0:00:02 > 0:00:05Historic houses, both humble and grand,
0:00:05 > 0:00:09have all played their part in the story of our nation.
0:00:09 > 0:00:10But today many are at risk
0:00:10 > 0:00:15and some in danger of being lost for ever.
0:00:15 > 0:00:18I'm going to be following the fortunes of six properties
0:00:18 > 0:00:22all facing their own struggle for survival.
0:00:25 > 0:00:27Oh, look, you can see the round. Wow.
0:00:29 > 0:00:32It's like walking into a kind of Tudor fantasy.
0:00:32 > 0:00:35This is not quite what I was expecting.
0:00:36 > 0:00:41And they all have new owners committed to turning them into their dream home.
0:00:42 > 0:00:45It's a bit like a little old lady waiting for face lift
0:00:45 > 0:00:47and we're coming in to make her better.
0:00:47 > 0:00:51I never, ever thought I would do a project like this in my life before.
0:00:53 > 0:00:57I have spent years restoring derelict old properties,
0:00:57 > 0:00:59and having poured everything
0:00:59 > 0:01:02into trying to create my perfect family home,
0:01:02 > 0:01:06I know what a challenge it is to rescue a precious old building.
0:01:08 > 0:01:11We've a lot riding on it and it's scary times.
0:01:11 > 0:01:14We love it, we want to finish it, but sometimes it feels like too much.
0:01:16 > 0:01:19It's Restoration Home.
0:01:28 > 0:01:31A classic English country scene
0:01:31 > 0:01:35replicated on thousands of calendars and biscuit tins
0:01:35 > 0:01:41because it conjures up images of an idyllic rural life.
0:01:41 > 0:01:46These buildings are much more than just a nostalgic snapshot.
0:01:46 > 0:01:49Timber-framed buildings represent an important marker
0:01:49 > 0:01:51in British architectural history.
0:01:51 > 0:01:55In Tudor times the vast majority of buildings
0:01:55 > 0:01:57would have been built in this style.
0:01:57 > 0:02:02Tragically, today, very few remain.
0:02:04 > 0:02:09In the village of Southam in Warwickshire, is a forgotten gem -
0:02:09 > 0:02:12number one Abbey Lane.
0:02:13 > 0:02:15For decades it seems to have passed under the radar.
0:02:15 > 0:02:19Even though it's thought to date from Tudor times,
0:02:19 > 0:02:24this house has never been given formal protection as a listed building.
0:02:28 > 0:02:33Until recently it was owned by a family who'd lived here for over 50 years.
0:02:33 > 0:02:38And when they put it on the market it was clear to anyone who looked
0:02:38 > 0:02:42that number one Abbey Lane needed a lot of work.
0:02:46 > 0:02:50And that's when the Forgans came along -
0:02:50 > 0:02:54Sally, Stuart, and their daughter Scarlett.
0:02:54 > 0:02:57For some time they've been looking for the right kind of house,
0:02:57 > 0:03:00one that they could really make their own.
0:03:01 > 0:03:04It's a house we knew. We lived locally and walked past it.
0:03:04 > 0:03:08So we came and had a look and just really loved it.
0:03:08 > 0:03:11From the first day we walked in, we really fell in love with it
0:03:11 > 0:03:16and it's really become a passion of ours to bring it back to life.
0:03:19 > 0:03:23From the minute we came round we could see its potential
0:03:23 > 0:03:26and that it could be a really lovely family home.
0:03:26 > 0:03:28The rooms were a nice size, the ceilings were high,
0:03:28 > 0:03:30there were interesting beams.
0:03:30 > 0:03:33So it was an instant feeling that we had when we came
0:03:33 > 0:03:35that it could work for us.
0:03:35 > 0:03:40One of the things that has appealed to us about this project
0:03:40 > 0:03:43is being able to peel the house back to its fundamental core,
0:03:43 > 0:03:46get a real feel for the building.
0:03:47 > 0:03:50We've never done anything like this before, never.
0:03:50 > 0:03:53And I think we know that we're quite mad,
0:03:53 > 0:03:56because we didn't really think it through before we bought it.
0:03:57 > 0:04:02It may not have been sensible, but Sally and Stuart bought it anyway.
0:04:02 > 0:04:06The sale price was £330,000.
0:04:06 > 0:04:09Obviously they couldn't move in straight away,
0:04:09 > 0:04:12so they planned to remain in their present house
0:04:12 > 0:04:14until the restoration work was completed.
0:04:16 > 0:04:21But as soon as the sale went through, Sally and Stuart started making plans.
0:04:22 > 0:04:24Stuart's brother is an architect, which was handy.
0:04:24 > 0:04:26so he helped us initially put some plans together.
0:04:26 > 0:04:28But he's not based in the UK
0:04:28 > 0:04:31so we've then had a UK architect helping us.
0:04:31 > 0:04:35Turning number one Abbey Lane into their dream home
0:04:35 > 0:04:38is a project in three stages.
0:04:38 > 0:04:41First, the old building.
0:04:41 > 0:04:44The main house we just want to restore, put it back as it was.
0:04:44 > 0:04:47There are a lot of partitions that were put in
0:04:47 > 0:04:49over the last 100 years or so.
0:04:49 > 0:04:52What we will take it back to, hopefully,
0:04:52 > 0:04:57is more like what it was like when it was first built.
0:04:58 > 0:05:02So stage one is restoring the building to its former glory.
0:05:09 > 0:05:13The sides of the house were long ago rebuilt in brick,
0:05:13 > 0:05:16but the timber frame remains at the front and back.
0:05:18 > 0:05:20Stage two of the project
0:05:20 > 0:05:24is turning the inside into a comfortable living space.
0:05:24 > 0:05:28So on the ground floor they'll have separate lounge and dining rooms,
0:05:28 > 0:05:31each with a wood-burning stove.
0:05:33 > 0:05:34Upstairs, a study,
0:05:34 > 0:05:37and two generous bedrooms, both en suite.
0:05:38 > 0:05:42While in the attic they'll have two more bedrooms,
0:05:42 > 0:05:44right under the eaves.
0:05:45 > 0:05:50Then there's stage three, and that's an extension.
0:05:50 > 0:05:54This will house a large kitchen and a garage on the ground floor,
0:05:54 > 0:05:56with a family room and a guest bedroom
0:05:56 > 0:05:59built in to the roof space above.
0:06:00 > 0:06:03Five bedrooms might seem generous now,
0:06:03 > 0:06:06but the Forgans are a growing family.
0:06:06 > 0:06:09In fact, they're expecting a new baby in March.
0:06:09 > 0:06:13So Sally and Stuart know what they want,
0:06:13 > 0:06:15and they know how much they've got to spend.
0:06:15 > 0:06:20They can afford no more than a £150,000 for the whole project,
0:06:20 > 0:06:22though, of course, it's difficult to predict
0:06:22 > 0:06:26how much work a house like this will need.
0:06:27 > 0:06:31So they've called in Pete Ward to manage the project for them.
0:06:31 > 0:06:35He's a builder who specialises in heritage jobs.
0:06:35 > 0:06:39And he's already found some serious problems.
0:06:41 > 0:06:43Look at that.
0:06:43 > 0:06:48They've actually shotted and poured concrete.
0:06:49 > 0:06:51I've never seen anything like it.
0:06:51 > 0:06:54It's quite incredible and it's quite unnecessary.
0:06:56 > 0:07:00Large areas of the house, both inside and out,
0:07:00 > 0:07:05were coated in cement and concrete some time in the 20th century.
0:07:05 > 0:07:09It was supposed to strengthen and protect the aging structure,
0:07:09 > 0:07:13but it may well be the worst thing anyone could have done.
0:07:14 > 0:07:18We've just started to pull this off
0:07:18 > 0:07:22and you can see the timber underneath has just completely rotten.
0:07:25 > 0:07:28This is the sort of thing that makes me cry.
0:07:31 > 0:07:34Modern builders putting cement...
0:07:38 > 0:07:41..over timber and brick.
0:07:41 > 0:07:44And the reason the brick here is disintegrating
0:07:44 > 0:07:49is because the cement is stopping the brick from breathing.
0:07:49 > 0:07:53Under here you can see it's absolutely sopping wet.
0:07:54 > 0:07:58Wet rot is an added complication for Sally and Stuart to think about,
0:07:58 > 0:08:01in their already very busy lives.
0:08:02 > 0:08:06It's going to be a difficult few months with the new baby and everything else,
0:08:06 > 0:08:08but fun as well hopefully.
0:08:09 > 0:08:12Stuart is a solicitor in the City of London,
0:08:12 > 0:08:15and he has to spend up to three hours a day commuting.
0:08:15 > 0:08:19I try and get in as much as I can during the week,
0:08:19 > 0:08:24but with being in London most of the time I can only get in late at night.
0:08:24 > 0:08:26- When it's dark. - When it's dark with a torch.
0:08:27 > 0:08:30Sally is working too.
0:08:30 > 0:08:35She's the managing director of a market research company in Warwick.
0:08:35 > 0:08:36At the moment she's there part time,
0:08:36 > 0:08:40but soon she'll be having some extra time off.
0:08:41 > 0:08:45My maternity leave is going to be spent running backwards and forwards
0:08:45 > 0:08:46with two babies to check on the house.
0:08:46 > 0:08:51But the guys have everything so under control I'm not too worried about it.
0:08:51 > 0:08:53So, despite the problems with rot,
0:08:53 > 0:08:58Sally and Stuart seem confident and ready for the build to get going.
0:09:13 > 0:09:18So this is day one. Six months after buying it, day one is finally here.
0:09:18 > 0:09:21So, scaffolding goes up today.
0:09:21 > 0:09:25Scaffolding is up for 16 weeks, so that's how long they've got.
0:09:25 > 0:09:28As long as we can stick to the 16 weeks it will mean that
0:09:28 > 0:09:31everything else can hopefully stick to the schedule
0:09:31 > 0:09:36and the plumbing and the lighting and the electrics can go in on time.
0:09:36 > 0:09:37So, yeah, that's the plan.
0:09:41 > 0:09:44A few weeks on, and it's time to call in our professionals
0:09:44 > 0:09:48to see what we can discover about Sally and Stuart's house.
0:09:48 > 0:09:50Historian Dr Kate Williams
0:09:50 > 0:09:54will try to find out about the people who have lived here.
0:09:54 > 0:09:58And architectural expert Kieran Long is going to investigate
0:09:58 > 0:09:59what the building can tell us.
0:10:00 > 0:10:04It's just so amazing to see it all like a skeleton.
0:10:04 > 0:10:06Completely stripped back.
0:10:06 > 0:10:11All of the cement render and 20th-century brick infill has now been removed,
0:10:11 > 0:10:15leaving the timber frame reduced to its essentials.
0:10:15 > 0:10:20It's a rare chance to see just how simple timber-frame buildings are.
0:10:21 > 0:10:25People often say they're like a series of wooden goalposts
0:10:25 > 0:10:29stood up parallel with each other, and joined by beams.
0:10:29 > 0:10:31The problem with having sets of goalposts,
0:10:31 > 0:10:34if you imagine that they want to fall that way,
0:10:34 > 0:10:36they don't have much stiffness in that direction,
0:10:36 > 0:10:38so you need to brace them diagonally.
0:10:38 > 0:10:41The interesting thing is you see lots of office buildings today,
0:10:41 > 0:10:43for instance, skyscrapers,
0:10:43 > 0:10:46built with crossbracing, and it's exactly the same principle.
0:10:46 > 0:10:49The structure may be simple,
0:10:49 > 0:10:52but there are some tricky questions hanging over the house.
0:10:52 > 0:10:56It's believed to date from the end of the 16th century,
0:10:56 > 0:10:57but no-one knows for sure.
0:10:59 > 0:11:04And there's something unusual about the building material.
0:11:04 > 0:11:07The interesting thing about this structure is that it's not oak,
0:11:07 > 0:11:09which would have been typical. It's elm.
0:11:09 > 0:11:12So we have to do some digging to understand a bit more of that.
0:11:12 > 0:11:14And down in the cellar there are clues
0:11:14 > 0:11:17that it may not always have been just a house.
0:11:19 > 0:11:22You can see that there's some decent quality stone.
0:11:22 > 0:11:25Another thing that has caught my eye is this floor.
0:11:25 > 0:11:28It's brick, very functional.
0:11:28 > 0:11:31It suggests maybe there was some kind of use. They wear well.
0:11:31 > 0:11:33But it's really nicely done.
0:11:33 > 0:11:37There's a herringbone pattern here going round the corner.
0:11:37 > 0:11:39To me this cellar gives me a clue
0:11:39 > 0:11:41that this building was used for work.
0:11:43 > 0:11:46As the historian, it's going to be up to Kate
0:11:46 > 0:11:49to track down what people have been doing here,
0:11:49 > 0:11:51and not just the actual inhabitants.
0:11:51 > 0:11:53What I also want to find out about
0:11:53 > 0:11:56is the importance of this town in the 16th century.
0:11:56 > 0:11:58What kind of place was it? The population, the trade?
0:11:58 > 0:12:03I really want to build up an actual picture of what Southam was like.
0:12:03 > 0:12:05One other thing it would be nice to understand
0:12:05 > 0:12:08is why these buildings resonate so strongly with us today.
0:12:08 > 0:12:10When we come to the English countryside
0:12:10 > 0:12:15we want to see a timbered building standing in an unspoilt landscape.
0:12:15 > 0:12:19Why is this so powerful in our imagination?
0:12:26 > 0:12:29It's the middle of March and the scaffolding has been up
0:12:29 > 0:12:31for eight weeks - half its budgeted time.
0:12:33 > 0:12:36Round the front, repairs are well under way on the rotten timbers.
0:12:39 > 0:12:43But up on the roof they've only just started taking the tiles off.
0:12:43 > 0:12:47And there's a lot of work to be done up here,
0:12:47 > 0:12:52including structural repairs, dormer windows and modern insulation.
0:12:52 > 0:12:55So the schedule has started to slip.
0:12:55 > 0:12:57But then, Sally has had other things on her mind.
0:12:57 > 0:13:03Namely, Florence Islay Forgan, just five days old.
0:13:03 > 0:13:06So relieved she's here. The last few weeks dragged.
0:13:06 > 0:13:09We didn't know if we were having a boy or a girl.
0:13:09 > 0:13:11So it was a nice surprise to have another little girl.
0:13:11 > 0:13:14But, yeah, really glad it's over.
0:13:15 > 0:13:18While Sally's been busy elsewhere,
0:13:18 > 0:13:21the surprises here haven't been quite so nice.
0:13:21 > 0:13:24This structure depends entirely on the strength of the timber frame,
0:13:24 > 0:13:27but those timbers are in a bad way.
0:13:30 > 0:13:33About half of the rear frame will need to be rebuilt
0:13:33 > 0:13:36and that's a job for a specialised craftsman,
0:13:36 > 0:13:39a framing carpenter like Brendan White.
0:13:41 > 0:13:45He's had 25 years experience working on traditional buildings,
0:13:45 > 0:13:49mainly for English Heritage, so he knows the problems.
0:13:50 > 0:13:52You've got to prepare yourself
0:13:52 > 0:13:58and look around the job and see where it's the most unsafe and go for that one first.
0:13:58 > 0:14:01You've got to take a little bit out and put a little bit back in.
0:14:01 > 0:14:06While some of the timbers are beyond repair and will need to be completely replaced,
0:14:06 > 0:14:10many are rotten just at the ends or just on the surface.
0:14:11 > 0:14:14I only put the new stuff in where I've got no choice.
0:14:14 > 0:14:17Strength-wise we're going to face a lot of the timbers.
0:14:17 > 0:14:21These posts will have to stay. We'll face them where we need to.
0:14:21 > 0:14:24The horizontals and verticals, where they're too decayed,
0:14:24 > 0:14:27we replace them completely.
0:14:27 > 0:14:29Put splicing in where we have to.
0:14:29 > 0:14:30I've worked on a lot worse.
0:14:30 > 0:14:34This now is not as bad as the front but it looks bad.
0:14:35 > 0:14:39It took Brendan and another carpenter more than four weeks
0:14:39 > 0:14:41to do the repairs to the front.
0:14:41 > 0:14:44Wherever possible they use traditional methods -
0:14:44 > 0:14:46like wooden pegs to hold the joints together -
0:14:46 > 0:14:48so that the new matches the old.
0:14:50 > 0:14:56Sally and Stuart are determined to restore this house in a sympathetic way,
0:14:56 > 0:14:59even though that does mean extra work and expense.
0:14:59 > 0:15:02For example, the infill panels between the timbers.
0:15:02 > 0:15:06Originally these would have been wattle and daub made of sticks, mud and plaster,
0:15:06 > 0:15:11but here they're being filled with a mix of traditional and modern materials.
0:15:11 > 0:15:17Adam Williams is starting with a kind of high-tech fibreboard.
0:15:17 > 0:15:23It's called Heracliff boarding. It's basically a breathable material.
0:15:23 > 0:15:29To make the edges waterproof they use a traditional material.
0:15:29 > 0:15:32This stuff is called caulking.
0:15:32 > 0:15:37It's made of hair. It's got a type of grease, oil.
0:15:37 > 0:15:41We use this stuff because basically it was used in the ancient years
0:15:41 > 0:15:44when the houses were first erected.
0:15:44 > 0:15:48On the inside, they're going to add a layer of insulation
0:15:48 > 0:15:52made from sheep's wool, then modern plasterboard.
0:15:52 > 0:15:56But on the outside they must use lime plaster which,
0:15:56 > 0:15:59unlike modern plaster, will allow the building to breathe.
0:15:59 > 0:16:04It's more difficult to work with, but it is traditional.
0:16:04 > 0:16:06It's a part of heritage, isn't it?
0:16:06 > 0:16:10It's...how the old boys used to do it.
0:16:16 > 0:16:19Our historian Dr Kate Williams is out to discover
0:16:19 > 0:16:22more about the house, and the wider context of Southam.
0:16:23 > 0:16:27She's starting here in the town, at a local history archive
0:16:27 > 0:16:31that's run by volunteers, the Cardall Collection.
0:16:31 > 0:16:33Chairman of the group is Bernard Cadogan.
0:16:33 > 0:16:36He's found some old pictures of Abbey Lane.
0:16:36 > 0:16:41One of the most fascinating is this one of the chappie on horseback.
0:16:41 > 0:16:44But he's standing on the green in front of the house
0:16:44 > 0:16:47and at this time the house is all rendered.
0:16:47 > 0:16:51This is probably about 1920s, isn't it? Guessing from his dress and shoes.
0:16:51 > 0:16:54Probably. Um...
0:16:54 > 0:16:57Then, we've got another one over here
0:16:57 > 0:17:01- where we've got again...- Rendered again.- Rendered. And it's white.
0:17:01 > 0:17:05But you see what looks like the pump in front on the green there
0:17:05 > 0:17:08and a little gas lamp probably.
0:17:08 > 0:17:10With the children in their smock dresses,
0:17:10 > 0:17:13Southam of 100 years ago looks an idyllic place.
0:17:13 > 0:17:17But, going back further, it wasn't always so tranquil.
0:17:19 > 0:17:23Southam was actually quite an important town in days gone by.
0:17:23 > 0:17:27Back in the time of Waterloo, 1800s, 1815,
0:17:27 > 0:17:30Southam had a population ten times the size of Leamington Spa,
0:17:30 > 0:17:33so it really was a bustling place.
0:17:33 > 0:17:37So there is some information on the 19th and 20th centuries,
0:17:37 > 0:17:40but going back earlier won't be easy.
0:17:40 > 0:17:44I think a lot of information about these places has just been thrown out.
0:17:44 > 0:17:48So we've got our work cut out for us, trying to discover everything.
0:17:48 > 0:17:50I think you have. Yes!
0:17:50 > 0:17:54It's a common problem. Go back more than a couple of centuries
0:17:54 > 0:17:59and you'll be lucky to find any documents about one ordinary house.
0:18:05 > 0:18:08Sally and Stuart started this build in earnest about six months ago.
0:18:08 > 0:18:12Since then, all that heavy brick and concrete
0:18:12 > 0:18:15that was weighing the house down has gone.
0:18:15 > 0:18:21I've come to find out whether the fragile skeleton of the house is coping.
0:18:24 > 0:18:27The scaffolding was due to come down right about now,
0:18:27 > 0:18:30but there's still a lot to do on the structure.
0:18:30 > 0:18:32On the other hand, seeing it like this,
0:18:32 > 0:18:37Sally and Stuart can get to know every detail of their dream home.
0:18:38 > 0:18:40What do you love about the house?
0:18:40 > 0:18:45I think the history of the house, the sense of history in the wood.
0:18:45 > 0:18:50Look at this amazing timber here.
0:18:50 > 0:18:55- It's very beautiful, isn't it? Just holding up the house.- Yeah.
0:18:55 > 0:18:58This one here is a structural beam
0:18:58 > 0:19:02but it appears to be just sitting on a cobweb actually!
0:19:02 > 0:19:07- A cobweb and tiny bit of rubble. - There's not a lot. I wouldn't push too much away of that.
0:19:07 > 0:19:09- No. Do you think that might just collapse?- It may do!
0:19:13 > 0:19:16But the structural issues may not be the most serious problem
0:19:16 > 0:19:19now facing Sally and Stuart.
0:19:19 > 0:19:24They've allowed £150,000 for the whole project,
0:19:24 > 0:19:26but they now realise it's going to cost a lot more.
0:19:29 > 0:19:35At the beginning of the week we had a list of jobs and prices for the remainder of the work
0:19:35 > 0:19:39that was more than the original budget, which is a problem.
0:19:39 > 0:19:41- It's going to be twice your initial budget?- Yes.
0:19:41 > 0:19:45The house isn't worth the money we're spending on it.
0:19:45 > 0:19:48And we haven't got any more money anyway.
0:19:48 > 0:19:52And there's a second phase, the extension. We need that because it's where the kitchen is.
0:19:52 > 0:19:56So even when the house is finished we don't have a proper kitchen in there.
0:19:56 > 0:20:00We need to have the money left to do the rest of the build.
0:20:00 > 0:20:03I know from personal experience what it feels like
0:20:03 > 0:20:06when your build runs into trouble,
0:20:06 > 0:20:10and the stress must be giving Sally and Stuart sleepless nights.
0:20:10 > 0:20:12Though, with a new baby at home,
0:20:12 > 0:20:14they're probably having those anyway.
0:20:14 > 0:20:16You know, we love it we want to finish it
0:20:16 > 0:20:21but sometimes it just feels like too much of a problem.
0:20:21 > 0:20:26It's just when it feels like it could drag on much longer
0:20:26 > 0:20:29or cost more money and we don't have it,
0:20:29 > 0:20:31then it's like, "Why did we ever start it?"
0:20:31 > 0:20:34"Why didn't we buy a little tiny house somewhere?"
0:20:34 > 0:20:39- Why didn't you?- Because we loved it really. That's the only reason.
0:20:39 > 0:20:44Cos we came in and it felt like somewhere we could make a nice home.
0:20:45 > 0:20:51But despite the delays and budget problems, Sally and Stuart are determined to press on.
0:20:51 > 0:20:55When do you plan to move in to the main house?
0:20:55 > 0:20:59So it's May now. I think realistically August.
0:20:59 > 0:21:02Sally, I'm going to ask you that question again
0:21:02 > 0:21:04and I'd like a considered answer.
0:21:04 > 0:21:06When do you think you'll be moving in?
0:21:08 > 0:21:11- Um, when will we be moving in?- I'd like to move in August, September.
0:21:11 > 0:21:14- August, September. - You're sticking to it!- Yeah.
0:21:14 > 0:21:18- Do you think you'll be in by August? This year?- We have to be really.
0:21:18 > 0:21:20We have to be out of the other house.
0:21:20 > 0:21:24We have to stop paying both mortgages.
0:21:24 > 0:21:28- So it's onward and upward from here? - Yeah. Yeah, hope so.
0:21:31 > 0:21:34Kieran's on the trail of one of Abbey Lane's big questions.
0:21:34 > 0:21:40If most timber-framed houses were built of oak, why was this one made of elm?
0:21:40 > 0:21:43He's come to the Market Hall Museum in Warwick
0:21:43 > 0:21:48to meet the senior keeper of natural history, Steven Faulk.
0:21:48 > 0:21:52This is the home of a unique map that dates from Tudor times -
0:21:52 > 0:21:54the Sheldon Tapestry Map.
0:21:55 > 0:21:58Wow. Well, it's absolutely stunning.
0:21:59 > 0:22:04It's over five metres wide, and this one is just of Warwickshire.
0:22:04 > 0:22:08At the moment the original is away for essential conservation,
0:22:08 > 0:22:10but this is a perfect copy.
0:22:10 > 0:22:13It's absolutely full of information.
0:22:13 > 0:22:15It's saying there's a real split between the east,
0:22:15 > 0:22:18which is upwards, and the west which is downwards.
0:22:18 > 0:22:22And it's telling you that there's a lot of trees in this area here,
0:22:22 > 0:22:25which is called the Arden, the old Forest of Arden.
0:22:25 > 0:22:29But there's a lack of trees and some low hills in the Feldon area.
0:22:29 > 0:22:31Southam is in the heart of the Feldon area,
0:22:31 > 0:22:33meaning "the area with fields."
0:22:33 > 0:22:36It would have had a lot of elms around the settlements.
0:22:36 > 0:22:39We're looking at a building with an elm frame,
0:22:39 > 0:22:40so they may have used materials
0:22:40 > 0:22:44that that would have been available in the surroundings nearby.
0:22:44 > 0:22:47Yes, English elm was a tree of the open landscapes.
0:22:47 > 0:22:48It wasn't a woodland tree.
0:22:48 > 0:22:53And it really was a very, very abundant tree in Warwickshire.
0:22:53 > 0:22:57The term the "Warwickshire weed" was the term given to the English elm,
0:22:57 > 0:23:01and unfortunately it got decimated by Dutch elm disease in the 1970s.
0:23:02 > 0:23:06Dutch elm disease is caused by a kind of fungus.
0:23:06 > 0:23:08It was first recorded in Britain in the 1920s,
0:23:08 > 0:23:15but when a new and virulent strain arrived in 1967, the disease spread rapidly.
0:23:18 > 0:23:21Trees were felled and burned in an attempt to control the epidemic,
0:23:21 > 0:23:28but by the end of the 1970s, the English elm was almost wiped out.
0:23:30 > 0:23:34But there are still a few surviving elms in Warwickshire, is that right?
0:23:34 > 0:23:39- There are. Only about a dozen. - So we need to find one. - I hope you do.
0:23:41 > 0:23:46So 400 years ago elm was one of the most abundant and cheapest building materials
0:23:46 > 0:23:49to be found in this part of Warwickshire.
0:23:49 > 0:23:52But maybe there would be fewer problems today at Abbey Lane
0:23:52 > 0:23:57if the house had been built of oak, rather than the Warwickshire weed
0:23:57 > 0:24:00because oak is less prone to rot than elm.
0:24:01 > 0:24:04Ryan Bravan is the site foreman.
0:24:05 > 0:24:08I think that's where the budget's gone a bit AWOL
0:24:08 > 0:24:12cos at the start of the job we didn't know what we were going to find
0:24:12 > 0:24:14regarding the structure of the building.
0:24:14 > 0:24:16A lot of it was rotten.
0:24:16 > 0:24:22Timbers in brickwork rotten, rear frame rotten, corner posts rotten.
0:24:22 > 0:24:27Pretty much what was there it wouldn't have lasted much longer
0:24:27 > 0:24:29if we hadn't got our hands on it.
0:24:29 > 0:24:32Dealing with all that rot has sent the costs rising,
0:24:32 > 0:24:36but now, with Stuart and Sally desperate to be in before the end of summer,
0:24:36 > 0:24:40the builders have mounted a big push.
0:24:40 > 0:24:42We set the target for this Friday to complete the roof
0:24:42 > 0:24:44and make the building watertight,
0:24:44 > 0:24:47which is why we've drafted in the extra guys,
0:24:47 > 0:24:52just to make sure the job's done complete come Friday.
0:24:52 > 0:24:57Extra guys means extra costs. But if the exterior is finished by Friday,
0:24:57 > 0:25:02the builders are hoping the end will then be in sight.
0:25:02 > 0:25:05It'll be the final fix. We'll get the electrics in, plumbers in.
0:25:05 > 0:25:10It'll soon fly together and within a few weeks, fingers crossed,
0:25:10 > 0:25:14it'll be ready to move in and so on, all being well.
0:25:40 > 0:25:43Kieran is out, searching for survivors.
0:25:45 > 0:25:47Dutch elm disease almost wiped them out...
0:25:49 > 0:25:52..but, just like the timber-frame house,
0:25:52 > 0:25:57the English elm keeps turning up on calendars and chocolate boxes.
0:25:58 > 0:26:03Certainly, for John Constable - probably the nation's favourite landscape artist,
0:26:03 > 0:26:06the elm was the tree worth painting.
0:26:09 > 0:26:13And now Kieran has found one alive.
0:26:16 > 0:26:18450 years ago a tree just like this, a mature elm,
0:26:18 > 0:26:21would have been cut down to build Abbey Lane.
0:26:23 > 0:26:26We know that this is just one of the last 12 of these
0:26:26 > 0:26:28that survive in Warwickshire.
0:26:29 > 0:26:32What's really striking about it is it's a beautiful tree.
0:26:32 > 0:26:33A delicate, billowing canopy.
0:26:38 > 0:26:41Standing under this tree is kind of poignant.
0:26:41 > 0:26:42It's a sight like Abbey Lane
0:26:42 > 0:26:45that would have once characterised the whole of the British countryside.
0:26:48 > 0:26:53And now both the tree and Abbey Lane are almost vanishingly rare.
0:27:03 > 0:27:08It's been two weeks since the builders began their big push.
0:27:09 > 0:27:11But they never reached their targets.
0:27:11 > 0:27:15because the project has run into financial crisis.
0:27:15 > 0:27:19Sally and Stuart knew the costs were rising,
0:27:19 > 0:27:22but when the last lot of invoices came in
0:27:22 > 0:27:24they felt that costs were still slipping.
0:27:24 > 0:27:27If it carried on like that,
0:27:27 > 0:27:30they simply wouldn't have the money to finish the job.
0:27:30 > 0:27:31So the work had to stop.
0:27:33 > 0:27:37We always knew that this kind of job is a bit unpredictable
0:27:37 > 0:27:42and we know there have been things that have cost more money and taken longer.
0:27:42 > 0:27:44And we've agreed to those things happening
0:27:44 > 0:27:47and did things differently than the original plan.
0:27:47 > 0:27:49But there has been a finite amount of money,
0:27:49 > 0:27:52which we've been quite open about.
0:27:54 > 0:27:58It's just really frustrating because the guys were doing a great job,
0:27:58 > 0:28:01we were happy with the work. It's exciting.
0:28:01 > 0:28:05It's getting to the stage where everything is coming together.
0:28:05 > 0:28:07So to stop now is really frustrating.
0:28:09 > 0:28:12We're really hoping that we can have a meeting next week
0:28:12 > 0:28:13and get everybody back
0:28:13 > 0:28:16but they've all been put on different jobs,
0:28:16 > 0:28:21so it's not as simple as just saying, "Let's go again." I don't think so.
0:28:21 > 0:28:23Hopefully it will only be another week or so.
0:28:28 > 0:28:33Down in London, both of our investigators are about to hit the archives.
0:28:34 > 0:28:39Kieran has come to the Royal Institute of British Architects to use the library
0:28:39 > 0:28:43to put timber-framed buildings into their Tudor context.
0:28:43 > 0:28:49While Kate is on her way to the Institute of Historical Research
0:28:49 > 0:28:51at the University of London.
0:28:54 > 0:28:57She's trying to find out about Southam when the house was built,
0:28:57 > 0:29:03and she's come here because the Institute is the home of the Victoria County History -
0:29:03 > 0:29:06often just called The Red Books.
0:29:06 > 0:29:09The Victoria County History was begun in 1899,
0:29:09 > 0:29:11a tribute to Queen Victoria.
0:29:11 > 0:29:14It was meant to be an account of every county in Britain.
0:29:14 > 0:29:18And it is still an incredible historical resource.
0:29:19 > 0:29:25Kieran has also found a vital text, and it's a much older book.
0:29:25 > 0:29:26So what we have here is
0:29:26 > 0:29:31Raphael Holinshed's and William Harrison's famous description of England
0:29:31 > 0:29:33from the late 16th century, from 1577.
0:29:33 > 0:29:36There's a long, long description here
0:29:36 > 0:29:38of different aspects of house construction in that period.
0:29:38 > 0:29:42It begins by making some general statements.
0:29:42 > 0:29:45It says here, "The greatest part of our buildings in the cities
0:29:45 > 0:29:48"and good towns of England consisteth only of timber."
0:29:52 > 0:29:56I found the bit on Southam and what is interesting is it says that
0:29:56 > 0:29:59the land was under the control of St Mary's Priory in Coventry
0:29:59 > 0:30:03up until the middle of the 16th century.
0:30:03 > 0:30:05And it had become very valuable by 1535
0:30:05 > 0:30:08and it was giving a huge amount of rent,
0:30:08 > 0:30:11and then what happened was Dissolution of the Monasteries,
0:30:11 > 0:30:14and in 1542 the manor was granted in fee
0:30:14 > 0:30:18to one Sir Edmund Knightley and Lady Ursula, his wife.
0:30:18 > 0:30:22So this chap, Edmund Knightley, suddenly became incredibly rich.
0:30:22 > 0:30:26And what is really interesting is that timber of construction
0:30:26 > 0:30:30that we see at Abbey Lane had a real meaning for them,
0:30:30 > 0:30:33a cultural meaning, so much so that it says here
0:30:33 > 0:30:36that Spaniards when they visited in Queen Mary's days
0:30:36 > 0:30:40that one of no small reputation amongst them said after this manor,
0:30:40 > 0:30:42"These English," quoth he,
0:30:42 > 0:30:45"have their houses made of sticks and dirt
0:30:45 > 0:30:47"but they fare commonly so well as the king."
0:30:47 > 0:30:50This text is one that betrays a great deal of pride
0:30:50 > 0:30:54about British house building of the period.
0:30:54 > 0:30:56It's good for foreigners to come and be jealous
0:30:56 > 0:30:59of the way English people live with these beautiful timber-frame houses.
0:30:59 > 0:31:02This is an English architecture
0:31:02 > 0:31:05that we can be proud of from the king to the common man.
0:31:05 > 0:31:07Everybody lives in these kinds of buildings.
0:31:09 > 0:31:11To find out more about Sir Edmund Knightley,
0:31:11 > 0:31:16Kate has come to Victoria Tower in the Palace of Westminster.
0:31:18 > 0:31:20He was a member of the House of Commons,
0:31:20 > 0:31:23and this is where the parliamentary archives are housed.
0:31:24 > 0:31:29Sir Edmund acquired the land around Southam but he never lived there
0:31:29 > 0:31:33because, it seems, he had fingers in lots of other pies.
0:31:33 > 0:31:38Well, Edmund Knightley seems to be a pretty colourful character.
0:31:38 > 0:31:40He became MP for Reading, married a local widow.
0:31:40 > 0:31:45When she died he made a rather marvellous match to a woman much younger than himself,
0:31:45 > 0:31:48nearly 20 years younger, Ursula Vere,
0:31:48 > 0:31:49the heir to the Earl of Oxford.
0:31:49 > 0:31:53And after that he set about really trying to get more money.
0:31:53 > 0:31:55He was terribly close to Henry VIII
0:31:55 > 0:31:59and really close to Henry VIII's right-hand man, Thomas Cromwell.
0:31:59 > 0:32:01This means he's front of the queue
0:32:01 > 0:32:05when it comes to political power and riches being handed out.
0:32:05 > 0:32:11So back in Tudor times the land around Southam was a valuable prize,
0:32:11 > 0:32:15which means the house in Abbey Lane was in a prime location.
0:32:15 > 0:32:18Kate needs to find out more.
0:32:24 > 0:32:30It's been six weeks since work at Abbey Lane came to a complete stop.
0:32:30 > 0:32:32HAMMERING
0:32:32 > 0:32:35But the house is no longer silent,
0:32:35 > 0:32:39because this restoration has been reborn.
0:32:41 > 0:32:47We've really taken back the project. So we're managing it ourselves now,
0:32:47 > 0:32:50which is a bit daunting but loads less stressful.
0:32:50 > 0:32:52We know exactly what we're spending,
0:32:52 > 0:32:56we know where it's going, we know what things are costing.
0:32:56 > 0:32:57And it feels a lot better.
0:32:57 > 0:33:02But it's really good to see something happening, people back here.
0:33:02 > 0:33:04Brendan, who's the timber-framer, he's back
0:33:04 > 0:33:08and he's brought some people in to work with him, which is brilliant.
0:33:08 > 0:33:10So he obviously knows the building really well
0:33:10 > 0:33:12and is just getting on with things.
0:33:14 > 0:33:17And the end of the day I started the contract, I want to finish it.
0:33:17 > 0:33:19The client's happy with me being here.
0:33:19 > 0:33:21The work's great. I can get on with it.
0:33:21 > 0:33:25Get a few more people involved, and go from there.
0:33:25 > 0:33:28While Sally has taken over as project manager,
0:33:28 > 0:33:33Stuart is also now putting every spare hour into the house.
0:33:33 > 0:33:36He's no trained craftsman, but he is quite practical,
0:33:36 > 0:33:40so Stuart's got a long list of jobs to do,
0:33:40 > 0:33:42from laying concrete, to plasterboarding.
0:33:44 > 0:33:47So I've been getting all of these plasterboard panels in
0:33:47 > 0:33:51ready for the plastering to go on.
0:33:51 > 0:33:53I've cut these out of the wall, very odd shapes and sizes,
0:33:53 > 0:33:56so that's been a bit of fun.
0:33:57 > 0:34:01It's been challenging at times doing the work here
0:34:01 > 0:34:03with everything else going on, but fun too.
0:34:03 > 0:34:05I wish... I'd love to spend more time here.
0:34:08 > 0:34:13It's quite a lot of work trying to sort things out and look after the girls
0:34:13 > 0:34:18and for Stuart going to work and trying to do stuff here.
0:34:18 > 0:34:20When we can see progress it makes it all worth it.
0:34:22 > 0:34:26So despite their hectic professional and family lives,
0:34:26 > 0:34:30Sally and Stuart have taken control,
0:34:30 > 0:34:33and the restoration is now back on course.
0:34:36 > 0:34:39Kieran is investigating where the timber-framed house
0:34:39 > 0:34:41sits in British culture.
0:34:41 > 0:34:45He's come to one of the grandest timber-framed houses ever built in England -
0:34:45 > 0:34:50the National Trust property of Little Moreton Hall in Cheshire.
0:34:50 > 0:34:53It's the ancestral seat of the Moreton family.
0:34:53 > 0:34:56They were rich and influential,
0:34:56 > 0:34:59and they built this place to make a statement.
0:34:59 > 0:35:02Kieran's here to find out what a timber frame can say.
0:35:03 > 0:35:07We see this now as something that's settled down into the landscape
0:35:07 > 0:35:09in stages over centuries.
0:35:09 > 0:35:11Nothing straight about it any more.
0:35:11 > 0:35:14We can see this is as charming and chocolate-boxy.
0:35:14 > 0:35:17But I see something of real architectural sophistication.
0:35:17 > 0:35:21This is real English architecture that's not about symmetry,
0:35:21 > 0:35:22it's not about columns,
0:35:22 > 0:35:26it's not about the decoration that comes 100, 200 years later.
0:35:26 > 0:35:29This is about British craftsmen in this region,
0:35:29 > 0:35:32making something of real visual sophistication.
0:35:34 > 0:35:38But Little Moreton Hall saves its full impact for the courtyard.
0:35:39 > 0:35:41Oh, wow.
0:35:41 > 0:35:45It's absolutely amazing. It's like a whole fairytale castle.
0:35:55 > 0:35:58Here's where you see how decorative all this timbering was
0:35:58 > 0:36:00and how it's all for show.
0:36:00 > 0:36:02They enjoyed just as much as we do
0:36:02 > 0:36:06the patterns and the contrasts between these great black timbers.
0:36:06 > 0:36:10You can't take it in at one glance. There's detail, a varied skyline,
0:36:10 > 0:36:14there's all sorts going on and that is what still charms us about it.
0:36:16 > 0:36:21Standing here, when all we can see is stuff from this Tudor period,
0:36:21 > 0:36:25you start to imagine what the atmosphere must have been like around Abbey Lane
0:36:25 > 0:36:29when that was one of the most important buildings in the town.
0:36:35 > 0:36:39And now the restoration has been reborn with Sally in control,
0:36:39 > 0:36:45it might soon be an important building once again - the pride of Southam.
0:36:45 > 0:36:50Today Brendan is planning to fit a new beam into the ancient frame.
0:36:50 > 0:36:54It weighs about half a ton, so he's hired a mechanical lift.
0:36:54 > 0:36:55This could be dangerous.
0:36:55 > 0:36:58If it slipped as we were trying to get it in,
0:36:58 > 0:37:00it'd obviously do a lot of damage to us
0:37:00 > 0:37:03and it might take the side of the wall out and pull the house out.
0:37:14 > 0:37:15Push it over.
0:37:15 > 0:37:21There are joints in this house that have lasted more than four centuries.
0:37:24 > 0:37:27Brendan wants to make sure his are up to scratch,
0:37:27 > 0:37:31but their first attempt is not perfect.
0:37:32 > 0:37:34It's not all touching all over.
0:37:34 > 0:37:36The joint, the half lap,
0:37:36 > 0:37:38I want it touching top and bottom
0:37:38 > 0:37:42so I have to saw-cut the bottom, saw-cut the top and tap it up,
0:37:42 > 0:37:43so it touches everywhere.
0:37:45 > 0:37:47I'm going to get it done.
0:37:50 > 0:37:52And when the joint is made,
0:37:52 > 0:37:57the last thing to check is how far out of parallel the beam is from end to end.
0:37:58 > 0:38:02You know something, kid. Two mil, that's in. It's in.
0:38:02 > 0:38:06This is the turning point. That's all the structural work done.
0:38:07 > 0:38:12Now, at last, this build can finally progress to stage two -
0:38:12 > 0:38:15turning the inside into a real home.
0:38:16 > 0:38:19But Sally and Stuart have reached another turning point.
0:38:19 > 0:38:21It's moving day.
0:38:21 > 0:38:25BABY CRIES This is why we don't get anything done.
0:38:27 > 0:38:30This is the reason not everything is packed.
0:38:30 > 0:38:35Every time you start doing a box Florence wakes up.
0:38:35 > 0:38:39Today's the day they thought they'd be moving into the house on Abbey Lane.
0:38:39 > 0:38:43Where's your cot, then? Is it at Granny's house?
0:38:43 > 0:38:47But in fact they're moving in with Stuart's parents.
0:38:47 > 0:38:50I feel quite happy about moving in with them.
0:38:50 > 0:38:51It just depends how long it's for.
0:38:51 > 0:38:54It's for a couple of months, that's fine.
0:38:54 > 0:38:57It's just not knowing exactly how long it will be.
0:38:57 > 0:39:00To keep the build at Abbey Lane going,
0:39:00 > 0:39:02they need to get some revenue from this house.
0:39:02 > 0:39:06And for the short term, they've got a tenant moving in.
0:39:08 > 0:39:14Meanwhile, our historian Dr Kate Williams has had to change tactics.
0:39:14 > 0:39:19While documents can be found about the big players like Sir Edmund Knightley,
0:39:19 > 0:39:22we want to know about one small house.
0:39:22 > 0:39:24And when it comes to details that far back,
0:39:24 > 0:39:26there's not much to be had.
0:39:28 > 0:39:32It's unlikely we'll find anything from the 16th and 17th century.
0:39:32 > 0:39:35Those records were made but they don't exist any more.
0:39:35 > 0:39:38I'm going to start from a more recent period and work backwards.
0:39:39 > 0:39:44To do that, Kate has come to the county archives in Warwick,
0:39:44 > 0:39:47to search back through the land tax assessments.
0:39:47 > 0:39:50That was the equivalent of council tax -
0:39:50 > 0:39:53and these are the parish accounts.
0:39:54 > 0:39:56Well, I'm going to start with this one.
0:39:56 > 0:39:59The land tax assessment for 1922-1923.
0:39:59 > 0:40:05Trouble is, being tax accounts, you don't get much juicy detail.
0:40:05 > 0:40:08So Frank Matthews is the name of the occupier.
0:40:08 > 0:40:11Land is what is being taxed and it's Abbey Lane.
0:40:11 > 0:40:15With this kind of research, the clues are in the connections.
0:40:15 > 0:40:20In 1881 the occupier was one Emma Boyce.
0:40:20 > 0:40:24And what's interesting is that she didn't own the property. She just lived there.
0:40:24 > 0:40:27And the owner was one Richard Spraggett.
0:40:27 > 0:40:33But then in 1864 there were different people - there's no continuity.
0:40:33 > 0:40:38So here the owner is Richard Wood, and the occupier is Mr Carmel.
0:40:38 > 0:40:41So again we've got one owner, one occupier.
0:40:43 > 0:40:47This is one of the earliest records. It dates from 1815.
0:40:47 > 0:40:51And now Kate's got something.
0:40:51 > 0:40:55I found the Woods in 1864. Here they are again in 1815,
0:40:55 > 0:40:57so it's a lot of continuity in the owners.
0:40:57 > 0:41:00And Thomas Wood here, he's actually living there.
0:41:00 > 0:41:03He's the owner, and the occupier is himself. So this is a big change.
0:41:05 > 0:41:10That means the Wood family had the house for at least two generations.
0:41:10 > 0:41:14And now she has a name to follow, Kate can search for other documents held here.
0:41:14 > 0:41:16She's found two.
0:41:19 > 0:41:21So what I've got first of all
0:41:21 > 0:41:23is the registers of marriage for the parish at the time.
0:41:23 > 0:41:28We've got here in 1791 the marriage of Thomas Wood.
0:41:28 > 0:41:31It's Thomas Wood, tanner, of Southam, marrying Mary Miffe.
0:41:31 > 0:41:34But that's most fascinating because he's a tanner.
0:41:34 > 0:41:36Here's his life, his occupation.
0:41:36 > 0:41:40If Thomas Wood was a tanner, what does that mean for Abbey Lane?
0:41:41 > 0:41:46What I've got is the will of Thomas Wood's father, John Wood, in 1781.
0:41:46 > 0:41:51And here we are with Thomas Wood being left Abbey Lane.
0:41:51 > 0:41:53It says here that, "I'm going to leave it to my son
0:41:53 > 0:41:57"together with the yard garden, the back side buildings,
0:41:57 > 0:41:58"the vats, kilns, fixtures
0:41:58 > 0:42:01"and appurtenances belonging to the house."
0:42:01 > 0:42:04So this isn't just an ordinary family house,
0:42:04 > 0:42:07it actually is a place where work was carried on.
0:42:07 > 0:42:10This most likely is a tannery.
0:42:15 > 0:42:17With the end of the year approaching,
0:42:17 > 0:42:21time I called at Abbey Lane to find out if they're making progress.
0:42:24 > 0:42:28The scaffolding was, I know, meant to be up for 16 weeks initially.
0:42:28 > 0:42:30How long has it been now?
0:42:30 > 0:42:35It's been up since beginning of January and it's now November. So nearly a year.
0:42:35 > 0:42:38So we'll be quite pleased to see it go.
0:42:38 > 0:42:41- What's the plan next? - We're hoping to be...
0:42:41 > 0:42:44Well, our target date is Christmas.
0:42:48 > 0:42:52- This is like a proper house.- I know. Walls and everything.- It's great.
0:42:54 > 0:42:56I have to ask, looking at it like this,
0:42:56 > 0:42:58how much of your budget has gone?
0:42:58 > 0:43:03- All of it. All the original budget went quite a while ago.- Yeah.
0:43:03 > 0:43:09Except that we'd put aside the money for the electrics and the heating and plumbing
0:43:09 > 0:43:13because we had those quotes right at the beginning.
0:43:13 > 0:43:15So we're just going really slowly,
0:43:15 > 0:43:19doing things month by month, doing what we can afford each month
0:43:19 > 0:43:22and begging and borrowing what we can.
0:43:22 > 0:43:23Doing a lot of the work ourselves...
0:43:23 > 0:43:26All the internal work we've done ourselves.
0:43:26 > 0:43:31Are you finding it hard to crack the whip? Are you tough on people?
0:43:31 > 0:43:36- Um, I'm not tough. To start with, I think I wasn't tough enough.- Yeah.
0:43:36 > 0:43:41Is there something to be said for getting on everyone's case all the time?
0:43:41 > 0:43:45- Yes.- There is, isn't there? - Yeah. Definitely it's helped.
0:43:45 > 0:43:51I think Brendan's still not convinced that I'm not joking about Christmas.
0:43:51 > 0:43:55Which isn't too surprising, given that he's still working on the roof.
0:43:55 > 0:43:59They want to move in for Christmas. But...I'm saying nothing.
0:44:00 > 0:44:03- What do you think really? - Realistically, no.
0:44:03 > 0:44:06I think they could be in for January, end of January.
0:44:06 > 0:44:11- Are you proud of what you've done here?- Um, yeah, I am, actually.
0:44:11 > 0:44:13You should be because it's looking incredible.
0:44:13 > 0:44:16- I enjoy the building trade.- Yeah. - I love building.- Do you?
0:44:16 > 0:44:19Yeah, from day one I was going to be a carpenter
0:44:19 > 0:44:21since I was a kid. So it's my dad's fault.
0:44:21 > 0:44:25He bought me a tool kit, carpentry kit, when I was about five.
0:44:25 > 0:44:29I think he did it because he wanted me to do the jobs around the house.
0:44:29 > 0:44:32- I was thinking I'll get my husband one for his birthday.- That's it.
0:44:32 > 0:44:33Never too old.
0:44:35 > 0:44:37So Sally wants to be in before the end of the year,
0:44:37 > 0:44:40and Brendan is, as always, doing his best.
0:44:40 > 0:44:44The countdown to Christmas starts now.
0:44:55 > 0:45:00Ten days to Christmas, and it's a big day.
0:45:00 > 0:45:04The family are all here because the scaffolding is coming down.
0:45:08 > 0:45:11We were a bit nervous coming over this morning
0:45:11 > 0:45:13about what it was going to look like.
0:45:13 > 0:45:16It's definitely a big milestone to get the scaffolding down.
0:45:16 > 0:45:19It feels like it's finally all coming together
0:45:19 > 0:45:22and there's so much going on inside today
0:45:22 > 0:45:25and it's been really crazy for the last couple of weeks
0:45:25 > 0:45:27with electricians and plastering and plumbing.
0:45:27 > 0:45:30Well, not much plumbing.
0:45:30 > 0:45:34We've got stonemasons in, a whole house full of people...
0:45:34 > 0:45:37busy. So, yes, exciting.
0:45:44 > 0:45:47So finally the house is revealed,
0:45:47 > 0:45:50with the pattern of the timbers on full display.
0:45:50 > 0:45:53And that might help us get a more accurate fix on when it was built...
0:45:55 > 0:45:59..because the style of timber-frame houses changed over time
0:45:59 > 0:46:02and varied between local areas.
0:46:02 > 0:46:06So comparing patterns can help establish a date.
0:46:06 > 0:46:11Abbey Lane has a distinct design, with upright supports, called studs,
0:46:11 > 0:46:15arranged parallel downstairs, and a plain box pattern above.
0:46:17 > 0:46:21Now, 20 miles away, Kieran may have found a match.
0:46:21 > 0:46:25If he's right, then Abbey Lane could have a very famous relative,
0:46:25 > 0:46:27because this is Hall's Croft,
0:46:27 > 0:46:30the one-time home of William Shakespeare's daughter Susanna.
0:46:32 > 0:46:35We've been on this journey through timber frames
0:46:35 > 0:46:38just to try and understand a bit of the context of Abbey Lane.
0:46:38 > 0:46:42And we got a tip-off that there was a similar timber frame
0:46:42 > 0:46:43at Stratford-upon-Avon.
0:46:43 > 0:46:45And sure enough, although it's much grander
0:46:45 > 0:46:48and there are cosmetic differences, the general pattern is the same.
0:46:48 > 0:46:51A stone foundation, this close-studded lower storey,
0:46:51 > 0:46:55then a square pattern in the studs and upper storey.
0:46:56 > 0:46:58It's really exciting to see something so similar.
0:46:58 > 0:47:02The other exciting thing is we know the precise date of the building.
0:47:02 > 0:47:06This has been carbon dated, the oak in this building, to 1613.
0:47:09 > 0:47:12Because of the similarities and the way material is used -
0:47:12 > 0:47:15there's also elm in this building, it's only 20 miles from Abbey Lane -
0:47:15 > 0:47:19perhaps we can confidently now say that Abbey Lane can be dated
0:47:19 > 0:47:22from the first or second decades of the 17th century.
0:47:22 > 0:47:271613 makes Abbey Lane a little later than previously thought,
0:47:27 > 0:47:28but only by a few decades.
0:47:31 > 0:47:33And back at the house right now,
0:47:33 > 0:47:36it's the next few days that are causing concern.
0:47:37 > 0:47:42It looks like Sally's dream of being in for Christmas could come true -
0:47:42 > 0:47:47if they can get running water and a makeshift toilet rigged up in time.
0:47:47 > 0:47:51So you want me to put some cement board on there for the plumber?
0:47:51 > 0:47:54Yeah, so we need the toilet... The cistern's in a box thing,
0:47:54 > 0:47:56so that needs to be on a flat wall.
0:47:56 > 0:47:59OK, sorted. So we're getting there now.
0:48:00 > 0:48:03Actually, there's still a long way to go.
0:48:03 > 0:48:07If they do get in, it's going to be more like camping.
0:48:07 > 0:48:10I've put this in temporary. The kids can't fall cos it's a good height.
0:48:10 > 0:48:13- These lights work? Does that light work?- Um, no.
0:48:13 > 0:48:17I don't think most people would move into a house with it being not finished.
0:48:17 > 0:48:21I think she'll struggle a bit but I think she'll be happier,
0:48:21 > 0:48:24even though there's nothing finished.
0:48:24 > 0:48:25Bed's going to be here.
0:48:25 > 0:48:29And two travel cots will be wherever we can fit them.
0:48:29 > 0:48:32Christmas tree maybe. I think we invest in a very small Christmas tree.
0:48:34 > 0:48:38It just still looks like a building site, but it's nearly there.
0:48:40 > 0:48:45Kate discovered that the Wood family were running a tannery from Abbey Lane.
0:48:47 > 0:48:49But what sort of people were they,
0:48:49 > 0:48:52and was it a cottage industry or something more substantial?
0:48:57 > 0:49:01In 1791 Thomas Wood was married in the parish church of St James.
0:49:01 > 0:49:06So Kate's gone to see out if he's still there.
0:49:14 > 0:49:16He's not hard to find.
0:49:16 > 0:49:19In fact, the whole family are all over the south aisle.
0:49:21 > 0:49:25This entire wall of the church is really the Wood wall.
0:49:25 > 0:49:30We've got a plaque there from Thomas to his wife and daughter,
0:49:30 > 0:49:32another to his wife relating it to the window,
0:49:32 > 0:49:35and over there a big plaque to John Wood.
0:49:35 > 0:49:37And there are very telling details here.
0:49:37 > 0:49:41Thomas Wood was the third son of John Wood, gentleman, and Margaret, his wife.
0:49:41 > 0:49:44And that's very significant.
0:49:44 > 0:49:47So the tanner had become a gentleman.
0:49:47 > 0:49:51Here they are, the confirmation that these people, the Woods,
0:49:51 > 0:49:54were really major parts of the community.
0:49:54 > 0:49:55And this is also confirmation
0:49:55 > 0:49:59that one Abbey Lane was a significant house from the 1700s on.
0:49:59 > 0:50:02It's a place for a family of great standing.
0:50:07 > 0:50:12It's Christmas day and the toilet is in, more or less.
0:50:12 > 0:50:15So Scarlett and Sally, Stuart and little Florence
0:50:15 > 0:50:18are enjoying what will hopefully be the first of many
0:50:18 > 0:50:19in their very old new house.
0:50:19 > 0:50:21What is it?
0:50:21 > 0:50:24Happy Christmas.
0:50:24 > 0:50:25What have you got?
0:50:25 > 0:50:27- A hammer!- Hurray.
0:50:27 > 0:50:30- Can I bang on the roof now?- Yeah.
0:50:30 > 0:50:32So they made it in for Christmas,
0:50:32 > 0:50:39but Sally and Stuart still have no idea of the historical significance of their house.
0:50:39 > 0:50:42It's time for Kate and Kieran to tell all.
0:50:44 > 0:50:47The biggest mystery of all that I wanted to find out was when this building was built.
0:50:47 > 0:50:50So we went to Stratford to look at another house.
0:50:50 > 0:50:54The advantage with this elm house is that it has been dated.
0:50:54 > 0:50:56They know exactly when this was built,
0:50:56 > 0:51:00- and the conclusion was that this was built in 1613.- Wow.
0:51:00 > 0:51:03- KATE:- And then we went into the local church
0:51:03 > 0:51:05and here we have Thomas Wood.
0:51:05 > 0:51:08- And he lived in our house?- Exactly. You know this plaque as well.
0:51:08 > 0:51:11- We've walked past that many times. - You've walked past it?- Probably.
0:51:11 > 0:51:14- And that was him. - Yeah, it is exciting.
0:51:14 > 0:51:20You think about all the things that will have happened in that house over 400 years. It's quite amazing.
0:51:20 > 0:51:23We're really privileged to be able to have a house like it.
0:51:26 > 0:51:31Two years ago, number one Abbey Lane was a forgotten house,
0:51:31 > 0:51:34patched up with concrete, weighed down by brick.
0:51:34 > 0:51:39The ancient timbers were struggling to survive and its future was bleak.
0:51:40 > 0:51:43Sally and Stuart have faced enormous challenges
0:51:43 > 0:51:46and invested everything in trying to save it.
0:51:49 > 0:51:54It's now May 2012 and the big question is, how does it look today?
0:51:56 > 0:51:58It looks incredible!
0:52:08 > 0:52:10It's better than last time.
0:52:19 > 0:52:21I imagine your neighbours must be pleased as well
0:52:21 > 0:52:25because the whole corner plot is rejuvenated
0:52:25 > 0:52:27by all the work you've put it.
0:52:27 > 0:52:29People have been really positive.
0:52:29 > 0:52:31We've had a letter from the local civic forum
0:52:31 > 0:52:33saying what a great job we'd done for the town, which was nice.
0:52:33 > 0:52:36- That's very nice.- Really nice.
0:52:36 > 0:52:39- So the town is appreciative of your efforts?- Apparently.
0:52:39 > 0:52:41Let's see if I am. Come on, let's have a look.
0:52:44 > 0:52:46When they bought this 17th-century house,
0:52:46 > 0:52:51it was filled with 20th-century additions that were damaging it.
0:52:51 > 0:52:53Once stripped away, there was virtually nothing left,
0:52:53 > 0:52:57just a fragile skeleton.
0:52:57 > 0:53:02It was difficult to believe number one Abbey Lane could be saved at all.
0:53:12 > 0:53:16This is...awe-inspiring. It's brilliant.
0:53:16 > 0:53:19And it feels so open and...
0:53:19 > 0:53:22It was open the last time I was here but it was open to the elements
0:53:22 > 0:53:25and now it's become tranquil and beautiful, isn't it?
0:53:25 > 0:53:28It feels really nice. It's a nice place to be.
0:53:29 > 0:53:33Sally and Stuart have achieved the seemingly impossible.
0:53:33 > 0:53:35The living room on the ground floor
0:53:35 > 0:53:37had some of the most devastating problems.
0:53:38 > 0:53:41The wood had been suffocated by concrete
0:53:41 > 0:53:45leaving the original timber frame in desperate need of help.
0:53:45 > 0:53:49Now the beams are the backdrop to a modern family home.
0:53:50 > 0:53:53You've got very contemporary furniture in here, which is great.
0:53:53 > 0:53:55Because it's hard with a Tudor building
0:53:55 > 0:53:59not to make it look like Carry On Henry or something
0:53:59 > 0:54:03or some sort of film set or mock-Tudor pub, isn't it?
0:54:03 > 0:54:07It's our house and we don't want to change all the things we've got.
0:54:07 > 0:54:09Yes. And who you are. Yeah.
0:54:09 > 0:54:12And actually I think it works really well.
0:54:12 > 0:54:15The other room on the ground floor houses a temporary kitchen
0:54:15 > 0:54:19until they've completed their modern kitchen-diner
0:54:19 > 0:54:21in the extension to the rear.
0:54:21 > 0:54:24They hope to start work on this in a few months.
0:54:25 > 0:54:28There's been a huge transformation, however, in the last two years.
0:54:29 > 0:54:32The upstairs rooms were barely accessible then,
0:54:32 > 0:54:35rotten timbers outnumbering the good.
0:54:36 > 0:54:40Now there is a study, a bathroom and two bedrooms.
0:54:40 > 0:54:43Sally and Stuart have been living here for five months,
0:54:43 > 0:54:46so have come a long way since Christmas Eve.
0:54:47 > 0:54:51This was the first room that you actually used in the house.
0:54:51 > 0:54:55- You spent Christmas in here.- We did. - What was that like?- Christmas Eve.
0:54:55 > 0:54:57We didn't have any boards in the ceiling
0:54:57 > 0:55:00so it was just sheep's wool, which kept falling on you.
0:55:00 > 0:55:04Two travel cots, three little convection heaters
0:55:04 > 0:55:07and a cold tap in the bathroom. It was really exciting.
0:55:07 > 0:55:10The girls loved being able to wake up here on Christmas Day.
0:55:10 > 0:55:13It's been exciting. It has been an exciting adventure.
0:55:13 > 0:55:16The girls have been a really good part of it.
0:55:16 > 0:55:20And they've not been fazed at all by no floors. They don't care.
0:55:20 > 0:55:22They're happy rolling around in sawdust.
0:55:22 > 0:55:25They've spent most of the year so filthy.
0:55:25 > 0:55:29The roof space of the old house was the most at risk.
0:55:29 > 0:55:33The leaking tiles had created the perfect conditions for rot to set in.
0:55:36 > 0:55:40Now Scarlett and Florence have the ideal space to play and sleep.
0:55:42 > 0:55:46Finally, this family has made this old house a home.
0:55:46 > 0:55:50- It's fabulous, isn't it? - Thank you!
0:55:50 > 0:55:52Good one. Oh...Oh...
0:55:52 > 0:55:55Your big girl's bed!
0:55:58 > 0:56:02By taking charge of the project when it was in jeopardy,
0:56:02 > 0:56:07Sally and Stuart have transformed this house for £175,000,
0:56:07 > 0:56:12incredibly just £25,000 over their original budget.
0:56:12 > 0:56:17They have also never lost sight of why this building is so important.
0:56:18 > 0:56:22- I love this, Stuart. - We're pleased with that.
0:56:22 > 0:56:23Why did you leave that exposed?
0:56:23 > 0:56:27We wanted to show some of the ordinal fabric of the house.
0:56:27 > 0:56:32It's really wonderful, isn't it? It is like a little window into history.
0:56:32 > 0:56:35If you and Sally hadn't come along,
0:56:35 > 0:56:37what would have happened to Abbey Lane?
0:56:37 > 0:56:39It's difficult to say.
0:56:39 > 0:56:44Had we not spent the time in taking it right the way back to the start,
0:56:44 > 0:56:48I think the house would have got into more and more problems.
0:56:48 > 0:56:52Yeah. It feels like a happy place to be. It looks beautiful.
0:56:52 > 0:56:55Yeah. We're pleased.
0:57:09 > 0:57:12Number one Abbey Lane was at a critical point in its history.
0:57:12 > 0:57:15It had been knocked about and patched up,
0:57:15 > 0:57:19but the very fabric of the building was being destroyed.
0:57:19 > 0:57:22Everybody ignored it until Stuart and Sally came along,
0:57:22 > 0:57:27but they saw something magical here, something important.
0:57:27 > 0:57:30So they battled through the problems.
0:57:30 > 0:57:33They held their nerve.
0:57:33 > 0:57:35And finally,
0:57:35 > 0:57:37two years later,
0:57:37 > 0:57:41number one Abbey Lane has been reborn...
0:57:41 > 0:57:44into a beautiful family home.
0:57:54 > 0:57:57Next time on Restoration Home...
0:57:57 > 0:58:00I loved this place from the minute Nick showed me the brochure.
0:58:00 > 0:58:04A brave family try to make their home in a decrepit watermill
0:58:04 > 0:58:08but is it already too late to save it?
0:58:08 > 0:58:11This is damp. It's all the way through the house.
0:58:11 > 0:58:16And we discover the role it played in making Britain great.
0:58:16 > 0:58:18This is the kind of thing we associate with Westminster Abbey,
0:58:18 > 0:58:21not somewhere we might live.
0:58:33 > 0:58:35Subtitles by Red Bee Media Ltd