0:00:06 > 0:00:09Once we walked through that gate, we were hooked.
0:00:10 > 0:00:12When I look at that house, I just think, "Wow".
0:00:12 > 0:00:16Every time I see it I'm just like "Wow".
0:00:16 > 0:00:19It's a castle. It's a castle. How can you not buy a castle?
0:00:19 > 0:00:22Wow, that's some fireplace.
0:00:22 > 0:00:24It's going to be an amazing home.
0:00:24 > 0:00:27- We've saved the rest of its life. - You happy?
0:00:30 > 0:00:34We are way, way, way over budget.
0:00:35 > 0:00:37I mean, I am actually living in a building site.
0:00:38 > 0:00:39We all have to make sacrifices.
0:00:39 > 0:00:42There are days when you just think, "Have we made the right decision?
0:00:42 > 0:00:44"Are we doing the right thing?"
0:00:44 > 0:00:47I want it to look what it looked like when it was first built.
0:00:50 > 0:00:52Oh, this is just such a beautiful place.
0:00:52 > 0:00:55It's like every romantic part of my brain is just firing.
0:00:56 > 0:01:01You don't have any idea of how much money this is going to cost you.
0:01:01 > 0:01:07I don't think either of us envisaged quite as big a project as we've actually taken on.
0:01:07 > 0:01:10It's still a dream. It's a dream that we're actually doing it.
0:01:11 > 0:01:13I can't wait to move in. It seems just to take forever.
0:01:14 > 0:01:16It's just a nightmare.
0:01:16 > 0:01:20I'm telling myself not to worry. I mean, because what can I do? I've got to finish the house.
0:01:31 > 0:01:37This is Rock Farm, located deep in the Shropshire countryside.
0:01:38 > 0:01:42200 years ago, it was a perfectly proportioned Georgian House.
0:01:42 > 0:01:45Today, it's a crumbling shell,
0:01:45 > 0:01:48cracked and contorted out of symmetry.
0:01:49 > 0:01:53Empty for six years and in need of help for many more,
0:01:53 > 0:01:56nature's harshest elements have penetrated this old house.
0:01:59 > 0:02:02Wind, rain and ice have each taken their toll.
0:02:02 > 0:02:06The crumbling plasterwork used to be a canvas for elegant decor
0:02:06 > 0:02:10and the once solid brick walls behind are now certain to fail.
0:02:11 > 0:02:15Rock Farm is in a perilous state.
0:02:18 > 0:02:23But after years of uncertainty, there is a glimmer of hope.
0:02:25 > 0:02:28Because Alex and Martin have fallen in love with it.
0:02:30 > 0:02:32They met six years ago
0:02:32 > 0:02:36and even though they're based 150 miles away in Bedfordshire,
0:02:36 > 0:02:38Alex has always been on the lookout for a house
0:02:39 > 0:02:43that could be a dream family home for their future together.
0:02:43 > 0:02:46We've been looking for properties for about the last two years up this way
0:02:46 > 0:02:48because my family live up here
0:02:48 > 0:02:52and my mum saw a property in the paper that she thought might be suitable.
0:02:52 > 0:02:55So she came on the Tuesday, phoned me Tuesday night
0:02:55 > 0:02:58and said, "Well, it needs a lot of work doing to it,"
0:02:58 > 0:03:00and then I said, "OK, stop.
0:03:00 > 0:03:03"Tell me - what would you do? Would you buy this?"
0:03:03 > 0:03:05She said, "You've got to see it. It's lovely."
0:03:07 > 0:03:11So we came to see it on Sunday and we stood on the very top floor
0:03:11 > 0:03:12on the landing
0:03:12 > 0:03:15and we both looked at each other and I went all watery-eyed
0:03:15 > 0:03:17and I said, "This is it, isn't it?"
0:03:18 > 0:03:21Then we just instantly fell in love with it, didn't we?
0:03:23 > 0:03:25They'd had a lot of interest in the property.
0:03:25 > 0:03:27They had some property developers interested
0:03:27 > 0:03:31and they turned their offers down in favour of ours,
0:03:31 > 0:03:35even though ours were less, because they wanted a family to own it.
0:03:36 > 0:03:44In June 2011, they had their offer of £228,500 accepted.
0:03:44 > 0:03:46But it wasn't until completion in November
0:03:46 > 0:03:49that the scale of the project really sunk in.
0:03:49 > 0:03:52We let ourselves into our house for the first time,
0:03:52 > 0:03:55got up to the top floor landing, looked at each other
0:03:55 > 0:03:56and went, "What have we done?"
0:03:59 > 0:04:04Now the proud owner of a derelict eight-bedroom Georgian house
0:04:04 > 0:04:06with no electricity or running water,
0:04:06 > 0:04:10Martin has realised he also has a lot of problems.
0:04:12 > 0:04:15You can see that it's cracked
0:04:15 > 0:04:18and it's been patched twice, actually, in the past.
0:04:18 > 0:04:22And if you come a bit further down, I can fit my hand through the gaps.
0:04:23 > 0:04:25There's another crack behind here.
0:04:25 > 0:04:28We need to get this sorted and looked at.
0:04:28 > 0:04:33Alex and I don't have the experience of doing this work,
0:04:33 > 0:04:35or anything like it, at all.
0:04:35 > 0:04:38Every corner of the house needs major work
0:04:38 > 0:04:42but lack of restoration experience hasn't resulted in a lack of vision
0:04:42 > 0:04:44for Alex's dream home.
0:04:44 > 0:04:46So this is going to be our kitchen.
0:04:46 > 0:04:48And we're going to take out this wall,
0:04:48 > 0:04:50so we'll open it up into a huge kitchen-diner.
0:04:50 > 0:04:54Work tops along there and we're going to have a big range cooker there.
0:04:54 > 0:04:57I just love it. I love interior design.
0:04:57 > 0:05:00I've decorated all the houses I've lived in but...
0:05:00 > 0:05:02- I even did yours for you, didn't I? - Yeah.
0:05:02 > 0:05:04I did some of the rooms without you even knowing.
0:05:04 > 0:05:07Did that for me while I was away, yeah.
0:05:10 > 0:05:14Well, the plan is that we'll up roots from Bedfordshire
0:05:14 > 0:05:20- and move up here and make this a family home, hopefully.- Yeah.
0:05:20 > 0:05:22- That's the plan.- We've got a lot of rooms to fill, so...!
0:05:23 > 0:05:26It has... It has deteriorated
0:05:26 > 0:05:29and it has got itself into a really poor state
0:05:29 > 0:05:32and hopefully we can bring it back to life again.
0:05:32 > 0:05:35After we started clearing out the rubble that was still inside
0:05:35 > 0:05:37and started pulling off the wallpaper,
0:05:37 > 0:05:39it's almost like the house is breathing again
0:05:39 > 0:05:42and it's breathing a new lease of life into it.
0:05:42 > 0:05:45Being in the house and feeling it, you can feel the house change, as well.
0:05:47 > 0:05:51Martin and Alex know exactly what they want from Rock Farm.
0:05:51 > 0:05:56They were working sympathetically within the original 18th century envelope
0:05:56 > 0:06:01with the only big change being a large kitchen-diner on the ground floor.
0:06:01 > 0:06:04Other rooms will include a lounge and a library.
0:06:04 > 0:06:10On the first floor, there will be three bedrooms and a luxurious bathroom
0:06:10 > 0:06:13and then a further three bedrooms and a study on the top floor,
0:06:13 > 0:06:18so there'll be plenty of room for this to be their home for many, many years to come.
0:06:20 > 0:06:23To make this ambitious restoration even more of a challenge,
0:06:23 > 0:06:26Alex and Martin are going to have to manage this build
0:06:26 > 0:06:30while still living and working 150 miles away.
0:06:31 > 0:06:35Alex is a business development manager and Martin works in IT.
0:06:35 > 0:06:37Their jobs involve a lot of travel
0:06:37 > 0:06:40but they're now effectively homeless,
0:06:40 > 0:06:45so hotel rooms and house-sits will have to do until the work is done.
0:06:45 > 0:06:50It is going to be a challenge to manage the build from Dunstable and London whilst working
0:06:50 > 0:06:55and having builders make decisions and working on our house
0:06:55 > 0:06:56two and a half hours north.
0:06:56 > 0:06:58That is going to be a challenge.
0:06:59 > 0:07:03To have a hope of getting this project done on time and on budget,
0:07:03 > 0:07:06Alex and Martin are having to put their trust in someone.
0:07:06 > 0:07:10That man is award-winning local builder Glynne Williams.
0:07:10 > 0:07:15His first concern, like Martin, was the cracks that have appeared
0:07:15 > 0:07:16all over the house
0:07:16 > 0:07:21and a closer look on the outside shows a pretty major problem
0:07:21 > 0:07:22with the brickwork.
0:07:22 > 0:07:26This movement has caused all the brickwork to fracture and move out,
0:07:26 > 0:07:29which has moved out about three-quarters of an inch.
0:07:29 > 0:07:34Over time, the whole face of the building has bowed out,
0:07:34 > 0:07:36weakening the entire structure.
0:07:36 > 0:07:39You can see the actual line of the brickwork,
0:07:39 > 0:07:41how much it's starting to come out.
0:07:41 > 0:07:44This is quite a movement in this structure here
0:07:44 > 0:07:46and it's happening all over the property.
0:07:46 > 0:07:51These have all got to be stitched back in and put in position.
0:07:54 > 0:07:58There are tricky times ahead for both Glynne and Rock Farm.
0:07:58 > 0:08:01It's now my turn to try and understand
0:08:01 > 0:08:05why they have risked so much for such a frail old house.
0:08:05 > 0:08:07- Hello, Martin.- Caroline.
0:08:07 > 0:08:10- Your gorgeous house!- I know. - Your doll's house.
0:08:10 > 0:08:12It sounds like it was a bit of a whim.
0:08:12 > 0:08:15When we saw it, it just ticked every box.
0:08:15 > 0:08:17So, yeah, it was a bit of a whim.
0:08:17 > 0:08:18There was no second viewing.
0:08:18 > 0:08:22It was just see it once and buy it. "That's what we want."
0:08:22 > 0:08:23What is your budget for your build?
0:08:23 > 0:08:26- 172,000.- Gosh.
0:08:26 > 0:08:30That sounds like an extraordinarily specific sum of money.
0:08:30 > 0:08:32So you're in charge of money.
0:08:32 > 0:08:35And, Martin, what are you looking after? The build element?
0:08:35 > 0:08:38- Or...?- No.- No, no.- No? - LAUGHTER
0:08:39 > 0:08:42- What are you looking after, Martin? - I'm just trying to do a day job and work.
0:08:42 > 0:08:47- You're looking after paying for it. - I'm paying for it, yes, in a way.
0:08:47 > 0:08:51- When are you planning to move in? - Hopefully the end of June.
0:08:51 > 0:08:54Wow.
0:08:54 > 0:08:55- Really?- Yeah.
0:08:58 > 0:09:01- It's April now.- Yeah.
0:09:01 > 0:09:03- Yeah. - Gosh, that's really, really soon.
0:09:03 > 0:09:05I'd better come in and have a look.
0:09:05 > 0:09:07LAUGHTER
0:09:08 > 0:09:10OK, let's have a look.
0:09:10 > 0:09:14Oh, wow! That's some fireplace.
0:09:14 > 0:09:17We uncovered this. This was one of the first jobs that we did.
0:09:17 > 0:09:23This was all bricked up and we had a small tiled fireplace in front of it,
0:09:23 > 0:09:25and so we took that out and uncovered it.
0:09:25 > 0:09:30- So are you going to use this fireplace?- Yes. We'll have a log-burner and keep the inglenook.
0:09:30 > 0:09:32- What room's this going to be? - This will be our lounge.
0:09:32 > 0:09:35So you'll have your sofas and things?
0:09:35 > 0:09:38- Yeah, we've ordered the sofas. - You've ordered your sofas.
0:09:38 > 0:09:40In fact, they phoned to tell us they were ready,
0:09:40 > 0:09:42so we're a bit ahead of schedule.
0:09:42 > 0:09:45Yeah. I don't think you're ready for them, do you?
0:09:45 > 0:09:48So come June, when you're moving in,
0:09:48 > 0:09:50how is this going to look, this room?
0:09:50 > 0:09:54So we've got charcoal carpet going down because it's a bit of a walk-through.
0:09:54 > 0:09:56And I've just found that out.
0:09:56 > 0:10:00Have I just told you something you didn't know, Martin?
0:10:00 > 0:10:01It's on the mood board.
0:10:06 > 0:10:11Incredibly, Alex has already planned the decor for every single room
0:10:11 > 0:10:13of her derelict house.
0:10:13 > 0:10:15How do you feel about mood boards?
0:10:15 > 0:10:16I... Look...
0:10:16 > 0:10:20I can't get involved. This is a great idea for me
0:10:20 > 0:10:25and it helps me say what I like and what I don't like and I can understand it.
0:10:25 > 0:10:29- It doesn't really matter. - I really struggle between this
0:10:29 > 0:10:32and actually putting it into our house.
0:10:32 > 0:10:34If you had a mood board, what would it have on it?
0:10:34 > 0:10:37It would have mountains, it would have push bikes,
0:10:37 > 0:10:40it would have racing cars and definitely not soft furnishings.
0:10:43 > 0:10:45A vision for the project is great
0:10:45 > 0:10:48but having sold their home to buy this property,
0:10:48 > 0:10:53they're financing the entire build via a self-build mortgage.
0:10:53 > 0:10:57Money is only released as different parts of the build are completed.
0:10:57 > 0:11:02Even if it all goes to plan, this project is still a big stretch.
0:11:02 > 0:11:07Financially - I know it's a big outlay - does it worry you?
0:11:07 > 0:11:10I know Alex is in complete control of the sums
0:11:10 > 0:11:15but are there nights when you wake up and think, "I've taken on more than I can cope with?"
0:11:15 > 0:11:18I have got a concern about the finances
0:11:18 > 0:11:20and I think we both have.
0:11:20 > 0:11:23We're not fortunate enough to have pots and pots of money
0:11:23 > 0:11:27but we're very fortunate in the way that the mortgage has been organised
0:11:27 > 0:11:31and the opportunity that we've got here to do this.
0:11:33 > 0:11:36But they're at the mercy of the build schedule
0:11:36 > 0:11:39and with Glynne now uncovering crumbling chimneys
0:11:39 > 0:11:42and rotten woodwork all over this house,
0:11:42 > 0:11:46it's clear what an enormous task these novices have set themselves.
0:11:58 > 0:12:01For a first project, this is quite a bold project
0:12:01 > 0:12:05and yet you don't seem remotely fazed by any of it.
0:12:05 > 0:12:07Do you feel as confident as you look?
0:12:07 > 0:12:10I do, actually, and I don't know whether I...
0:12:10 > 0:12:12Maybe that's incredibly naive of me
0:12:12 > 0:12:16but I just think it will be OK and it will all work out
0:12:16 > 0:12:20and I have a really strong feeling that this house was meant to be.
0:12:20 > 0:12:23We had several properties we looked at that we thought were the ones
0:12:23 > 0:12:27and they didn't work out for various different reasons
0:12:27 > 0:12:30and we found this and I just get this real sense
0:12:30 > 0:12:32that it's meant for us.
0:12:32 > 0:12:35As the new owners attempt to save its crumbling walls,
0:12:35 > 0:12:39we will begin our historical investigation into Rock Farm.
0:12:42 > 0:12:45Historian Dr Kate Williams will scour the archives
0:12:45 > 0:12:49for information about the house and the land that it sits in.
0:12:50 > 0:12:53Whilst our architectural expert, Kieran Long, starts
0:12:53 > 0:12:56his investigation at the house itself.
0:13:05 > 0:13:06Well, it's great, isn't it?
0:13:06 > 0:13:09It's a really charming red-brick house
0:13:09 > 0:13:11with all of these Georgian windows.
0:13:11 > 0:13:16But then all around this symmetrical loveliness is farmyard.
0:13:18 > 0:13:21With this stable block to my left
0:13:21 > 0:13:24and then this really ugly barn of some kind
0:13:24 > 0:13:26jutting out at 45 degrees from the house.
0:13:26 > 0:13:28So it's a strange combination.
0:13:30 > 0:13:34The barn is a bit of a mystery.
0:13:34 > 0:13:37Inside the house however, Kieran finds
0:13:37 > 0:13:40a classically composed, perfect Georgian form.
0:13:43 > 0:13:46This is the room that you'd expect to find in a Georgian house.
0:13:46 > 0:13:49This is a house that needs a drawing room. This is a drawing room.
0:13:49 > 0:13:53We've got this modest fireplace. You can imagine a Georgian fire surround.
0:13:53 > 0:13:56And what's interesting about this is this is a room for leisure,
0:13:56 > 0:13:57for free time.
0:13:57 > 0:13:59Imagine the kind of farmer who has leisure time.
0:13:59 > 0:14:02This is a wealthy man, a man who has workers out there
0:14:02 > 0:14:03during daylight hours
0:14:03 > 0:14:06and has enough time to come home and spend time either with his family
0:14:06 > 0:14:08or perhaps for entertaining.
0:14:14 > 0:14:16Up amongst the roof trusses,
0:14:16 > 0:14:20more secrets that point towards Rock Farm's pedigree are revealed.
0:14:20 > 0:14:23It's really interesting about the construction of this house.
0:14:23 > 0:14:25It's all made of brick.
0:14:25 > 0:14:28It's not just the facing, exterior surface, it's the whole building
0:14:28 > 0:14:31and the reason that's interesting is that you might expect a rural building
0:14:31 > 0:14:34to be full of kind of rubble and rubbish and so on.
0:14:34 > 0:14:36But here they've chosen to use bricks.
0:14:36 > 0:14:39They look like handmade bricks to me.
0:14:39 > 0:14:42We don't see any stamps of manufacturers on there,
0:14:42 > 0:14:45we don't see any of that distinctive industrialised process.
0:14:47 > 0:14:52Mass production of brick in Britain wasn't until the early 19th century.
0:14:54 > 0:14:56So to more accurately date the build,
0:14:56 > 0:14:58he goes in search of hard evidence.
0:15:06 > 0:15:09One of the things about this building is that it does have a date stone
0:15:09 > 0:15:14but it's so faded that we can hardly tell how old this building is from that stone, unfortunately.
0:15:14 > 0:15:18It's tantalising but what we do have is these really distinctive windows.
0:15:19 > 0:15:21Take a look at this window reveal here.
0:15:21 > 0:15:25It's almost flush with the face of the brickwork
0:15:25 > 0:15:27and that is really distinctive of earlier Georgian styles,
0:15:27 > 0:15:30earlier styles before building regulations came into play,
0:15:30 > 0:15:32before fire regulations.
0:15:32 > 0:15:35Because the further the timberwork is towards the face of the building
0:15:35 > 0:15:37the more likely it is to catch fire.
0:15:37 > 0:15:41So it's a late 18th century building, I would guess, a survival of an earlier style.
0:15:43 > 0:15:46So Kieran suspects Rock Farm may have been built
0:15:46 > 0:15:49in the 1780s or 1790s.
0:15:51 > 0:15:55But to try and get a clearer sense of the land it sits in,
0:15:55 > 0:15:58Kate begins her search at the Shropshire archives.
0:15:58 > 0:16:02She has found a history of the local parish of Dudleston
0:16:02 > 0:16:03and it's full of surprises.
0:16:07 > 0:16:09This book has give me a real lead.
0:16:09 > 0:16:12In the section about the Dudleston farms,
0:16:12 > 0:16:15it says here the Rock Farm, formerly called the Great Farm,
0:16:15 > 0:16:17belonged to the Edwards family.
0:16:18 > 0:16:22Clearly this story will be about more than Rock Farm house itself.
0:16:22 > 0:16:26The Edwards family are listed as owners of the Great Farm,
0:16:26 > 0:16:29which appears to predate our house on the same site.
0:16:31 > 0:16:35Kate now has a name but quickly hits a dead end in Shropshire.
0:16:37 > 0:16:40Some more detective work takes her to the National Library of Wales,
0:16:40 > 0:16:44where she discovers the Edwards family are well documented.
0:16:47 > 0:16:51In the 18th century, Thomas Edwards was the lord of the manor.
0:16:51 > 0:16:57He had two daughters but for the 1700s, he had an unusually progressive view of inheritance.
0:16:59 > 0:17:02There's a really rich archive about the Edwards family
0:17:02 > 0:17:04but what I find interesting here is
0:17:04 > 0:17:08that it doesn't have to be a boy that inherits the farm.
0:17:08 > 0:17:10Thomas Edwards, unlike many men of his time,
0:17:10 > 0:17:14decided his daughter, Frances, was able to look after the estate,
0:17:14 > 0:17:16was able to administer it.
0:17:16 > 0:17:17So clearly it really suggests
0:17:17 > 0:17:21that he had a very interesting and rather progressive view of women.
0:17:22 > 0:17:26So we now know that the land Rock Farm sits in
0:17:26 > 0:17:28was inherited by Frances Edwards
0:17:28 > 0:17:34during a time when, typically, any available male relation would.
0:17:34 > 0:17:36But what would happen to Frances Edwards
0:17:36 > 0:17:40and how does Alex and Martin's house fit into the story?
0:17:46 > 0:17:48Work is pushing ahead on site
0:17:48 > 0:17:51but Rock Farm's present day owners are nowhere to be seen.
0:17:51 > 0:17:55They're still living in and out of suitcases
0:17:55 > 0:17:57and it's beginning to take its toll.
0:17:58 > 0:18:02Last week, I had three different hotels
0:18:02 > 0:18:04and stayed in three different places
0:18:04 > 0:18:06and you stayed in two or three - I can't remember now.
0:18:06 > 0:18:09And with friends as well.
0:18:09 > 0:18:11And this week will be the same.
0:18:11 > 0:18:16- We are essentially nomadic at the moment.- No fixed abode.
0:18:16 > 0:18:17We're of no fixed abode.
0:18:17 > 0:18:19It's certainly testing and trying.
0:18:19 > 0:18:25- Things like me driving off with the room key. - That doesn't go down well.
0:18:27 > 0:18:30On the build, Glynne and his team are getting on well.
0:18:30 > 0:18:32Up on the scaffolding
0:18:32 > 0:18:36the enormous structural problems with the brickwork are starting to be resolved.
0:18:36 > 0:18:42Reinforced steel stitching rods are stabilising the walls a length at a time,
0:18:42 > 0:18:46hopefully securing it for another 200 years.
0:18:46 > 0:18:49You can see the cracks in the brickwork.
0:18:49 > 0:18:52We put these stainless steel rods in, grout over the top of it,
0:18:52 > 0:18:55another stainless steel rod in, grout,
0:18:55 > 0:18:59and then leave a gap then for pointing up with lime pointing
0:18:59 > 0:19:02to get the outside of the building structurally sound.
0:19:04 > 0:19:08Because it's a listed building, all the restoration work Glynne does
0:19:08 > 0:19:14has to be approved and monitored by the man in charge of conservation in Shropshire, Colin Richards.
0:19:15 > 0:19:17The craftsmen that are working here,
0:19:17 > 0:19:20they're bringing in the best of modern technology
0:19:20 > 0:19:23to repair and patch up the building.
0:19:23 > 0:19:28Sometimes that can mean that we don't have to be so invasive in the repairs.
0:19:28 > 0:19:31We are custodians of these buildings
0:19:31 > 0:19:34in this sort of big time-line of history.
0:19:36 > 0:19:40But inside the house, as they strip this listed building back,
0:19:40 > 0:19:44Glynne has discovered a knock-on effect of the bowed walls.
0:19:45 > 0:19:47Basically, what's happened is
0:19:47 > 0:19:50that as this front of the house here has moved out,
0:19:50 > 0:19:54the rain has been getting in at the back of all the main structure.
0:19:55 > 0:20:00It's rotted the end joists here and these joists have pulled out,
0:20:00 > 0:20:02so there's no strength here any longer.
0:20:02 > 0:20:06The combination of rotting beams and bowing walls
0:20:06 > 0:20:10has lead to a big problem underneath Alex's new dream bathroom.
0:20:12 > 0:20:15The biggest problem is this existing spine beam.
0:20:15 > 0:20:19There's a lot of flexibility in it, a lot of movement and bounce in it.
0:20:19 > 0:20:21With it being the main bathroom above this,
0:20:21 > 0:20:25we've got to find a way of counteracting all this movement as best we can.
0:20:25 > 0:20:29But actually, there's nothing carrying the weight of this floor.
0:20:29 > 0:20:32But Glynne can't simply shore up the floor.
0:20:32 > 0:20:36Any fix will need to be signed off by the conservation officer
0:20:36 > 0:20:39and agreed by the architect.
0:20:39 > 0:20:41- That's got to stay, has it?- Yes.
0:20:41 > 0:20:45Alex maybe wants to move in as quickly as possible
0:20:45 > 0:20:48but we've got to get the main issues done first.
0:20:48 > 0:20:51Once we get over these issues, sort them out,
0:20:51 > 0:20:54then we've got a chance of looking at time when we can say,
0:20:54 > 0:20:58well, you could be in within two months, three months, whatever.
0:20:58 > 0:21:01While they try and find a solution with the architect,
0:21:01 > 0:21:03dust is gathering on Alex's new bath
0:21:03 > 0:21:07and with no mains water and unstable floors,
0:21:07 > 0:21:09she's a long way from relaxing in it.
0:21:13 > 0:21:16To try and find where Rock Farm fits
0:21:16 > 0:21:19into the rich time-line of British architecture,
0:21:19 > 0:21:23Kieran has come to the Royal Institute of British Architects in London.
0:21:25 > 0:21:28In the regional collection, there is a serious of books
0:21:28 > 0:21:31that identifies the unique architectural character
0:21:31 > 0:21:33of every single part of the country.
0:21:33 > 0:21:38Kieran focuses straight in on the volumes relating to Shropshire.
0:21:40 > 0:21:41This book is really nice
0:21:41 > 0:21:44because it describes 18th-century architecture as having
0:21:44 > 0:21:46particular characteristics in Shropshire,
0:21:46 > 0:21:48which I think chime, somehow, with Rock Farm.
0:21:48 > 0:21:51It says, "a distaste for obvious embellishment,
0:21:51 > 0:21:53"a pride in their brickwork
0:21:53 > 0:21:55"and a comfortable sense of conforming to a fashion
0:21:55 > 0:21:57"that was unlikely to pass quickly."
0:21:57 > 0:22:01We have a sense of a brick Georgian architecture
0:22:01 > 0:22:04that has a certain kind of restrained character to it
0:22:04 > 0:22:07and Rock Farm certainly feels like that kind of building.
0:22:07 > 0:22:10So I'm really excited that we've found a regional inflection
0:22:10 > 0:22:14of a national architectural style that Rock Farm fits into really well.
0:22:14 > 0:22:19The mid 18th century was a time of economic boom in Shropshire.
0:22:19 > 0:22:22Farmers and landowners were getting rich
0:22:22 > 0:22:26and creating farmhouses using this particularly plain style
0:22:26 > 0:22:28of Georgian architecture.
0:22:28 > 0:22:34One such house is Caynton House, just 26 miles from Rock Farm.
0:22:34 > 0:22:38It is much larger and dates back to 1742
0:22:38 > 0:22:41but the similarities are clear to see.
0:22:41 > 0:22:44This is a much grander house than Rock Farm
0:22:44 > 0:22:46but it's of a very similar character.
0:22:46 > 0:22:51It's a prototype, if you like, of what Rock Farm was being influenced by
0:22:51 > 0:22:54and the DNA of Rock Farm is really here.
0:22:54 > 0:22:56This has the same kind of symmetrical arrangement.
0:22:56 > 0:23:00It has this very plain, restrained Georgian style
0:23:00 > 0:23:04but, you know, with added grandeur and added elegance.
0:23:04 > 0:23:09If we were in Derbyshire or in one of these other, more grandiose counties,
0:23:09 > 0:23:13you might expect it to have a portico coming out all the way to here
0:23:13 > 0:23:15with a porte cochere for carriages and so on,
0:23:15 > 0:23:19highly decorated with Corinthian capitals or whatever you might find.
0:23:19 > 0:23:22Here, all of the modelling is done in the depth of the door case,
0:23:22 > 0:23:24which is about a foot.
0:23:24 > 0:23:29You can see that the brick has been used almost as a plastic material
0:23:29 > 0:23:33but always in this kind of flat, restrained, unmoulded way.
0:23:33 > 0:23:35It's so simple, so elegant
0:23:35 > 0:23:39and allows for this kind of beauty and craftsmanship
0:23:39 > 0:23:42and also the slightly more rustic charm of something like Rock Farm.
0:23:44 > 0:23:48Like at Caynton House, one of the defining characteristics of Rock Farm
0:23:48 > 0:23:51is the simple symmetrical placement of its windows.
0:23:51 > 0:23:56Unfortunately, these are currently a major cause for concern on site.
0:23:59 > 0:24:01All but one of the windows needs replacing
0:24:01 > 0:24:05but due to a miscommunication, they've been recreated incorrectly.
0:24:07 > 0:24:10What we've got here is the big boxes on the side.
0:24:10 > 0:24:14These actually carry the sashes and the weights in here,
0:24:14 > 0:24:17which work the sash windows themselves.
0:24:17 > 0:24:22So the problem we've got is that he's made them to fit behind the back of the brickwork.
0:24:22 > 0:24:26With the conservation we can't cut any brickwork out
0:24:26 > 0:24:28to get the sashes to fit.
0:24:28 > 0:24:32The bill for the windows is just under £19,000,
0:24:32 > 0:24:35one of the largest single costs of the entire build.
0:24:35 > 0:24:37But they've also, critically, taken weeks
0:24:37 > 0:24:39to carefully make by hand.
0:24:39 > 0:24:44The window company have requested an urgent meeting with Alex and Martin
0:24:44 > 0:24:47but they are 150 miles away in Dunstable.
0:24:49 > 0:24:51When we got the email from the window company
0:24:51 > 0:24:55to say that there was going to be a delay on the windows
0:24:55 > 0:24:58and he suggested that he wasn't going to do any more work
0:24:58 > 0:25:00until we'd had a site meeting,
0:25:00 > 0:25:03well, he sent that on a Saturday evening
0:25:03 > 0:25:05and there was no option to have a site meeting.
0:25:05 > 0:25:09We were both heading down south Monday morning at half past four
0:25:09 > 0:25:12and we weren't going to be back until Friday evening.
0:25:12 > 0:25:15So we lose then another week.
0:25:15 > 0:25:18Already several weeks behind schedule,
0:25:18 > 0:25:21the windows are now jeopardising the whole build.
0:25:21 > 0:25:25But most worrying, their funds have been frozen until it's sorted out.
0:25:25 > 0:25:28The more concerning point is the fact
0:25:28 > 0:25:33that until they've put the windows in,
0:25:33 > 0:25:36we can't finish our structural phase of our mortgage.
0:25:36 > 0:25:39So we can't release the first phase of money
0:25:39 > 0:25:41until the windows are completed.
0:25:41 > 0:25:44To add to their financial troubles,
0:25:44 > 0:25:46the scaffolding is also having to stay up longer
0:25:46 > 0:25:48at an additional cost.
0:25:48 > 0:25:53My time is up on the length of the time of the scaffolding we've hired it for.
0:25:53 > 0:25:57So from now, it's all - well, the last two weeks, actually -
0:25:57 > 0:26:00it's costing us money now, which we don't need, you know.
0:26:00 > 0:26:05But we've just got to try and sort this situation out as quickly as possible.
0:26:05 > 0:26:07On a build as complex as this,
0:26:07 > 0:26:10miscommunication can happen
0:26:10 > 0:26:13but this one could result in a major setback for Alex and Martin.
0:26:16 > 0:26:18Kate is continuing her investigation
0:26:18 > 0:26:22into the owners of Rock Farm and its land in the 18th century.
0:26:23 > 0:26:27She's already learnt that it was inherited by Frances Edwards.
0:26:27 > 0:26:30She didn't live there but rented it out.
0:26:30 > 0:26:34Because of the agricultural boom in Shropshire during the 1700s,
0:26:34 > 0:26:36it must have been very lucrative,
0:26:36 > 0:26:38so she's returned to the Shropshire archives
0:26:38 > 0:26:40to try and learn more.
0:26:40 > 0:26:43What I've found is this brilliant document signed by Frances Edwards
0:26:43 > 0:26:45in 1719,
0:26:45 > 0:26:47in which she essentially leases the money to create a school
0:26:47 > 0:26:50for the poor children of Dudleston, 24 of them.
0:26:50 > 0:26:54She wants them to read, to write, to learn to sew if they're girls
0:26:54 > 0:26:57and she really is also investing in apprenticeships as well.
0:26:57 > 0:27:01So this really quite an exceptional piece of philanthropy.
0:27:01 > 0:27:03There were no state schools at the time.
0:27:03 > 0:27:04Schools were up to the people
0:27:04 > 0:27:07and very few people endowed schools in this way.
0:27:07 > 0:27:09It was thought that the poor could make their own way,
0:27:09 > 0:27:12so clearly, Frances Edwards is setting up a charity
0:27:12 > 0:27:16to look after the local people and that's a significant act.
0:27:18 > 0:27:23So from 1719, as the area boomed, so did education for young people.
0:27:23 > 0:27:29This investment in the future, paid for by renting the land Alex and Martin own today,
0:27:29 > 0:27:33is beautifully commemorated at Dudleston Church.
0:27:36 > 0:27:39"Mrs Edwards of Kilhendre left by will a house and garden
0:27:39 > 0:27:41"situated at the chapel
0:27:41 > 0:27:46"for the purpose of instructing and teaching 12 boys and 12 girls born of poor parents
0:27:46 > 0:27:47"and living in the township.
0:27:47 > 0:27:51"The boys to read and write, the girls to read, sew and knit."
0:27:52 > 0:27:54It tells us a lot about Frances Edwards.
0:27:54 > 0:27:56She was not just a local landowner.
0:27:56 > 0:27:59She had a massive effect on the local area.
0:27:59 > 0:28:03Children in such a rural area being taught to read and write -
0:28:03 > 0:28:05it was a really forward-thinking idea of hers
0:28:05 > 0:28:08and still now, 300 years later, the church commemorates it.
0:28:14 > 0:28:18Alex and Martin are doing their weekly pilgrimage to Shropshire,
0:28:18 > 0:28:24a tedious 150-mile drive from their base in Bedfordshire.
0:28:24 > 0:28:26We're quite sad, really.
0:28:26 > 0:28:28We've broken it up into little phases,
0:28:28 > 0:28:33so we know how long each segment of the journey takes, roughly.
0:28:33 > 0:28:38I don't think either of us can wait until we can finally unpack
0:28:38 > 0:28:42and land all of our belongings in one location,
0:28:42 > 0:28:46unpack and start to settle in.
0:28:46 > 0:28:49On site, old rotten windows are still in place
0:28:49 > 0:28:52but Glynne has managed to fix the floors.
0:28:52 > 0:28:54He agreed with the conservation authorities
0:28:54 > 0:28:57he could put new beams alongside the old, which must stay
0:28:57 > 0:28:59even though they're rotten.
0:28:59 > 0:29:02So none of the old fabric will be removed from the house.
0:29:02 > 0:29:06After so many so issues, Alex and Martin are desperate
0:29:06 > 0:29:08so see how the rest of the build is coming along.
0:29:10 > 0:29:15Something's always changed and because they've been doing so much work on the outside, it's great
0:29:15 > 0:29:19because you just come to the house and something's different.
0:29:19 > 0:29:22More of the roof's been done, the chimneys have been finished off.
0:29:22 > 0:29:24They stand taller now
0:29:24 > 0:29:26and it just finishes the top of the house off nicely.
0:29:26 > 0:29:30I'm just looking up at the roof now and noticing it isn't quite square.
0:29:30 > 0:29:32It's not 100%,
0:29:32 > 0:29:35so I think that's part of the charm of the house, as well -
0:29:35 > 0:29:39we can't all of that otherwise it would be a new house.
0:29:39 > 0:29:43The house is going to reveal itself as the scaffolding comes down and that will be really nice.
0:29:45 > 0:29:49Upstairs, it's the first chance Martin's had to see the beams that Glynne has repaired.
0:29:49 > 0:29:52All of this was costly, unplanned work.
0:29:54 > 0:29:57Originally to lift the floor up - that wasn't in budget.
0:29:57 > 0:29:59To support the beam, that wasn't in budget.
0:29:59 > 0:30:04To reply and support this floor from the topside wasn't in budget.
0:30:04 > 0:30:08And now we need to anchor to the beam itself - that wasn't in budget.
0:30:08 > 0:30:12And, of course, we're having to pay for the architect's time
0:30:12 > 0:30:16and the builders' time to try to come up with plan A, plan B, plan C
0:30:16 > 0:30:19or whatever we end up doing.
0:30:19 > 0:30:21It'll be fine.
0:30:21 > 0:30:25I mean, at the end of the day, we can say it wasn't in budget
0:30:25 > 0:30:29but it needs to be done, so we just have to find a way
0:30:29 > 0:30:31where we compromise something else
0:30:31 > 0:30:34or something else has to wait to be done.
0:30:34 > 0:30:40Alex may be buoyant but that 18th-century brickwork has cost her a fortune.
0:30:40 > 0:30:44On his first visit, Kieran suspected the bricks were handmade,
0:30:44 > 0:30:47so has returned with an expert.
0:30:47 > 0:30:51Tony Mugridge has been making bricks by hand in the traditional way
0:30:51 > 0:30:53for 36 years,
0:30:53 > 0:30:57so is an incredible link to the 18th-century brickmaker.
0:30:57 > 0:31:01So, Tony, what can you tell us, looking in detail at the brick,
0:31:01 > 0:31:05about the people who were making this house and the techniques they were using?
0:31:05 > 0:31:09Everything. The bricks are like a fossil of 1780s life.
0:31:09 > 0:31:11You've got grass marks here.
0:31:11 > 0:31:14This shows it was made in the summer, this brick.
0:31:14 > 0:31:17You've got an autumn mark there, with that leaf.
0:31:17 > 0:31:20These marks here are what are called skink or hack marks
0:31:20 > 0:31:25and it shows that when the bricks were made, the next bricks on the top
0:31:25 > 0:31:29would be put on in line but with a finger's space between.
0:31:29 > 0:31:33I see. And these marks are the gaps between the bricks
0:31:33 > 0:31:36- that allow air to circulate to dry the bricks.- Yeah.
0:31:36 > 0:31:39- They're pretty chunky fingers. - They are very chunky fingers
0:31:39 > 0:31:42because you have to allow for the shrinkage of the brick as well.
0:31:42 > 0:31:44When this brick was made it was 10% bigger
0:31:44 > 0:31:47and it's shrunk in drying and it's shrunk in firing.
0:31:47 > 0:31:50So there's my fingers and I've got small fingers anyway
0:31:50 > 0:31:54but you can see that's about the same size as my fingers
0:31:54 > 0:31:56but his hands were 10% bigger than mine.
0:31:56 > 0:31:59- So he was a big guy.- Yeah, yeah.
0:31:59 > 0:32:03- And we see some smaller marks here, too.- I believe that's a child.
0:32:03 > 0:32:07A child has spaced those out, which shows that the brickmaker is employing children.
0:32:07 > 0:32:09He's employing his own children.
0:32:09 > 0:32:12A tax on bricks was introduced in 1784,
0:32:12 > 0:32:15which was resulted in their standardisation.
0:32:15 > 0:32:18As these were handmade, it tells us
0:32:18 > 0:32:21Rock Farm was definitely built before that date.
0:32:21 > 0:32:25There's even evidence that there was more than one craftsman involved.
0:32:27 > 0:32:29The way I can tell you that is by the size of the brick.
0:32:29 > 0:32:32Every brickmaker would have his own mould.
0:32:32 > 0:32:35It would be registered with that mould - that was his brick size.
0:32:35 > 0:32:37This is a long brick here
0:32:37 > 0:32:39but if you look here, this is a short one.
0:32:39 > 0:32:44So this is not just a typical, Georgian house.
0:32:44 > 0:32:48This is a very important, large estate house, if you like,
0:32:48 > 0:32:53a big house where it needed two brickmakers, at least, working on it,
0:32:53 > 0:32:56maybe three, and with all their families.
0:32:56 > 0:33:00This would be a big communal job just before the brick tax.
0:33:00 > 0:33:02It's like the end of an era.
0:33:05 > 0:33:07Tony has been able paint an extraordinary picture
0:33:07 > 0:33:10of the process involved in creating Rock Farm.
0:33:10 > 0:33:15But as he heads off, the old barn butted up against it
0:33:15 > 0:33:16catches his eye.
0:33:16 > 0:33:19Bit of a strange building on the side here. Is that an extension?
0:33:19 > 0:33:23Yeah. This relationship is a complete mystery,
0:33:23 > 0:33:27- this weird 45-degree angle. - Oh, yes, yeah.
0:33:29 > 0:33:31- This is wonderful.- Yeah, yeah.
0:33:31 > 0:33:34Oh, fantastic. Tudor. This is Tudor style.
0:33:34 > 0:33:37So, Tony, this building's a mystery to us.
0:33:37 > 0:33:39Well, it's really very exciting, this building
0:33:39 > 0:33:43because this building I can tell you straightaway predates the Georgian building.
0:33:43 > 0:33:45It's the size is the giveaway straightaway.
0:33:45 > 0:33:50They're narrow. These are 16th or even perhaps 15th century bricks.
0:33:50 > 0:33:54Wow. So these could be 500, 600 years old, these bricks.
0:33:54 > 0:33:56- Oh, yes. - That's absolutely amazing.
0:33:56 > 0:34:00We're talking about a building that probably predates Hampton Court Palace.
0:34:00 > 0:34:03That's a lot older than we expected to find.
0:34:03 > 0:34:05What does that tell us about this building?
0:34:05 > 0:34:09- Did they make cowsheds out of brick? - No, no.
0:34:09 > 0:34:12This building was state of the art.
0:34:12 > 0:34:17This is the most prestigious building you could possibly have.
0:34:17 > 0:34:19This isn't like a timber-framed house.
0:34:19 > 0:34:22This is saying, "I don't need timber, I can have brick."
0:34:22 > 0:34:26- So there's no way that this was a farm building.- No.
0:34:26 > 0:34:31So you're saying that this is a fragment of an older house or...?
0:34:31 > 0:34:35I'd be very comfortable to say this is either a complete older house
0:34:35 > 0:34:38or it is just part of an older house.
0:34:38 > 0:34:41- You've got a very important structure.- Really extraordinary.
0:34:41 > 0:34:44Somebody with a lot of money has put this building here.
0:34:46 > 0:34:48With this revelation,
0:34:48 > 0:34:53a whole new investigation into the importance of Alex and Martin's property can begin.
0:34:55 > 0:34:59Meanwhile, in a double bedroom just outside Dunstable
0:34:59 > 0:35:01with an en-suite and tea and coffee facilities,
0:35:01 > 0:35:03there's been a breakthrough on the windows.
0:35:03 > 0:35:06They're accepting it as their error,
0:35:06 > 0:35:09so they'll be remade, they'll be done properly
0:35:09 > 0:35:12and within a few weeks, we will have the windows.
0:35:12 > 0:35:14SHE LAUGHS
0:35:14 > 0:35:16And more importantly, it hasn't stopped you
0:35:16 > 0:35:19- from ordering the wallpaper or anything else. - SHE LAUGHS
0:35:20 > 0:35:22Or the kitchen.
0:35:26 > 0:35:30After a five-week delay, they're finally fitted
0:35:30 > 0:35:34and crucially, the next part of their mortgage is paid.
0:35:34 > 0:35:38The extra work and other hold-ups has added at least two months
0:35:38 > 0:35:40onto their projected six-month build.
0:35:41 > 0:35:44The scaffolding is finally removed,
0:35:44 > 0:35:48which is a relief both financially and emotionally.
0:35:48 > 0:35:52Today's a fantastic day to see the scaffolding peeling off
0:35:52 > 0:35:54and seeing what's underneath and the work that's gone in,
0:35:54 > 0:35:58where they've stitched it, the repointing, the new windows.
0:35:58 > 0:36:01It does make me feel that we are that bit closer
0:36:01 > 0:36:03to the end of this project.
0:36:06 > 0:36:10It's a great day but it's been a tricky few months.
0:36:10 > 0:36:13It's time I went to pay them another visit.
0:36:13 > 0:36:17Lovely to see the house looking so very beautiful.
0:36:17 > 0:36:21What was it like when you first saw that lovely face?
0:36:21 > 0:36:24It will be really nice when the front door bit's finished.
0:36:24 > 0:36:26Yes, it's got a missing tooth, hasn't it?
0:36:26 > 0:36:28You just think, "See a dentist."
0:36:28 > 0:36:32You were meant to be moving in around now, weren't you?
0:36:32 > 0:36:34- Yeah, we were hoping to be in at the end of June.- Yeah.
0:36:34 > 0:36:38We're two months late. We will be two months late.
0:36:38 > 0:36:41But the biggest challenge for us has been the logistics
0:36:41 > 0:36:43of us and where we're living.
0:36:43 > 0:36:46I think it's probably a testament to our relationship
0:36:46 > 0:36:49that we've managed to get this far
0:36:49 > 0:36:51and, well, we still like each other, I think.
0:36:51 > 0:36:55- And is the end in sight for you? Have you got a date to move in?- Yes.
0:36:55 > 0:37:00- So five weeks from now. - Oh, that's great.
0:37:00 > 0:37:03Just to get this far, they've travelled thousands of miles to and fro
0:37:03 > 0:37:07and agonised over every decision on this build.
0:37:07 > 0:37:11But where they could, they decided to retain some of those original windows
0:37:11 > 0:37:13that made them fall in love with Rock Farm.
0:37:17 > 0:37:19- This one is original, is it?- Yeah.
0:37:19 > 0:37:24What I love about the window is the fact that where they've had to replace panes of glass,
0:37:24 > 0:37:26you can see where that's happened
0:37:26 > 0:37:31but there are equally some original, very discoloured, very pitted pieces of glass in the panels
0:37:31 > 0:37:34and they actually tell the story.
0:37:34 > 0:37:37You can see where different people have lived in the house.
0:37:37 > 0:37:40You can see the bits we've done. I quite like that
0:37:40 > 0:37:43because it says, "This is the journey this window's gone on."
0:37:43 > 0:37:45You've very keen to do that, Alex, aren't you?
0:37:45 > 0:37:49- You're keen to do the right thing by the property.- Absolutely.
0:37:49 > 0:37:53This has stood for 200 years and I think we're really lucky
0:37:53 > 0:37:56that we can now live in it and enjoy it as a home
0:37:56 > 0:37:59but we shouldn't ride roughshod over it.
0:37:59 > 0:38:03But everywhere we have been able to, we've wanted to maintain its integrity.
0:38:05 > 0:38:09What we quite often fail to take notice of
0:38:09 > 0:38:12is the emotional cost of a build like this.
0:38:12 > 0:38:14- Did you have any idea about that? - Probably not
0:38:14 > 0:38:18but then if we found this house again and knew what we know now,
0:38:18 > 0:38:21there is no doubt in my mind that we would do it again
0:38:21 > 0:38:27because despite the stress, despite how tired I feel all the time,
0:38:27 > 0:38:30and despite the hard work, I love this house
0:38:30 > 0:38:35and it's going to be an amazing home, absolutely amazing.
0:38:35 > 0:38:39Bless your heart! I think, well, it is going to be a delightful home.
0:38:39 > 0:38:45But I think it's OK also to say it takes its toll. I think that's OK.
0:38:45 > 0:38:50Even though there are holes in the floor and unplastered walls downstairs,
0:38:50 > 0:38:55on the top floor, Alex is finally getting a chance to put her mood boards into action.
0:38:58 > 0:39:01- This is Martin's study. - This is my favourite room.
0:39:01 > 0:39:03Are you going for the greys or are you going to...?
0:39:03 > 0:39:06No, we scrapped the grey on the walls
0:39:06 > 0:39:07but we found this beautiful wallpaper.
0:39:07 > 0:39:11- Let's have a look at that. - So it's going to...
0:39:12 > 0:39:16Let's see it out. It's only going to go on this wall but...
0:39:16 > 0:39:20So I said to Alex that she's got complete veto
0:39:20 > 0:39:24over the rest of the house for decorating,
0:39:24 > 0:39:26- except my study.- Yes. - My study, I can do what I like.
0:39:26 > 0:39:29So Alex said, "This is the wallpaper you can have."
0:39:30 > 0:39:35- That you chose for him. - But you do like it.- I do like it. - "You chose this wallpaper, darling."
0:39:35 > 0:39:37- Do you like it? - I do like it, which is lucky.
0:39:37 > 0:39:40It is, yeah. It wouldn't matter if you didn't, would it?
0:39:48 > 0:39:52As Alex and Martin are starting to put 21st-century touches into Rock Farm,
0:39:52 > 0:39:55Kate is back on her search into the past.
0:39:55 > 0:40:00This time she's trying to find out more about the ancient building
0:40:00 > 0:40:02that stands next to it.
0:40:02 > 0:40:04Taking her lead from Tony the brick expert,
0:40:04 > 0:40:09she's now looking into possible owners of the land in the 15th and 16th centuries.
0:40:09 > 0:40:13She starts with the ancestors of Frances Edwards.
0:40:13 > 0:40:17I've managed to trace the Edwards family right back to the 16th century
0:40:17 > 0:40:20and what I've found is that they're descended from a very important man
0:40:20 > 0:40:22called Hugh Edwards.
0:40:22 > 0:40:24He's a very significant merchant.
0:40:24 > 0:40:30It says here that he acquired in 1549 a considerable portion of the tenements in Shrewsbury
0:40:30 > 0:40:32from King Edward VI,
0:40:32 > 0:40:35so this is a pretty significant man with lines to the King.
0:40:35 > 0:40:38And not only that, he also founded the local grammar school.
0:40:38 > 0:40:39It's fascinating.
0:40:39 > 0:40:43In 1551, it says, principally through his influence at court,
0:40:43 > 0:40:47the grant was obtained under which was founded the Royal Free Grammar School of Shrewsbury,
0:40:47 > 0:40:49which still exists today.
0:40:49 > 0:40:52This is a very important, very influential man.
0:40:53 > 0:40:56With family ties to the site,
0:40:56 > 0:40:59was he perhaps even the kind of important landowner
0:40:59 > 0:41:03to have been able to build the Tudor brick building we've uncovered at Rock Farm?
0:41:05 > 0:41:07Since discovering the old building,
0:41:07 > 0:41:10Tony Mugridge has thought of little else.
0:41:10 > 0:41:12It's been preying on my mind.
0:41:12 > 0:41:16While I've been making bricks I've been thinking about that maker.
0:41:16 > 0:41:18So I've been investigating. I just got carried away.
0:41:18 > 0:41:20It got worse and worse
0:41:20 > 0:41:23and I've spent the last two or three days without any sleep
0:41:23 > 0:41:27because I can't sleep because all I'm thinking of is, "Who is that person? Who is that person?"
0:41:27 > 0:41:31Yesterday afternoon, I got it.
0:41:31 > 0:41:34Finally we have some answers about the old barn
0:41:34 > 0:41:39that's sat unnoticed next to Martin and Alex's house for generations.
0:41:39 > 0:41:42Without doubt, Robert Bird has to be the brickmaker for that.
0:41:42 > 0:41:45The bricks are his mould size.
0:41:45 > 0:41:50The way the bricks are made is the same as bricks which we know were made by him
0:41:50 > 0:41:51in other places.
0:41:51 > 0:41:56There's no doubt at all that this man made the bricks for Rock Farm.
0:41:56 > 0:42:00He was a contemporary of the King's brickmaker.
0:42:00 > 0:42:02He worked with him. He was one of his business partners.
0:42:02 > 0:42:06That suddenly makes it a really, really exciting project
0:42:06 > 0:42:12and it certainly shows that the Great Farm is one of the most important buildings in the country,
0:42:12 > 0:42:14never mind just locally.
0:42:14 > 0:42:16Robert Bird was a master brickmaker,
0:42:16 > 0:42:21listed as working in the area in the second half of the 15th century.
0:42:21 > 0:42:24He would have lived on site with his family
0:42:24 > 0:42:26as the structure was taking shape.
0:42:26 > 0:42:29Thanks to a lifetime of expertise,
0:42:29 > 0:42:33Tony suspects it was built around 1490.
0:42:33 > 0:42:35He even has a theory on what it was.
0:42:37 > 0:42:43The building at the Great Farm is a kitchen block.
0:42:43 > 0:42:46In other words, it pretty well just contains a huge fire grate
0:42:46 > 0:42:48and rooms above for storage.
0:42:48 > 0:42:52It's the kitchen block for a large country house,
0:42:52 > 0:42:55probably a manor house or something like that.
0:42:55 > 0:42:58The kitchen block has to be separate from it
0:42:58 > 0:43:02because in that period, in the 15th and 16th centuries,
0:43:02 > 0:43:05it was very common for houses to go up in flames
0:43:05 > 0:43:08because the kitchens were part of the houses.
0:43:08 > 0:43:14So the brick barn is the last remnant of a once-grand Tudor timber house,
0:43:14 > 0:43:17built by one of Britain's finest brick-makers
0:43:17 > 0:43:21and is a discovery of national importance.
0:43:24 > 0:43:27The original plaster for the 18th-century house at Rock Farm
0:43:27 > 0:43:30would have been made with lime mortar.
0:43:30 > 0:43:35Traditional plasterer Biaggio is using the same materials that were originally used.
0:43:35 > 0:43:38But he also has another challenge on his hands.
0:43:40 > 0:43:45We've got a lot of the old lime render still left on the walls
0:43:45 > 0:43:49and we have to work with that - that's got to stay in place
0:43:49 > 0:43:51because of the conservation work.
0:43:51 > 0:43:54So this was put on hundreds of years ago.
0:43:54 > 0:43:59So to marry up to this old stuff we're using lime mortar.
0:43:59 > 0:44:05On the outside you have like a hard, crisp top coat to it
0:44:05 > 0:44:07but underneath it's soft.
0:44:07 > 0:44:10The beauty of it is it's breathable,
0:44:10 > 0:44:14so it allows the whole building to breathe,
0:44:14 > 0:44:16so that's why we use it.
0:44:17 > 0:44:21But at least he'll find it easier to make his mix
0:44:21 > 0:44:24because at last, Glynne has running water on site.
0:44:27 > 0:44:30It's a great way forward now and now this is working it's fantastic.
0:44:30 > 0:44:33At least we know we're well on the way
0:44:33 > 0:44:36and they can have a bath and everything else to go with it, then.
0:44:36 > 0:44:38So that'll be fantastic, yes.
0:44:40 > 0:44:44Alex and Martin can't wait any longer and are on their way.
0:44:44 > 0:44:47Much of the work on the house is not finished
0:44:47 > 0:44:49but they're moving their stuff in.
0:44:53 > 0:44:56Today's incredibly exciting because all the vision of everything
0:44:56 > 0:44:59finally comes together in the last week or two.
0:44:59 > 0:45:03So the decorating. The carpet's going down today.
0:45:03 > 0:45:07That just pulls everything together in the house.
0:45:09 > 0:45:15But just when Glynne thought he'd fixed all the major structural problems in the house,
0:45:15 > 0:45:17he's taken a further look in the cellar
0:45:17 > 0:45:20and found another rotten beam,
0:45:20 > 0:45:23with the library above it in danger of collapse.
0:45:25 > 0:45:28Whilst we're moving in, trying to find our stuff and unpack
0:45:28 > 0:45:31and work out which room is which,
0:45:31 > 0:45:36downstairs in the cellar Glynne's fixing a fairly major problem
0:45:36 > 0:45:38with the floorboards in the cellar.
0:45:40 > 0:45:42Normally, you go through every little thing
0:45:42 > 0:45:44and you find everything and put it right
0:45:44 > 0:45:45before anybody moves in.
0:45:45 > 0:45:49But Alex and Martin want to move in as quickly as possible,
0:45:49 > 0:45:52so we've had to work around them.
0:45:53 > 0:45:56We're absolutely shattered at the moment
0:45:56 > 0:45:58but it's quite exciting at the same time.
0:46:01 > 0:46:04Before we discover whether Alex and Martin have completed
0:46:04 > 0:46:06their mammoth restoration of Rock Farm,
0:46:06 > 0:46:09they're going to find out all that we have
0:46:09 > 0:46:11about their extraordinary house.
0:46:11 > 0:46:13Of course, you've got a date stone.
0:46:13 > 0:46:16Have you ever been able to decipher what that date stone says?
0:46:16 > 0:46:20We think it says 1792 but it's been quite worn away by the weather.
0:46:20 > 0:46:23Hasn't it? It's really a tease, that thing.
0:46:23 > 0:46:27You have this very flush brickwork and window timberwork
0:46:27 > 0:46:29and that's before fire regulations forced people
0:46:29 > 0:46:31to set the windows back in the reveals.
0:46:31 > 0:46:35That always tells us that this is a late 18th-century building.
0:46:37 > 0:46:40Frances Edwards, this landowner who didn't have a family of her own,
0:46:40 > 0:46:42she decides she wants to set up a local school,
0:46:42 > 0:46:47a school for the local people, 12 boys and 12 girls.
0:46:47 > 0:46:49She's renting out Rock Farm - your farm -
0:46:49 > 0:46:51so she can have the money to make a school.
0:46:52 > 0:46:56Dudleston church is a Rock Farm and Edwards family treasure house.
0:46:56 > 0:47:01It is a monument to how significant and important they were.
0:47:01 > 0:47:03We're going to go now to go and see this.
0:47:03 > 0:47:06But the most important discovery about the site
0:47:06 > 0:47:09was the old barn next to the house itself.
0:47:09 > 0:47:13Here to explain that revelation is master of all things brick,
0:47:13 > 0:47:15Tony Mugridge.
0:47:16 > 0:47:20The bricks of the building, I can say pretty well without doubt,
0:47:20 > 0:47:24they date from about between 1490 and 1500.
0:47:24 > 0:47:28- Wow!- You've got a 15th-century building.- Oh! Gosh.
0:47:28 > 0:47:30- It's a kitchen.- A kitchen? - It's a kitchen.
0:47:31 > 0:47:36This is the best example of a 15th-century kitchen in the country.
0:47:36 > 0:47:37It's really exciting.
0:47:37 > 0:47:41If the brick expert is excited, how do the owners feel?
0:47:41 > 0:47:43Never did we think that it had this much importance.
0:47:43 > 0:47:47- Alex, you're getting a bit emotional. - I am getting a bit emotional.
0:47:47 > 0:47:51Erm... I think I always thought we were really lucky
0:47:51 > 0:47:55to have the opportunity to do the house and to be able to buy it
0:47:55 > 0:47:57and I felt like we were custodians of something,
0:47:57 > 0:48:00but... Wow.
0:48:09 > 0:48:13Alex and Martin got the keys to Rock Farm in November 2011
0:48:13 > 0:48:16The builders moved in in January 2012.
0:48:16 > 0:48:21Alex decided that she was going to do this entire build in six months.
0:48:21 > 0:48:26It's now February 2013. Let's see how they've got on.
0:48:30 > 0:48:33When Alex and Martin took on this house,
0:48:33 > 0:48:37the bowing walls had compromised almost every structural component
0:48:37 > 0:48:39within the house -
0:48:39 > 0:48:43beams weakened by weather and bricks cracked out of line.
0:48:44 > 0:48:49Glynne the builder was finding issues right up until moving-in day
0:48:49 > 0:48:51but now it's been saved.
0:49:05 > 0:49:07- Hello!- Hello.- Hello.
0:49:07 > 0:49:10Well done! Look at your beautiful house.
0:49:10 > 0:49:12- You did it!- We did, we did.
0:49:12 > 0:49:16You did it and you almost did it to the timescale, too.
0:49:16 > 0:49:20Yeah, we were about... We were about two months over.
0:49:20 > 0:49:22That's really good going.
0:49:22 > 0:49:26When I first saw the house, the brickwork was in quite a bad way.
0:49:26 > 0:49:29It looks fantastic now. What's that journey been?
0:49:29 > 0:49:33You can see where Glynne's done some stitching on the building.
0:49:33 > 0:49:37I quite like the fact that you can actually still see where he's been
0:49:37 > 0:49:39and where we'd had the really bad water damage at the front.
0:49:39 > 0:49:43It's cleaned up from what it was but it's still visible.
0:49:43 > 0:49:46It just tells the journey that the house has been on.
0:49:51 > 0:49:55The house is lovely but I'm assuming you're going to ditch it
0:49:55 > 0:49:58now that you've got such an important barn.
0:49:58 > 0:50:02Well, if we leave it, it will fall down.
0:50:02 > 0:50:05There's no two ways about that. It will fall down.
0:50:05 > 0:50:09So I guess the next question you're going to ask is, "Would you do something like this again?"
0:50:09 > 0:50:11- We're going to have to. - THEY LAUGH
0:50:11 > 0:50:13We're going to have to.
0:50:13 > 0:50:18Yes! Almost immediately, without a breath between the two.
0:50:27 > 0:50:32The interior of this listed property was dilapidated,
0:50:32 > 0:50:36with large cracks in the walls, rotten beams and no mains water.
0:50:37 > 0:50:41It was a huge job but Alex and Martin saw beyond the decay
0:50:41 > 0:50:43and knew what they wanted.
0:50:44 > 0:50:47Downstairs, two of the rooms have been knocked into one
0:50:47 > 0:50:51to create the kitchen diner Alex has always dreamed of.
0:50:55 > 0:50:57Very, very nice work.
0:50:57 > 0:51:00- You must be pleased with this. - Love it.
0:51:03 > 0:51:05Your budget was... When you started, what was it?
0:51:05 > 0:51:11- £172,000 was our budget.- Yeah. - We have gone over our budget.- Mm-hm.
0:51:11 > 0:51:14We had to do some work that we couldn't have planned for,
0:51:14 > 0:51:19so we've come in about £30,000 over what we originally intended to spend.
0:51:19 > 0:51:24But 30, actually given the size of the property,
0:51:24 > 0:51:27isn't an outrageous overspend, is it?
0:51:27 > 0:51:32No, it means that we've done the whole thing for 430,000.
0:51:32 > 0:51:35You've got a wonderful house for that,
0:51:35 > 0:51:36a really beautiful house for that.
0:51:36 > 0:51:38You've done it immaculately.
0:51:42 > 0:51:46In the living room, the windows were beyond repair.
0:51:48 > 0:51:51The old tiled fireplace was removed
0:51:51 > 0:51:54to reveal this large inglenook hearth.
0:51:56 > 0:51:58Oh! Alex!
0:52:00 > 0:52:03It's exactly as you said it would be.
0:52:03 > 0:52:05It certainly is.
0:52:05 > 0:52:08It's gorgeous.
0:52:08 > 0:52:10This is a triumph, isn't it?
0:52:10 > 0:52:14Because the last time I saw it it was being bashed in
0:52:14 > 0:52:16and you didn't even know there was a fireplace there.
0:52:16 > 0:52:20The mood boards we talked about have come to life
0:52:20 > 0:52:23and unlike most people, it hasn't changed.
0:52:23 > 0:52:25It's exactly the way you described it.
0:52:25 > 0:52:28It couldn't. I'd already ordered the sofas.
0:52:28 > 0:52:29LAUGHTER
0:52:29 > 0:52:34Could you always see how this room was going to look?
0:52:34 > 0:52:36Yes. Without question.
0:52:36 > 0:52:40The whole house. You see, I don't find that odd
0:52:40 > 0:52:43but clearly it is.
0:52:43 > 0:52:45Perfect fireplace, perfect decor.
0:52:45 > 0:52:49Very clever woman. I can't say it too much.
0:52:51 > 0:52:55The floorboards in the library were falling apart
0:52:55 > 0:52:58and had to be supported by reinforced beams in the cellar
0:52:58 > 0:53:01but it has been turned into an elegant space,
0:53:01 > 0:53:04retaining the original wall cupboards.
0:53:06 > 0:53:08So pretty, this staircase.
0:53:09 > 0:53:12And upstairs, after fixing the floor...
0:53:15 > 0:53:17making good the cracks in the walls...
0:53:19 > 0:53:23and replastering, the bedrooms are a haven of luxury.
0:53:25 > 0:53:27After extensive work on the floor
0:53:27 > 0:53:29and working within strict planning rules,
0:53:29 > 0:53:33the plumber ran pipes into this former bedroom
0:53:33 > 0:53:36and Alex's piece de resistance has been created.
0:53:36 > 0:53:38Oh!
0:53:44 > 0:53:48The much-celebrated bathroom.
0:53:48 > 0:53:51It looks beautiful. I love the wallpaper.
0:53:51 > 0:53:55And there were issues with this very solid bath
0:53:55 > 0:53:56because it's heavy, isn't it?
0:53:56 > 0:53:58The bath had to be this bath
0:53:58 > 0:54:01and it had to be right in the middle of the room,
0:54:01 > 0:54:03which is the wrong place for a bath to be.
0:54:03 > 0:54:04Yes, I did cause some problems
0:54:04 > 0:54:08but it's worth persevering because I couldn't be more pleased with the room.
0:54:08 > 0:54:13I love this here. Is that just to hide the pipework for your tap?
0:54:13 > 0:54:17- THEY LAUGH - No, no, no. That's actually Alex's wine rest.
0:54:17 > 0:54:20- And have you done that?- Yes.
0:54:20 > 0:54:23You haven't just go the bath because you've got a lovely shower in here.
0:54:23 > 0:54:26- Yep.- Yes. - It's very chic, isn't it?
0:54:26 > 0:54:30- It's quite masculine, the shower, - That's pretty much my shower.
0:54:30 > 0:54:31It's very decadent.
0:54:31 > 0:54:35And was that always the plan, to have it behind the secret wall?
0:54:35 > 0:54:37Yeah. We had a few debates
0:54:37 > 0:54:41over whether or not it should be enclosed with a glass shower screen
0:54:41 > 0:54:46because Martin was concerned that it would feel a bit like you were in a coffin.
0:54:46 > 0:54:49So as you can see, clearly, on the debate front,
0:54:49 > 0:54:50it's a solid wall.
0:54:50 > 0:54:54Of course it is because that's what you wanted.
0:54:54 > 0:54:56You've got to give it to her, haven't you?
0:54:56 > 0:54:59It's quite irritating. I could cheerfully kill her. I don't know how you feel.
0:55:03 > 0:55:06From Martin's very own shower to his very own study.
0:55:06 > 0:55:12Once a leaky void, this now has a charming, masculine feel,
0:55:12 > 0:55:15thanks largely to Alex's choice of wallpaper.
0:55:18 > 0:55:20Given that the place is looking immaculate now,
0:55:20 > 0:55:23it's hard to imagine that there were any low points
0:55:23 > 0:55:26but what was your lowest moment?
0:55:26 > 0:55:30For me, probably almost a year ago today,
0:55:30 > 0:55:32actually living in hotel.
0:55:32 > 0:55:34That sounds quite easy to do
0:55:34 > 0:55:37but actually when you're doing it, it's very difficult.
0:55:37 > 0:55:40Your whole worldly belongings are in the back of the car
0:55:40 > 0:55:44and in a hotel room - it's not a very nice place to be.
0:55:44 > 0:55:47Was there a low point for you, particularly, Alex?
0:55:47 > 0:55:49I think it links in to what Martin said
0:55:49 > 0:55:55but actually it was probably more about being away from the house -
0:55:55 > 0:55:57that was really probably my low.
0:55:59 > 0:56:01It was at the top of the stairs that you realised
0:56:01 > 0:56:04that this was going to be a commitment for you,
0:56:04 > 0:56:07that you were actually going to take this house on.
0:56:07 > 0:56:10How does it feel a year on, looking back?
0:56:10 > 0:56:14I think we were a bit crazy but I'm incredibly proud of what we've achieved.
0:56:14 > 0:56:16Is this going to be forever, this house?
0:56:16 > 0:56:19I fell in love with the house - we fell in love with the house -
0:56:19 > 0:56:21before we bought it.
0:56:21 > 0:56:24The house, emotionally, means more to us now
0:56:24 > 0:56:26and I've never felt that before for a house.
0:56:27 > 0:56:30I certainly can't imagine us leaving here.
0:56:30 > 0:56:36Transforming something and saving something has given me so much pleasure.
0:56:45 > 0:56:51Alex and Martin have truly saved Rock Farm.
0:56:51 > 0:56:54Without their determination and their vision
0:56:54 > 0:56:56in the face of terrible obstacles,
0:56:56 > 0:56:58I believe it wouldn't be here today.
0:56:58 > 0:57:02In fact, when the experts stripped it back,
0:57:02 > 0:57:04they thought it only had a couple of years
0:57:04 > 0:57:07before it was just a pile of bricks on the ground.
0:57:07 > 0:57:13And that's because Alex and Martin fell in love with it.
0:57:14 > 0:57:18They have saved a 200-year-old house,
0:57:18 > 0:57:21its stories and its characters
0:57:21 > 0:57:26but now... they've got to do the same thing
0:57:26 > 0:57:30for a 500-year-old one.
0:57:31 > 0:57:36It's crumbling, it's leaning, it's very rare.
0:57:36 > 0:57:41But I think with Alex and Martin in charge,
0:57:41 > 0:57:45well, just like Rock Farm, it's been rescued already.
0:57:59 > 0:58:01Next time on Restoration Home.
0:58:03 > 0:58:06They were enchanted by a fairy-tale castle.
0:58:06 > 0:58:09Once we walked through that gate, we were hooked.
0:58:09 > 0:58:12And are battling to save it.
0:58:13 > 0:58:17It was going to fall down if somebody didn't take it over now.
0:58:17 > 0:58:21But as costs shoot out of control...
0:58:21 > 0:58:23I woke up in a cold sweat, thinking, "What have we done?"
0:58:23 > 0:58:26..will their dream turn into a nightmare?
0:58:26 > 0:58:30We have literally sunk our savings into this trench.
0:58:30 > 0:58:33Subtitles by Red Bee Media Ltd