 > 0:42:03Ha! OK. But generally speaking,
0:42:03 > 0:42:05you think you're within budget at the moment?
0:42:05 > 0:42:08Yeah, I'm pretty happy. I think the kitchens are pushing it over,
0:42:08 > 0:42:11so, obviously, we haven't placed an order for them yet.
0:42:11 > 0:42:15- Would you like me to have a word with Ann?- Please, yeah.
0:42:16 > 0:42:18Now, rumour has it you've got extremely expensive taste?
0:42:18 > 0:42:21Well, not deliberate expensive taste.
0:42:21 > 0:42:22I know that's what Gav says,
0:42:22 > 0:42:25and we've had many a discussion about, yes, the kitchen.
0:42:25 > 0:42:27- Of all the things.- Yes.
0:42:27 > 0:42:29Yes. The kitchen, yes. Are we having granite?
0:42:29 > 0:42:32Yes, of course, we're having granite, but money's tight because
0:42:32 > 0:42:35obviously it's gone on plastering, it's gone on electrics, it's gone
0:42:35 > 0:42:39on plumbing, all the things that are needed, but you don't necessarily
0:42:39 > 0:42:42see, and then I think, well, why is there none left for my kitchen?
0:42:42 > 0:42:45- So, what kitchen did you like? - Well, it took ages to choose doors.
0:42:45 > 0:42:47Have you ever looked at kitchen doors?
0:42:47 > 0:42:50It is the most boring thing in the world and, like, kitchens,
0:42:50 > 0:42:53I'm like, well, none of them are speaking to me,
0:42:53 > 0:42:54none of them are saying "wow".
0:42:54 > 0:42:58So he pulls out this kitchen door and I went, "That's the one",
0:42:58 > 0:43:01and he's like, "Yeah, I only brought you this out to point out
0:43:01 > 0:43:04"that this is the Ferrari of kitchens."
0:43:04 > 0:43:06SHE LAUGHS
0:43:07 > 0:43:11Ann's dream kitchen may have been expensive, but in the new year
0:43:11 > 0:43:15Gavin and Ann were faced with a much bigger financial problem.
0:43:18 > 0:43:20In fact, it was a crisis that threatened to stop
0:43:20 > 0:43:22the whole restoration.
0:43:23 > 0:43:25In essence, we took out a loan, development loan
0:43:25 > 0:43:28if you want to call it, and now we're at the stage where we
0:43:28 > 0:43:32need to repay that loan with a traditional mortgage.
0:43:32 > 0:43:35Whereby now the house is habitable, it can take on a traditional
0:43:35 > 0:43:38mortgage, whereas before you can't get traditional finance,
0:43:38 > 0:43:42as in a normal mortgage, on a derelict building.
0:43:44 > 0:43:46The problem was the development loan had a time limit,
0:43:46 > 0:43:50and getting a normal mortgage was proving harder than expected.
0:43:50 > 0:43:54Yeah, I'm just waiting, we're waiting for a phone call from
0:43:54 > 0:43:57the bank, just hopefully to confirm that we can have the mortgage.
0:43:57 > 0:43:59It's either a yes or a no at this point.
0:43:59 > 0:44:02Basically a lot's depending on today.
0:44:02 > 0:44:03If it's a no, it's basically...
0:44:03 > 0:44:07We'll have to tell the plasterers to stop working.
0:44:11 > 0:44:14In the end, when the call came through, it was bad news.
0:44:14 > 0:44:17The mortgage request was turned down.
0:44:19 > 0:44:20When you've got all your life
0:44:20 > 0:44:24and everything depends on that particular phone call at that moment
0:44:24 > 0:44:29in time, it's absolutely devastating when you hear that kind of feedback.
0:44:31 > 0:44:33But they managed to get some financing.
0:44:34 > 0:44:37And, after a lot of toing and froing, that's when it came back
0:44:37 > 0:44:39and we got the compromise, basically.
0:44:39 > 0:44:41We got 50% of what we needed.
0:44:41 > 0:44:42Basically, what it's going to mean is
0:44:42 > 0:44:45it's just going to take longer to do it because it's going to be me
0:44:45 > 0:44:48building most of it instead of paying someone to do it.
0:44:48 > 0:44:50It was a blow,
0:44:50 > 0:44:53but at least the restoration of The Elms could continue.
0:44:53 > 0:44:55But at a much slower pace.
0:45:03 > 0:45:06Kate had been investigating John Wilkinson Clay.
0:45:06 > 0:45:10He was born illegitimate, but in the records, she not only found
0:45:10 > 0:45:14the name of his father, John Clay, but also that his parents got
0:45:14 > 0:45:16married four years after his birth.
0:45:19 > 0:45:23John Wilkinson Clay inherited The Elms in 1793
0:45:23 > 0:45:25and lived there for 73 years.
0:45:27 > 0:45:30When he died, he left the house to his daughter.
0:45:30 > 0:45:34In his will, though, he was careful to make sure his housekeeper,
0:45:34 > 0:45:36Dorothy Roberts, was looked after.
0:45:37 > 0:45:40And, it turns out, he did more than just that.
0:45:42 > 0:45:44Actually, she's in the grave with him.
0:45:44 > 0:45:47So, along with his father and his mother and his sons
0:45:47 > 0:45:49and his wife, is Dorothy.
0:45:49 > 0:45:51She's there.
0:45:51 > 0:45:53To be buried with your servant is something...
0:45:53 > 0:45:56I mean, you hardly ever see it. It's really uncommon.
0:45:56 > 0:46:01John Wilkinson Clay's wife died 17 years before him,
0:46:01 > 0:46:04so Dorothy must have stayed with him to the end.
0:46:05 > 0:46:08So, kind of, she was his final companion.
0:46:08 > 0:46:10So he wanted to have them both in the grave,
0:46:10 > 0:46:12both his beloved wife and dear Dorothy,
0:46:12 > 0:46:16and, really, he's not only caring about her, he's lifting her status.
0:46:16 > 0:46:19He's saying, you know, she's not just a servant,
0:46:19 > 0:46:21she is a friend and she's a companion
0:46:21 > 0:46:25and she's going in the grave with me and my father and my children.
0:46:26 > 0:46:30Born out of wedlock, it seems that John Wilkinson Clay was
0:46:30 > 0:46:34destined to defy convention from the cradle to the grave.
0:46:39 > 0:46:43Since the 18th century, The Elms had been a grand house with a rich
0:46:43 > 0:46:45and sometimes scandalous history.
0:46:47 > 0:46:50But the 21st century had seen it decay to a point where it was
0:46:50 > 0:46:53doubtful if it could be saved at all.
0:46:56 > 0:46:59But Gavin and Ann took on this ambitious restoration.
0:47:02 > 0:47:04They'd been working hard on it for 12 months,
0:47:04 > 0:47:07overcoming financial problems along the way.
0:47:08 > 0:47:12Gavin had bet £5 that they would be living in the house by now.
0:47:13 > 0:47:14Nice to see you.
0:47:14 > 0:47:16Hand it over, then.
0:47:18 > 0:47:20Oh, he has! No, don't, I'm only joking!
0:47:20 > 0:47:22- I've only got a ten. - Oh, bless your heart.
0:47:22 > 0:47:26So, I'm assuming by the swift action on the wallet, it's not finished?
0:47:26 > 0:47:29It's not finished, no, no.
0:47:29 > 0:47:32Quite a big delay on some finance.
0:47:32 > 0:47:34I was absolutely fed up with it,
0:47:34 > 0:47:38with the stress and pressure of all the money,
0:47:38 > 0:47:41but it's got sorted and we're getting back on track.
0:47:44 > 0:47:46A year ago the rear part of the house where Gavin
0:47:46 > 0:47:49and Ann planned to live was in a terrible state.
0:47:51 > 0:47:53The fireplace was in danger of collapse,
0:47:53 > 0:47:57there were no floors and the walls were just rubble.
0:48:09 > 0:48:12- This has come on hugely.- Yes.
0:48:12 > 0:48:13It has, yeah.
0:48:13 > 0:48:16I know you're not finished but it's so different.
0:48:16 > 0:48:18Yeah, it's got a great feel now.
0:48:20 > 0:48:23Gavin had focused his efforts on getting this part of the house
0:48:23 > 0:48:25completed, but it hadn't come cheap.
0:48:27 > 0:48:30He'd spent £235,000 -
0:48:30 > 0:48:34£55,000 more than the original budget.
0:48:35 > 0:48:37Some of that money went
0:48:37 > 0:48:39on the kitchen that Ann had always dreamt of.
0:48:44 > 0:48:46- Ann! You got it!- Yay!
0:48:46 > 0:48:50You got your dream kitchen, and it is dreamy.
0:48:50 > 0:48:52- It is a dream kitchen.- Isn't it? - Yeah.
0:49:02 > 0:49:03On the first floor,
0:49:03 > 0:49:06bathrooms are going in and bedrooms are getting done.
0:49:07 > 0:49:10The half-ton beam that Gavin struggled to fit is now
0:49:10 > 0:49:13part of the ceiling to the guest bedroom
0:49:13 > 0:49:16and holds up the floor in their master suite.
0:49:16 > 0:49:20This house, for us, or for me, will become like, it will be my heart
0:49:20 > 0:49:24and soul. We'll love it, it will be filled with memories.
0:49:26 > 0:49:29It was at the front of the house, where Gavin's mum will live,
0:49:29 > 0:49:31that there was still the most work to do.
0:49:34 > 0:49:37It wasn't ready to move into but they were getting there.
0:49:44 > 0:49:47When the programme was first broadcast last year,
0:49:47 > 0:49:51Gavin and Ann were amazed at the response. There were many letters,
0:49:51 > 0:49:54e-mails and calls, but one person in particular stood out.
0:49:56 > 0:50:00Linda Cox had a very personal connection with The Elms.
0:50:00 > 0:50:04I was just looking through the channels and, lo and behold,
0:50:04 > 0:50:07there was The Elms. I just couldn't believe it.
0:50:07 > 0:50:09I sat and cried.
0:50:09 > 0:50:11I think I cried all the way through the programme,
0:50:11 > 0:50:14because it brought such memories back,
0:50:14 > 0:50:18but I was so pleased to see that it was coming back to life again.
0:50:19 > 0:50:23The Elms had been in Linda's family since the 1900s,
0:50:23 > 0:50:27and she remembers her grandparents living there.
0:50:27 > 0:50:28My dad was born there.
0:50:28 > 0:50:34He was born on the top floor and so I spent a lot of my childhood there.
0:50:34 > 0:50:36One thing in particular I always remember is
0:50:36 > 0:50:38the sliding down the banister,
0:50:38 > 0:50:42and I used to get into real trouble for sliding down the banister
0:50:42 > 0:50:45and get smacked bottoms at the bottom, but I'd still do it again.
0:50:47 > 0:50:51Linda's parents had met at The Elms in the 1930s.
0:50:51 > 0:50:54Her mother was a maid at the house and then fell in love
0:50:54 > 0:50:58with one of the sons, George Holmes, and they married.
0:50:58 > 0:51:00That was my mum and dad, yeah.
0:51:06 > 0:51:09We used to go to The Elms, my dad and I.
0:51:09 > 0:51:13We used to always have to go at Christmas and bank holidays
0:51:13 > 0:51:17and every Wednesday. But my mum wasn't allowed to go.
0:51:17 > 0:51:22Which was a bit of a connection. Like the lady who lived there,
0:51:22 > 0:51:25who was the housekeeper at the house before
0:51:25 > 0:51:27with the original owner.
0:51:27 > 0:51:32It was a bit untoward, so it was like history repeating itself.
0:51:39 > 0:51:42A year has now passed since we last visited The Elms,
0:51:42 > 0:51:46and Kieran has come to see how Gavin and Ann are getting on.
0:51:51 > 0:51:54- Hi there. - Kieran, nice to see you again.
0:51:54 > 0:51:56- Good to see you. - Yeah, good to see you again.
0:51:56 > 0:51:58- Hi.- How are you? - I'm fine thank you, not too bad.
0:51:58 > 0:51:59Good, and how's everything going?
0:51:59 > 0:52:02Good-ish, yeah. We've obviously still got the hoarding up.
0:52:02 > 0:52:05Yeah, the first thing I notice is that it still looks like a building
0:52:05 > 0:52:06site - that's a bit worrying.
0:52:06 > 0:52:09It's disappointing to have the hoarding up still.
0:52:09 > 0:52:11Mainly because my mum hasn't quite moved, we didn't want
0:52:11 > 0:52:13to take the hoarding down until she moved in.
0:52:13 > 0:52:15Well, I can't wait to see what you've been doing
0:52:15 > 0:52:18and how your house is looking. Can you show me round?
0:52:18 > 0:52:20We can, yes. Let's go in and show you around.
0:52:22 > 0:52:25Gavin has been concentrating on the Georgian front of the house
0:52:25 > 0:52:27where his mum, Suzanne, will live.
0:52:29 > 0:52:32So, entrance hall. I'll take you into the kitchen first
0:52:32 > 0:52:35and just show you the best bit first. HE LAUGHS
0:52:39 > 0:52:41Great. What a nice space.
0:52:44 > 0:52:46So this will be Mum's kitchen.
0:52:46 > 0:52:48Well, I hope she likes entertaining
0:52:48 > 0:52:51cos there's plenty of space in here. Great.
0:52:51 > 0:52:53It's a great size kitchen.
0:52:53 > 0:52:57And the quality you're doing things with, you know, I mean,
0:52:57 > 0:53:00you've been working with lath and plaster, you've got a joiner.
0:53:00 > 0:53:02I mean, these are not easy, are they?
0:53:02 > 0:53:05No. I suppose not many people, if they do a new build,
0:53:05 > 0:53:07go to this sort of standard, especially on the budget
0:53:07 > 0:53:10we've got, because it is a fairly low budget for what we've done.
0:53:10 > 0:53:12And even though we're standing in your mum's half-finished
0:53:12 > 0:53:15kitchen, you're still relaxed about the fact.
0:53:15 > 0:53:18Yeah, she... Joking aside, she's eager to get in
0:53:18 > 0:53:21and you can understand it, it's a fantastic house.
0:53:21 > 0:53:23All her friends keep asking her when she's going to be in
0:53:23 > 0:53:27and I think she's got a bit fed up of saying, "I don't know!"
0:53:27 > 0:53:29I will push on and get it finished pretty soon.
0:53:30 > 0:53:33Luckily, his mum, Suzanne, is being very patient.
0:53:33 > 0:53:35It just doesn't bother me.
0:53:35 > 0:53:38When I'm in, I shall be in and that's it.
0:53:38 > 0:53:40When they first bought the house,
0:53:40 > 0:53:43the original Georgian staircase was missing.
0:53:43 > 0:53:45Gavin found it hidden in the loft.
0:53:48 > 0:53:52Now another piece of the house's history has been restored.
0:53:56 > 0:53:58The panelled room will be Suzanne's dining room.
0:54:00 > 0:54:04Gavin is being helped here by joiner Andy Fern, who's been
0:54:04 > 0:54:07repairing and replacing all the damaged and missing panelling.
0:54:07 > 0:54:13Well, when we came in, it was just back to the stone in places...
0:54:14 > 0:54:17..so we've had to make the odd panel up.
0:54:17 > 0:54:22This is just a mock-up of the shutters, how they're going to work.
0:54:23 > 0:54:27And then they'll fold back into the reveals.
0:54:27 > 0:54:30I've just made some little window seats
0:54:30 > 0:54:33with storage facility underneath.
0:54:34 > 0:54:38Gavin, Ann and Caitlin moved into the rear part of The Elms
0:54:38 > 0:54:40eight months ago.
0:54:40 > 0:54:43And, downstairs, all the rooms are finished.
0:54:44 > 0:54:48It's taken two years of hard work, financial worrying
0:54:48 > 0:54:53and lots of determination, but now their house is almost complete.
0:54:57 > 0:54:59Caitlin now has her dream bedroom.
0:55:03 > 0:55:08It has its own en-suite bathroom, designed by Caitlin.
0:55:09 > 0:55:13And a walk-in wardrobe for her clothes and toys.
0:55:15 > 0:55:17Caitlin loves her room,
0:55:17 > 0:55:20but can't wait for all the building work to be over.
0:55:20 > 0:55:24I like everything about the house apart from just...
0:55:25 > 0:55:28..I'd like it if it was all finished.
0:55:28 > 0:55:31This was a very ambitious restoration,
0:55:31 > 0:55:33but now the master bedroom is nearly done.
0:55:42 > 0:55:46- Wow.- Yeah. It's getting there. - This is fantastic, isn't it?
0:55:46 > 0:55:48Yeah, it's nice, it's a nice space, yeah.
0:55:48 > 0:55:50But it's not finished. We've not got the dressing room,
0:55:50 > 0:55:53not got the en-suite quite done, so when all that's done
0:55:53 > 0:55:55and I've got a place for everything, I'll be extremely happy.
0:55:55 > 0:56:00Yeah, I can see in your... There's a bath the wrong way up in there.
0:56:00 > 0:56:02Have you noticed that(?) Yeah,
0:56:02 > 0:56:05I know! I'm not sure how Gav thinks I'll manage to use that but, yeah.
0:56:05 > 0:56:08It's a trade-off, I guess, between the time you've got
0:56:08 > 0:56:09and the money you've got.
0:56:09 > 0:56:12Yeah, and he's not just doing one house, he's doing two houses,
0:56:12 > 0:56:14so you have to compromise there as well, don't you?
0:56:14 > 0:56:16As much as I'd like, "You work on my half,"
0:56:16 > 0:56:18he has to work on Grandma's half, and it's a bit unfair of me
0:56:18 > 0:56:21to say, "Well, I want this done," when she's not in.
0:56:21 > 0:56:24I'd feel guilty about that, so I think it's only fair, really.
0:56:25 > 0:56:28Gavin and Ann may not have finished The Elms yet,
0:56:28 > 0:56:31but what they've achieved so far is impressive.
0:56:33 > 0:56:37And Gavin will just keep going until it's done.
0:56:37 > 0:56:38It's a bit like a hobby, I suppose,
0:56:38 > 0:56:41so that's how I've got to look at it as well.
0:56:41 > 0:56:44I know it's a family home, it's a place we love,
0:56:44 > 0:56:46but also it's a bit of a hobby as well.
0:56:46 > 0:56:47I enjoy putting the detail back in.
0:56:52 > 0:56:54Tell me about Gavin and how he's managed the job,
0:56:54 > 0:56:56cos there's been a lot pressure on him.
0:56:56 > 0:56:59Yeah, he's handled it really well. I mean, you know,
0:56:59 > 0:57:00he can pretty much do anything.
0:57:00 > 0:57:03I mean, I do joke that he's really talented but earns us no money.
0:57:03 > 0:57:06So, actually, I'm not worried about him.
0:57:06 > 0:57:09There's times that he's had his down days but I've not, you know,
0:57:09 > 0:57:11overly worried about him at all.
0:57:11 > 0:57:13Oh, that sounds really heartless, doesn't it?
0:57:13 > 0:57:16But, no, I tend to say, "You know, come on, get on,
0:57:16 > 0:57:18"we need to get it finished."
0:57:18 > 0:57:21So you're a good team in that way. You motivate one another?
0:57:21 > 0:57:23Yeah. Yeah, we do motivate one another.
0:57:27 > 0:57:30To some people it looks a million miles away, but compared to
0:57:30 > 0:57:33how it was, it's a million miles closer to being finished.
0:57:35 > 0:57:38It is a dream house, though, isn't it?
0:57:38 > 0:57:40- It is, yeah. - Yeah, yeah, for me anyhow.
0:57:40 > 0:57:42When it's completely finished - and the garden.
0:57:42 > 0:57:45I've got bigger dreams but I can't afford them.
0:57:49 > 0:57:52Next time, we revisit one of our most challenging restorations,
0:57:52 > 0:57:54Old Manor in Norfolk.
0:57:54 > 0:57:56- Hi, Polly.- Hi, Kieran.
0:57:56 > 0:57:58I've never been so happy in my life.
0:57:58 > 0:58:03And find new evidence in the mystery of its stained glass windows.
0:58:03 > 0:58:07Well, our William Gregson that lived there...was the vicar.
0:58:07 > 0:58:12So I just assumed that one of those had taken this stained glass window.
0:58:12 > 0:58:15And, in South Wales, we meet the master joiner who helped turn
0:58:15 > 0:58:20Coldbrook Farm from a decaying Tudor gem to a 21st-century family home.
0:58:20 > 0:58:23It's in your pride, at the end of the day, when somebody else
0:58:23 > 0:58:27appreciates it. Like the stairs at Coldbrook. Made my day, that did.