0:00:07 > 0:00:10Once we walked through that gate we were hooked.
0:00:10 > 0:00:13When I look at that house, I just think wow.
0:00:13 > 0:00:17And every time I see it I'm just, like, wow!
0:00:17 > 0:00:18It's a castle, it's a castle!
0:00:18 > 0:00:20How can you NOT buy a castle?
0:00:20 > 0:00:22Wow, that's some fireplace.
0:00:22 > 0:00:25It's going to be an amazing home.
0:00:25 > 0:00:28First day of the rest of its life. You happy?
0:00:30 > 0:00:34We are way, way, way over budget.
0:00:36 > 0:00:39I mean, I am actually living in a building site.
0:00:39 > 0:00:40You have to make sacrifices.
0:00:40 > 0:00:43There are days when you just think have we made the right decision?
0:00:43 > 0:00:45Are we doing the right thing?
0:00:45 > 0:00:48I wanted to know what it looked like when it was first built.
0:00:51 > 0:00:53This is just such a beautiful place.
0:00:53 > 0:00:56It's like every romantic part of my brain is just firing.
0:00:56 > 0:01:03You don't have any idea of how much money this is going to cost you.
0:01:03 > 0:01:05I don't think either of us envisaged
0:01:05 > 0:01:08quite as big a project as we've actually taken on.
0:01:08 > 0:01:12It's still a dream. It's still a dream that we're actually doing it.
0:01:12 > 0:01:14I can't wait to move in. It seemed 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, because what can I do?
0:01:20 > 0:01:22I've got to finish the house.
0:01:32 > 0:01:34This is Pitkennedy School.
0:01:37 > 0:01:40For years it served the hamlet of Pitkennedy in Angus
0:01:40 > 0:01:41on Scotland's east coast.
0:01:45 > 0:01:50Nearly 150 years of memories are within these walls.
0:01:50 > 0:01:54Eight generations of children learned to read and write here
0:01:54 > 0:01:57and, although their books are still on the shelves,
0:01:57 > 0:01:59the classrooms are silent.
0:02:03 > 0:02:05The bell rang for the last time seven years ago
0:02:05 > 0:02:08and since then it's been left to crumble.
0:02:09 > 0:02:13The flat roof leaks and inside the plaster is rotting away.
0:02:15 > 0:02:19It's now in such a bad condition that one more Scottish winter
0:02:19 > 0:02:22and it might be beyond saving.
0:02:25 > 0:02:29Fortunately, best friends Charlotte Fleming and Helen McGregor loved
0:02:29 > 0:02:31this quirky building so much,
0:02:31 > 0:02:34they were able to look beyond its current state of repair.
0:02:37 > 0:02:40My overwhelming impression was that it was grey and dreary
0:02:40 > 0:02:43and depressing, and then I went into the south classroom
0:02:43 > 0:02:45and saw the light and the view, and that sold it.
0:02:45 > 0:02:49My first impressions were just how spacious and light it was,
0:02:49 > 0:02:51and what fabulous windows.
0:02:53 > 0:02:55The dream of creating a home together
0:02:55 > 0:03:00started for advertising copywriter Charlotte and odd-job lady Helen
0:03:00 > 0:03:04when they met at choir practice five years ago.
0:03:05 > 0:03:09After bringing up two children as a single mother, Helen was living in
0:03:09 > 0:03:11rented accommodation,
0:03:11 > 0:03:14while Charlotte owned a small bungalow nearby.
0:03:14 > 0:03:17But a love for fascinating old buildings
0:03:17 > 0:03:19meant that it didn't take long for them
0:03:19 > 0:03:23to pool their resources to attempt to create their forever home.
0:03:25 > 0:03:27We're both getting rather, you know, old...
0:03:27 > 0:03:28SHE CHUCKLES
0:03:28 > 0:03:32..so we started talking about buying somewhere together.
0:03:33 > 0:03:38But the challenge of transforming Pitkennedy into a home is two-fold.
0:03:38 > 0:03:39Firstly, there's money.
0:03:39 > 0:03:42While an inheritance has allowed Charlotte
0:03:42 > 0:03:44and Helen to buy the school building,
0:03:44 > 0:03:47the amount won't cover the costs of the restoration,
0:03:47 > 0:03:50so Charlotte will have to sell her bungalow to pay for it.
0:03:53 > 0:03:57The thing that's still worrying me is, frankly, the finance,
0:03:57 > 0:04:01because we don't know how much it's going to cost.
0:04:01 > 0:04:03The money is, for me,
0:04:03 > 0:04:05the big headache.
0:04:08 > 0:04:12The second and perhaps even trickier problem is that of actually
0:04:12 > 0:04:15transforming the school building, with its cloakrooms and classrooms,
0:04:15 > 0:04:18into a comfortable home to live in.
0:04:20 > 0:04:23Even the very basics, such as a kitchen, bathroom and bedrooms
0:04:23 > 0:04:27will have to be created from scratch.
0:04:27 > 0:04:29I don't see any reason why it can't be turned into a house.
0:04:29 > 0:04:35Both of us have the ability I think, the knack, to make a home anywhere.
0:04:35 > 0:04:37Not only do Charlotte and Helen not have the money
0:04:37 > 0:04:39to complete this restoration,
0:04:39 > 0:04:43but also, despite being complete novices at the building game,
0:04:43 > 0:04:47they have decided to do much of the restoration work themselves.
0:04:49 > 0:04:52We will be learning on the job,
0:04:52 > 0:04:55but hopefully not with any disastrous consequences.
0:04:59 > 0:05:02Helen and Charlotte's desire to do a good job with Pitkennedy
0:05:02 > 0:05:06is about more than simply making a home for themselves.
0:05:06 > 0:05:10Finding a school diary ignited their passion for its history as well.
0:05:11 > 0:05:15It starts in 1916 on the 13th March,
0:05:15 > 0:05:20and it goes right through till the school closed
0:05:20 > 0:05:23in June 2005.
0:05:23 > 0:05:26This record stretches back to the earliest living memory
0:05:26 > 0:05:29of Pitkennedy, but Charlotte and Helen would
0:05:29 > 0:05:33love to fill in the blanks right back to the school's inception.
0:05:34 > 0:05:40In pencil we've put in an addendum that on the 16th April 2012,
0:05:40 > 0:05:43we bought the school for conversion to a house.
0:05:47 > 0:05:51Charlotte and Helen's ambitious plan to save Pitkennedy will keep
0:05:51 > 0:05:53the two classrooms intact.
0:05:53 > 0:05:56One, a living room and one as a large kitchen-diner
0:05:56 > 0:05:59and open up the modern extension to create a downstairs bathroom
0:05:59 > 0:06:01and studies for each of them.
0:06:05 > 0:06:08But the key to their plan is to replace the modern flat roof
0:06:08 > 0:06:12with a pitched roof, thus opening up a new first floor to create
0:06:12 > 0:06:15three bedrooms and a family bathroom.
0:06:15 > 0:06:17Linking the existing space
0:06:17 > 0:06:20and the new upstairs rooms will be a brand-new staircase
0:06:20 > 0:06:24and the success of this entire project depends on whether Helen and
0:06:24 > 0:06:29Charlotte can effectively transform Pitkennedy School into a home.
0:06:31 > 0:06:32I don't think either of us
0:06:32 > 0:06:37envisaged quite as big a project as we've actually taken on.
0:06:37 > 0:06:40But yeah, we're...
0:06:40 > 0:06:41looking forward to it now.
0:06:48 > 0:06:51And now it's time for me to see Pitkennedy School for myself.
0:06:53 > 0:06:54I'm Charlotte.
0:06:54 > 0:06:56Charlotte, hello. Caroline. Lovely to meet you. I'm Helen.
0:06:56 > 0:06:58Hello, lovely to meet you. You too.
0:06:58 > 0:07:01And your new home. Yes. Yes.
0:07:01 > 0:07:04It's a big building, and it looks tired even from here.
0:07:04 > 0:07:07So, you've got work to do, haven't you? Yes.
0:07:07 > 0:07:09And what about who's handling the finances?
0:07:09 > 0:07:11We spend it, she looks after it.
0:07:11 > 0:07:13And here comes the really vile question.
0:07:13 > 0:07:16What did you pay for the schoolhouse? 60,000.
0:07:16 > 0:07:18Do you know what your total spend's going to be?
0:07:18 > 0:07:20What's your budget to spend on the building?
0:07:20 > 0:07:24No, we don't, because every single person who comes
0:07:24 > 0:07:27and looks to give us an estimate says, "Hmm."
0:07:32 > 0:07:34So, welcome to the school.
0:07:34 > 0:07:36Yes, indeed.
0:07:36 > 0:07:39Gosh.
0:07:39 > 0:07:42I'm just wondering, because it's always been a school,
0:07:42 > 0:07:44how it's going to function as a living space.
0:07:44 > 0:07:46The stairs are going here,
0:07:46 > 0:07:48and they'll have to cut a hole in that bit of ceiling.
0:07:48 > 0:07:51Your stairs will come down here, this will be your hall,
0:07:51 > 0:07:54and then this room I can see is going to be your sitting room.
0:07:54 > 0:07:56Uh-huh. There's a lot of stuff in here.
0:07:56 > 0:07:59The stuff around here was left behind by the school.
0:07:59 > 0:08:01They just walked out and left it? Yep.
0:08:01 > 0:08:03Do you think, when you're living here,
0:08:03 > 0:08:06people are going to feel the urge to come and knock on your door?
0:08:06 > 0:08:08Oh, they already do. They already do. They do?
0:08:08 > 0:08:10Yeah, yeah, we've had two or three of them come in. Three so far.
0:08:10 > 0:08:13How do they feel about you turning it into a home?
0:08:13 > 0:08:14I think they're really relieved
0:08:14 > 0:08:16that something's actually going to happen to it.
0:08:16 > 0:08:18A lot have said,
0:08:18 > 0:08:21"We didn't think anything was ever going to be done with the place."
0:08:21 > 0:08:23It was just going to be allowed to fall down.
0:08:23 > 0:08:25A lot of people buy somewhere,
0:08:25 > 0:08:27really ostensibly for doing it up and selling it on.
0:08:27 > 0:08:30Is that part of your plan? No. No. Absolutely not. No, no.
0:08:30 > 0:08:32No, no, we've got plans. This is it.
0:08:32 > 0:08:34We know exactly where the stairlift's going.
0:08:34 > 0:08:36THEY LAUGH
0:08:36 > 0:08:38And another classroom,
0:08:38 > 0:08:41a lovely classroom.
0:08:42 > 0:08:45'In addition to all the school stuff left behind,
0:08:45 > 0:08:47'since Helen moved out of her rented accommodation
0:08:47 > 0:08:48'and in with Charlotte,
0:08:48 > 0:08:52'Pitkennedy is now home to all her belongings too.'
0:08:54 > 0:08:59'Working around all this is yet one more thing that will make
0:08:59 > 0:09:02'this renovation a real challenge.'
0:09:02 > 0:09:05You've just had your permission to get going. Yep.
0:09:05 > 0:09:09How are you feeling about the next couple of weeks?
0:09:09 > 0:09:13Hugely relieved that we can actually start.
0:09:13 > 0:09:15'I've barely left the building
0:09:15 > 0:09:19'before Charlotte and Helen don hard hats and set about
0:09:19 > 0:09:22'demolishing the school cloakroom walls.'
0:09:26 > 0:09:29Helen and Charlotte have finally begun their battle to revive
0:09:29 > 0:09:32Pitkennedy, so now it's time for us
0:09:32 > 0:09:36to start our investigations into its history.
0:09:40 > 0:09:44Dr Kate Williams will scour the archives to discover
0:09:44 > 0:09:48the origins and significance of this isolated rural school.
0:09:50 > 0:09:53Whilst our architectural expert Kieran Long
0:09:53 > 0:09:55will look behind the ugly modern facade
0:09:55 > 0:09:59to discover if this school has hidden architectural merit.
0:10:02 > 0:10:05It's got all of that character of a rugged, rural building.
0:10:05 > 0:10:09You know, this is a farming community in the 19th century,
0:10:09 > 0:10:11and this is the seat of learning, and the building,
0:10:11 > 0:10:14although it's quite plain, has that kind of dignity, you know,
0:10:14 > 0:10:18it has these stone dressings around the roofline.
0:10:18 > 0:10:22Yeah, you can see so much craftsmanship in this wall.
0:10:22 > 0:10:26I love this wall, it's really, really exciting architecturally.
0:10:26 > 0:10:28There's a real master mason at work here.
0:10:28 > 0:10:33The discovery of a master mason's handiwork proves the school
0:10:33 > 0:10:35is well built, but Kieran is keen to know
0:10:35 > 0:10:39if there is an equal quality of design at Pitkennedy.
0:10:43 > 0:10:46These windows are rather charming. Look at the scale of them.
0:10:46 > 0:10:48There's so much light coming in from there. And of course,
0:10:48 > 0:10:52the most interesting thing is that the sill height is above my head,
0:10:52 > 0:10:55let alone the head height of a child. There's no child going to see
0:10:55 > 0:10:58in or out of that window, it's all about allowing light to flood in.
0:10:58 > 0:11:02So, you know, there's definitely a kind of purpose behind this window.
0:11:02 > 0:11:05But to prove the effectiveness of that design,
0:11:05 > 0:11:08Kieran has to venture inside.
0:11:09 > 0:11:13Now this is just such a bright room, isn't it? It's got, you know,
0:11:13 > 0:11:15windows all along this south facade.
0:11:15 > 0:11:20I've got, like, a little desk here and a chair which helps me
0:11:20 > 0:11:21to test my prediction,
0:11:21 > 0:11:25and you know, if I was the height of a child, I would just be missing
0:11:25 > 0:11:29the tops of the hills. I'm here, all I've got is sky and my school books
0:11:29 > 0:11:32to concentrate on, no distractions at all, so it really is working.
0:11:32 > 0:11:36It's didactic, it's telling me, "Learn, don't look out the window."
0:11:37 > 0:11:41Children will never again crowd into these classrooms to be
0:11:41 > 0:11:45taught, but the clever design details that Kieran has uncovered
0:11:45 > 0:11:49will survive if Helen and Charlotte succeed with the restoration.
0:11:53 > 0:11:58The last-ever headmistress, Susan Steele, is keen to take a final
0:11:58 > 0:12:03look at the school before Charlotte and Helen turn it into a home.
0:12:03 > 0:12:05This was the front classroom,
0:12:05 > 0:12:08or the south classroom as it was known, and this was my classroom.
0:12:09 > 0:12:12Susan taught here for 17 years
0:12:12 > 0:12:17and it's clear that her time at the school was very precious to her.
0:12:18 > 0:12:20Through here...
0:12:21 > 0:12:26..was the staff room.
0:12:26 > 0:12:30I actually used to have a little snooze in here at lunchtime.
0:12:32 > 0:12:35I was sad that the school was closing.
0:12:36 > 0:12:37Um...
0:12:40 > 0:12:42..and in some ways, um...
0:12:44 > 0:12:49..it made it easier for me to leave as a head teacher knowing there wouldn't be a head teacher after me,
0:12:49 > 0:12:51because this was mine.
0:12:57 > 0:13:01For the build, the priority is to get the flat roof watertight
0:13:01 > 0:13:04and for that, Helen and Charlotte need scaffolding.
0:13:10 > 0:13:13It's not often I get up at six o'clock in the morning
0:13:13 > 0:13:16really excited. Today was one of those days!
0:13:18 > 0:13:22Once the scaffolding is up, work on the vital new roof can begin.
0:13:22 > 0:13:26That roof is very important. I mean, it's going to be part of our
0:13:26 > 0:13:29living space apart from anything else, but the most important thing
0:13:29 > 0:13:32is that it's going to get rid of the buckets in the hall.
0:13:32 > 0:13:34SHE LAUGHS
0:13:34 > 0:13:37Anybody who was in any doubt that something was happening with
0:13:37 > 0:13:40the school will not be in any doubt at all after today.
0:13:40 > 0:13:42First day of the rest of its life.
0:13:44 > 0:13:46By renovating Pitkennedy,
0:13:46 > 0:13:50Charlotte and Helen have taken on a big responsibility. Almost everyone
0:13:50 > 0:13:55living in this part of Angus has a connection with the school.
0:13:55 > 0:13:56I was the school dinner lady for a while,
0:13:56 > 0:13:58and I was the school cleaner for a while.
0:13:58 > 0:14:02I was here for seven years, in one classroom, with one teacher.
0:14:02 > 0:14:04When I started, there were 11 pupils in the school
0:14:04 > 0:14:06and when I finished there were about 18, I think.
0:14:06 > 0:14:08It's sad that it's not a school,
0:14:08 > 0:14:11but it's better that something happens to it.
0:14:11 > 0:14:17Over the years, many generations of the same family would have attended Pitkennedy.
0:14:17 > 0:14:21Just across the road from the school lives 101-year-old Susan Bailey
0:14:21 > 0:14:25who started school in 1918,
0:14:25 > 0:14:29yet still has very vivid memories of her time there.
0:14:29 > 0:14:30Aye, the school dinners.
0:14:30 > 0:14:32The school dinners? Aye.
0:14:32 > 0:14:34It was just soup.
0:14:34 > 0:14:37It was made in a big boiler at the back.
0:14:37 > 0:14:40But I didn't have it very often because I just lived
0:14:40 > 0:14:42so near the school.
0:14:42 > 0:14:47I was the next generation after Auntie Susie, and then my sons went,
0:14:47 > 0:14:50and then my grandchildren would have gone if they hadn't closed it.
0:14:50 > 0:14:53You enjoyed the school, did you?
0:14:53 > 0:14:57Yes, of course. It was great.
0:14:57 > 0:15:02Learned to do the Highland Fling. Can you do the Highland Fling?
0:15:06 > 0:15:09It's amazing to hear the personal testimony from people who
0:15:09 > 0:15:11experienced Pitkennedy first-hand.
0:15:14 > 0:15:17But we want to explore its history beyond living memory.
0:15:17 > 0:15:22Kate is beginning her quest 500 miles away in London.
0:15:24 > 0:15:27The school was constructed around 1850, at a time
0:15:27 > 0:15:33when the national government in London was beginning to take an interest in formal education.
0:15:35 > 0:15:38Is it possible that, at the Houses of Parliament Archive,
0:15:38 > 0:15:42our tiny school in rural Scotland is officially documented?
0:15:45 > 0:15:47I'm here in the Parliamentary Archives
0:15:47 > 0:15:50because even though education wasn't compulsory in the mid-19th century,
0:15:50 > 0:15:53money was being spent and records were being kept.
0:15:53 > 0:15:55What I found here are the reports of the inspectorate,
0:15:55 > 0:15:57and these are the financial reports,
0:15:57 > 0:16:00and there is a mention here of the Pitkennedy School.
0:16:00 > 0:16:02This report tells us a lot about the school,
0:16:02 > 0:16:04what kind of school it was, and indeed, what kind of school
0:16:04 > 0:16:07it wasn't, because essentially, it's a subscription school.
0:16:07 > 0:16:09A subscription school wasn't a private school
0:16:09 > 0:16:12paid for by the pupils, it wasn't a church school paid for
0:16:12 > 0:16:15by the church, it was paid for by the money from the local grandee,
0:16:15 > 0:16:19so essentially, local dignitaries dug deep into their pockets
0:16:19 > 0:16:22and gave the money for a school to be built and a school to be pursued.
0:16:22 > 0:16:25Finding such detailed accounts of our rural Scottish
0:16:25 > 0:16:29school in the archives of the Houses of Parliament shows that this
0:16:29 > 0:16:34really was the start of an education revolution that changed our nation.
0:16:35 > 0:16:38And discovering that Pitkennedy itself was a subscription school
0:16:38 > 0:16:43paid for by philanthropy means that Kate's next step
0:16:43 > 0:16:47is clear - find the name of the mystery philanthropist.
0:16:51 > 0:16:55Back at Pitkennedy, work has started in earnest
0:16:55 > 0:16:58with builder Alan and his team beginning crucial elements
0:16:58 > 0:17:01of the transformation from school into home.
0:17:03 > 0:17:05There's two operations going on today.
0:17:05 > 0:17:08In the main roof, we're cutting out for the veluxes.
0:17:08 > 0:17:11The veluxes will go in today.
0:17:11 > 0:17:14On this side, we're making an opening through
0:17:14 > 0:17:18from the existing house into what will be the new part of the house.
0:17:18 > 0:17:22All going to plan and if the weather stays fine, we'll have it done today.
0:17:26 > 0:17:28Like almost everyone nearby,
0:17:28 > 0:17:32Alan has a personal stake in the survival of Pitkennedy.
0:17:32 > 0:17:34My mother-in-law went to this school.
0:17:34 > 0:17:37I have been told to make sure we do a good job of it.
0:17:41 > 0:17:44Kieran has already discovered evidence of an architect's hand
0:17:44 > 0:17:47in the design of the school building,
0:17:47 > 0:17:49but has no idea who it actually was.
0:17:50 > 0:17:54The National Archives in Kew hold architectural records
0:17:54 > 0:17:56dating back to the 18th century.
0:17:57 > 0:18:01So Kieran hopes they might provide the answer.
0:18:04 > 0:18:06Well, we've found this extraordinary book
0:18:06 > 0:18:10in the National Archive which is a book of planning permissions for
0:18:10 > 0:18:14schools, a huge number of schools all being built in the middle of
0:18:14 > 0:18:17the 19th century, and in it we found the original planning permission
0:18:17 > 0:18:20for Pitkennedy. It's really, really exciting, because what you get
0:18:20 > 0:18:24is the kind of voices of the people who are commissioning the school.
0:18:24 > 0:18:27I mean, it's really like going back to the moment
0:18:27 > 0:18:31where Pitkennedy was first conceived and understanding the motivations.
0:18:31 > 0:18:34But the most exciting thing for me about this document is that it says
0:18:34 > 0:18:38that there's a fee for an architect, and indeed, right at the bottom of
0:18:38 > 0:18:42this entry in the book is named an architect - John Ramsay, Architect
0:18:42 > 0:18:46is the name signed here in his own hand, that confirms there was a designer
0:18:46 > 0:18:50involved in Pitkennedy School, and somebody we can find out more about.
0:18:50 > 0:18:53And with a name, Kieran can get online
0:18:53 > 0:18:55and search for a list of works.
0:18:55 > 0:19:00Finding the name John Ramsay has allowed me to go straight to the dictionary of Scottish architects,
0:19:00 > 0:19:05and we find John Ramsay here, with a quite brief list of works,
0:19:05 > 0:19:08most of which look fairly modest, to be honest.
0:19:08 > 0:19:12We have repairs to farmhouses, we have re-windowing of a parish church.
0:19:12 > 0:19:16He's a local architect, with fairly modest ambitions.
0:19:16 > 0:19:19But you know, interestingly, he seems to have had a rather colourful life.
0:19:19 > 0:19:23According to a memorandum, he lost all his money in a West Coast
0:19:23 > 0:19:27herring fishery co-partnery and had to be laid aside in an asylum,
0:19:27 > 0:19:31so clearly his business sense didn't match his design credentials.
0:19:35 > 0:19:39To discover more about John Ramsay, Kieran's travelled the 500 miles
0:19:39 > 0:19:44back to Scotland in search of any remaining examples of his work.
0:19:46 > 0:19:48This is the last
0:19:48 > 0:19:52and probably only really major work of the architect John Ramsay that we
0:19:52 > 0:19:57found, and this is Lintrose House here in Angus, built in 1850.
0:19:57 > 0:20:00In a way, it's the only clue that we can find to, you know,
0:20:00 > 0:20:02the work of John Ramsay as an architect.
0:20:02 > 0:20:06This building is completed just two years after Pitkennedy, contemporary
0:20:06 > 0:20:09with it, clearly a period where he's enjoying some success.
0:20:09 > 0:20:12Some of these decorative details we see here are quite interesting
0:20:12 > 0:20:15to me cos they don't have any historic precedent - they're quite
0:20:15 > 0:20:19eccentric pieces of design that he's obviously come up with himself.
0:20:21 > 0:20:24Having seen these quirky design touches at Lintrose,
0:20:24 > 0:20:27it's now possible to detect the hand of architect John Ramsay
0:20:27 > 0:20:30in the design details of Pitkennedy.
0:20:31 > 0:20:34But it does beg the question - who actually paid him
0:20:34 > 0:20:37to design it in the first place?
0:20:39 > 0:20:43Kate hopes that she might find the answer if she can discover
0:20:43 > 0:20:47who originally owned the plot on which the school now stands.
0:20:50 > 0:20:55In Scotland, the transfer of land has been recorded in the Sasine Register since 1617,
0:20:55 > 0:20:58so at the National Archives of Scotland,
0:20:58 > 0:21:02Kate hunts for a mention of Pitkennedy School.
0:21:03 > 0:21:07This is one of the Sasine Registers, and what is important for us
0:21:07 > 0:21:12is that here, in 1848, is a detail about the transfer, the gift,
0:21:12 > 0:21:14of the land to build Pitkennedy School.
0:21:14 > 0:21:18This entry tells us not only who was giving the land,
0:21:18 > 0:21:20but it gives us a big insight into why they want a school,
0:21:20 > 0:21:24and it's Patrick Chalmers of Auldbar and Pitkennedy,
0:21:24 > 0:21:27who's giving the land, and he's very clear that he wants a school.
0:21:27 > 0:21:31He says here, "I, Patrick Chalmers of Auldbar
0:21:31 > 0:21:34"and Pitkennedy, considering that it's desirable that a school
0:21:34 > 0:21:37"and schoolmaster's house should be erected on the southern part of
0:21:37 > 0:21:41"the parish, have resolved to grant a conveyance to grounds as a site
0:21:41 > 0:21:45"for that said school." So there we are, there's the beginning of our school.
0:21:46 > 0:21:48It's a big moment.
0:21:48 > 0:21:53Kate has discovered the benefactor of Charlotte and Helen's school.
0:21:53 > 0:21:57Further investigation leads to a picture of the man himself.
0:22:01 > 0:22:03Well, Patrick Chalmers was a pretty interesting man,
0:22:03 > 0:22:07and this is his obituary from The Gentleman's Magazine that I found.
0:22:07 > 0:22:09And what it says is he was at Oxford,
0:22:09 > 0:22:14he left early to be a captain in the Army. By 1832, at the age of 30,
0:22:14 > 0:22:16he stands as a Member of Parliament for the Liberals.
0:22:16 > 0:22:19He devotes himself to country affairs
0:22:19 > 0:22:21and spends a lot of time on agricultural labourers,
0:22:21 > 0:22:25their dwellings, and most of all, on their education.
0:22:25 > 0:22:27It says here that "I, Patrick Chalmers, be entitled to
0:22:27 > 0:22:31"nominate the first teacher," so he wants to nominate the teacher,
0:22:31 > 0:22:34there's lots here about what the teacher's going to teach, about the
0:22:34 > 0:22:37rules, about the pupils, about the students, so it's not just like he's
0:22:37 > 0:22:40building a building and then going to leave it alone, he actually cares
0:22:40 > 0:22:43about the running of the school, he wants to make sure it's well run.
0:22:48 > 0:22:51Through their research, Kieran and Kate have made two incredible
0:22:51 > 0:22:55discoveries - that architect John Ramsay designed Pitkennedy,
0:22:55 > 0:22:59while local philanthropist Patrick Chalmers paid for it.
0:23:01 > 0:23:04Their discoveries give us a real sense of how this tiny rural
0:23:04 > 0:23:07school came into existence.
0:23:07 > 0:23:10But they also hint at the fact that Pitkennedy is
0:23:10 > 0:23:12the start of a much bigger story.
0:23:13 > 0:23:16For Kieran, the fascination is to explore
0:23:16 > 0:23:20the transformation in school design that began with buildings like this.
0:23:20 > 0:23:24But perhaps the biggest challenge of all will be to find any
0:23:24 > 0:23:27account of the children who actually attended in the early days
0:23:27 > 0:23:29of Pitkennedy School.
0:23:36 > 0:23:40Crucial to the transformation of Pitkennedy from school into home
0:23:40 > 0:23:43is the brand-new staircase linking the existing building to the
0:23:43 > 0:23:44new first floor.
0:23:46 > 0:23:49Despite never having done anything like it before,
0:23:49 > 0:23:52Helen has taken it upon herself to design them.
0:23:54 > 0:23:57I think this was probably about one of the first ones that I did,
0:23:57 > 0:23:59before I had learnt to draw properly.
0:23:59 > 0:24:04Um, and it was basically to show the different things that the
0:24:04 > 0:24:09staircase was going to have to go through and round and in amongst.
0:24:10 > 0:24:12Builder Alan has always known it'll be tricky,
0:24:12 > 0:24:16but when staircase expert Bill pays a site visit,
0:24:16 > 0:24:19it seems the stairs might not fit at all.
0:24:21 > 0:24:27We're just taking definite sizes up here, not just guessing them downstairs.
0:24:27 > 0:24:31The problem we've got downstairs at the moment is that the head height
0:24:31 > 0:24:33between the top of her treads to the lowest point
0:24:33 > 0:24:37of the ceiling is very tight, and we need two metres,
0:24:37 > 0:24:40but at the moment we're about 100mm short.
0:24:40 > 0:24:44On the drawing it works, so in theory it should work when we're here.
0:24:44 > 0:24:47If you went by a drawing all the time you'd get it severely wrong.
0:24:47 > 0:24:50There's only so much you can chop and change, you know,
0:24:50 > 0:24:53there is a point where you go, no, we can't do any more.
0:24:53 > 0:24:55The measurements are vital,
0:24:55 > 0:24:59because the staircase will be prefabricated at Bill's workshop.
0:24:59 > 0:25:02And because of the limited budget, Helen and Charlotte
0:25:02 > 0:25:05only have one shot at getting it right.
0:25:05 > 0:25:09Making the stair itself is the easy bit.
0:25:09 > 0:25:13Actually fitting it in there can actually be the hard bit.
0:25:13 > 0:25:15Until the hole for the stairs is cut, there is
0:25:15 > 0:25:18no way of measuring if Helen's stairs will fit.
0:25:18 > 0:25:21And now the Scottish weather has turned,
0:25:21 > 0:25:24meaning Alan has to down tools for the day.
0:25:27 > 0:25:29It's not good.
0:25:30 > 0:25:33And the state of the leaky roof means that every time it rains,
0:25:33 > 0:25:37Helen and Charlotte's house just gets wetter and wetter.
0:25:44 > 0:25:48Built in 1847, Pitkennedy School was constructed at the very
0:25:48 > 0:25:53start of the philanthropist-driven explosion of education in Scotland.
0:25:53 > 0:25:57Before it, if rural children were lucky enough to go to school at all,
0:25:57 > 0:26:00they would be taught in buildings which were little better than barns.
0:26:02 > 0:26:05Pitkennedy's architect-designed building is already a massive
0:26:05 > 0:26:09step forward from that, but Kieran is keen to find out
0:26:09 > 0:26:12if school buildings kept on evolving, so he's off to see
0:26:12 > 0:26:16another rural school built just a few years later than Pitkennedy.
0:26:19 > 0:26:23Well, this school is built seven years after Pitkennedy, in 1855,
0:26:23 > 0:26:25and you can see in that intervening period,
0:26:25 > 0:26:28the aspiration, architecturally, seems to have risen.
0:26:28 > 0:26:31You know, take the bell tower just as a piece,
0:26:31 > 0:26:34it's clearly highly designed, and that's quite
0:26:34 > 0:26:36distinct from Pitkennedy, which is much the more modest.
0:26:36 > 0:26:40This building was designed by a man called James McLaren, who in 1855
0:26:40 > 0:26:43was probably Dundee's foremost architect, certainly a leader
0:26:43 > 0:26:46of the profession, and schools were seen as important enough to
0:26:46 > 0:26:50occupy the finest architectural minds in this region at the time,
0:26:50 > 0:26:53so educational architecture has become really important.
0:26:53 > 0:26:57Between 1818 and 1855, there were 1,600 schools
0:26:57 > 0:27:01built across Scotland, and this building is kind of the end
0:27:01 > 0:27:04of that great boom of school building.
0:27:04 > 0:27:05This is before any Act of Parliament,
0:27:05 > 0:27:09this is bubbling up from churches and from philanthropists
0:27:09 > 0:27:13who see the value of educating the rural poor, and actually, in
0:27:13 > 0:27:16that period, we've seen a journey, a kind of trajectory of architectural
0:27:16 > 0:27:18innovation that culminates in a building like this one.
0:27:22 > 0:27:25The flourishes of the architecture here contrast with
0:27:25 > 0:27:27the sobriety of Pitkennedy.
0:27:29 > 0:27:33In just seven years, there's been a marked evolution in the design
0:27:33 > 0:27:35of rural school buildings.
0:27:42 > 0:27:44Back at Pitkennedy,
0:27:44 > 0:27:48Charlotte and Helen have returned from a week's holiday.
0:27:48 > 0:27:51It's immediately obvious that in that short time,
0:27:51 > 0:27:54their restoration has taken a big step forward.
0:27:55 > 0:27:59So we came back, and drove around the corner up there,
0:27:59 > 0:28:03and suddenly there were roof trusses.
0:28:03 > 0:28:08The skylights are brilliant. They just look like they've always been there. It's all coming to life.
0:28:12 > 0:28:15This is the view from one of my bedroom windows.
0:28:15 > 0:28:18It feels brilliant to be looking out of my window.
0:28:19 > 0:28:24The view may be spectacular, but with Charlotte's house still unsold,
0:28:24 > 0:28:29the financial picture for this build isn't anywhere near as clear.
0:28:30 > 0:28:34People are just beginning to start asking for really quite large
0:28:34 > 0:28:37sums, and the builder was saying this morning that he's going
0:28:37 > 0:28:41to need to ask me for some money. He hasn't said how much yet.
0:28:47 > 0:28:50Kate is back on her mission to explore what a school
0:28:50 > 0:28:53like Pitkennedy meant to a community 150 years ago.
0:28:55 > 0:28:59She's already found out it was established by philanthropist Patrick Chalmers,
0:28:59 > 0:29:03but who was actually teaching the class?
0:29:04 > 0:29:07At the National Archives of Scotland, Kate's hoping
0:29:07 > 0:29:13that the 1862 school inspector's report will reveal the answer.
0:29:13 > 0:29:15This report actually tells me quite a lot about the teacher, and
0:29:15 > 0:29:18the teacher is Miss Helen Mitchell, who's 23 years old, and what's
0:29:18 > 0:29:22interesting is, she's not qualified. She's been at teaching school
0:29:22 > 0:29:25for a year, but she hasn't got a certificate, so they're saying that
0:29:25 > 0:29:28she IS going to get a certificate, but she hasn't at the moment.
0:29:28 > 0:29:31At the time, there was a real shortage of teachers. There weren't
0:29:31 > 0:29:33enough teachers to go round, so a lot of teachers were unqualified
0:29:33 > 0:29:37teachers who began at 13, 14, helping out with the local school.
0:29:37 > 0:29:40At the time, teaching was one of the best ways
0:29:40 > 0:29:42for someone from a humble background to get on in the world,
0:29:42 > 0:29:45particularly for a woman, and it's clear that Helen Mitchell was
0:29:45 > 0:29:49from a poor background and she wants to make something better of herself.
0:29:51 > 0:29:54Investigating the history of Pitkennedy School gives us
0:29:54 > 0:29:59a real insight into a time of massive social change.
0:29:59 > 0:30:02Not only was our little school at the beginning of an explosion
0:30:02 > 0:30:06in education, but also early attempts at social mobility `
0:30:06 > 0:30:09something governments still strive for today.
0:30:16 > 0:30:19Three months after the start of Charlotte
0:30:19 > 0:30:22and Helen's project to transform Pitkennedy School into a home,
0:30:22 > 0:30:25and the build has reached a crucial stage.
0:30:28 > 0:30:31Today is a big important day, because today the roof will be
0:30:31 > 0:30:35watertight, and the hole is getting cut for the stairs. Yay!
0:30:35 > 0:30:39I'm expecting this to be quiet hard. Once we get a few Stihl saw cuts,
0:30:39 > 0:30:42we'll get the big breaker up and start chipping out.
0:30:46 > 0:30:50But the steel-reinforced concrete floor is a quarter of a metre thick.
0:30:50 > 0:30:55So Alan will have to laboriously take it out in stages.
0:31:00 > 0:31:04Breaking through the concrete floor represents a huge step forward
0:31:04 > 0:31:07and the transformation of Pitkennedy School
0:31:07 > 0:31:12into a place to live for Helen and Charlotte.
0:31:14 > 0:31:19It could have been a lot harder, the concrete, so the client's happy.
0:31:19 > 0:31:21This is a good day, this is a really good day,
0:31:21 > 0:31:23I can see upstairs from inside.
0:31:23 > 0:31:25Which is brilliant!
0:31:27 > 0:31:30With the hole in the concrete roof now ready to be filled with
0:31:30 > 0:31:35a brand-new staircase, Charlotte and Helen can't resist a trip
0:31:35 > 0:31:39to Bill's workshop to see the ash it's being made from.
0:31:39 > 0:31:43That's gorgeous. Really, really lovely. Yeah, it is, it's beautiful.
0:31:43 > 0:31:45And you look at it against the light here, and it's just...
0:31:45 > 0:31:47Yeah. It's fabulous.
0:31:47 > 0:31:51Lovely to see that bit of wood go from rough to smooth,
0:31:51 > 0:31:56and I think soon that's going to have all our stairs slotted into it.
0:31:56 > 0:31:58And that's going to be part of the house. Forever.
0:32:02 > 0:32:06So far, under builder Alan's expert guidance,
0:32:06 > 0:32:09the restoration has progressed remarkably fast.
0:32:09 > 0:32:13After only three months, the building is finally watertight.
0:32:13 > 0:32:15The new roof is complete
0:32:15 > 0:32:19and so the work that Alan has been paid to do is done.
0:32:19 > 0:32:23Yesterday the scaffolding came down. It was great.
0:32:23 > 0:32:28Very exciting, because it's the end of that phase of the building.
0:32:28 > 0:32:31We have to actually get around to building some internal walls
0:32:31 > 0:32:33instead of just talking about them.
0:32:35 > 0:32:38This is a real turning point for Pitkennedy School.
0:32:38 > 0:32:40For it to become a home, the bedrooms
0:32:40 > 0:32:43and bathroom upstairs need to be finished.
0:32:43 > 0:32:46And the only people who can make that happen are Charlotte
0:32:46 > 0:32:47and Helen themselves.
0:32:50 > 0:32:56It's a really tough ask for two novices, so a couple of weeks later,
0:32:56 > 0:32:59I'm back at Pitkennedy to see how they're coping with the pressure.
0:33:05 > 0:33:07Hello! Hello.
0:33:07 > 0:33:10Hello, working women! Busy, busy! Charlotte, hello.
0:33:10 > 0:33:13How are you? I'm fine. Lovely to see you.
0:33:13 > 0:33:16Hello, Helen. Hi! Lovely to see you, you're so busy!
0:33:16 > 0:33:19I know. This is hopefully our last bit of demolition
0:33:19 > 0:33:22apart from a couple of ceilings. The roof looks great.
0:33:22 > 0:33:23It's made such a difference. Has it?
0:33:23 > 0:33:26I mean, there was one point when we had 52 buckets.
0:33:26 > 0:33:28And you're still missing, I noticed, the staircase?
0:33:28 > 0:33:32We have to get stairs because my knees will not cope with the ladder for much longer.
0:33:32 > 0:33:36One thing I really need to find out is how things are going
0:33:36 > 0:33:40with the budget, particularly with Charlotte's bungalow still unsold.
0:33:42 > 0:33:45How crucial is it for you, financially, that, that...
0:33:45 > 0:33:47The sale of the house? It's getting to be.
0:33:47 > 0:33:49Uh-huh, it must be, yeah. Yeah.
0:33:49 > 0:33:51Yeah, just to get it finished.
0:33:51 > 0:33:53I mean, there's like a heap of...like, this high,
0:33:53 > 0:33:56of stuff that needs to be put into the spreadsheet, the finances,
0:33:56 > 0:33:59because I haven't been near it for months, and I said at the beginning
0:33:59 > 0:34:01of this that we have to have a day off every week.
0:34:01 > 0:34:02And you just can't.
0:34:02 > 0:34:04She's the one that's not been giving us a day off.
0:34:04 > 0:34:07I know, but you can't when you've got builders and electricians
0:34:07 > 0:34:10and plumbers. People are constantly making demands, aren't they?
0:34:10 > 0:34:14We'll be back on Monday and we want you to have done THIS list.
0:34:14 > 0:34:16Yeah. Is there a schedule of works?
0:34:16 > 0:34:18Well, there was.
0:34:18 > 0:34:21Yep, spent quite a long time working out a schedule of works,
0:34:21 > 0:34:23and it went out the window on day one.
0:34:23 > 0:34:25It is a relentless thing when you're doing it yourself.
0:34:25 > 0:34:27Yes, it just takes over your life,
0:34:27 > 0:34:29completely and utterly takes over your life.
0:34:29 > 0:34:32But there's one great thing about it - I've lost over a stone
0:34:32 > 0:34:34since we started!
0:34:34 > 0:34:36I've lost half a stone.
0:34:36 > 0:34:40Actually, I have to say, you both look really, really well on it.
0:34:40 > 0:34:43The downstairs still looks like a building site,
0:34:43 > 0:34:45so I can't wait to see
0:34:45 > 0:34:49how Charlotte and Helen are getting on with their new upstairs rooms.
0:34:52 > 0:34:56This is a good space. This is a really good space.
0:34:56 > 0:35:00Don't sound so surprised. No, honestly, I had no idea.
0:35:00 > 0:35:05And in here is a massive space, absolutely huge.
0:35:05 > 0:35:08And what's going to happen up here?
0:35:08 > 0:35:09Bedrooms. Bedrooms.
0:35:09 > 0:35:13Two bedrooms? Yeah. That's Helen's bedroom wall.
0:35:13 > 0:35:16Very good, so I'm in the corridor, there is a wall here? Yep. Yep.
0:35:16 > 0:35:20And at the end of that there's another wall across and that's my bedroom.
0:35:20 > 0:35:23The space that we come through, would that be your bathroom area?
0:35:23 > 0:35:25There's a bathroom and another bedroom.
0:35:25 > 0:35:29When I first came, I saw a schoolhouse which didn't look
0:35:29 > 0:35:34much like a home, actually, but it is going to be a home quite soon, isn't it?
0:35:34 > 0:35:36It's starting to feel more like a home.
0:35:36 > 0:35:39Yeah, even just as you drive up here and see lights on.
0:35:39 > 0:35:41Yeah. Yeah. Yeah.
0:35:41 > 0:35:45There's nothing like coming up the road towards home
0:35:45 > 0:35:47and seeing lights on at home. Yes.
0:35:47 > 0:35:49I think the Waltons got it right.
0:35:53 > 0:35:57We know that Pitkennedy School was funded by philanthropist Patrick Chalmers.
0:35:58 > 0:36:00He, like so many of his peers,
0:36:00 > 0:36:04had a desire to use his wealth to bring education to the poor
0:36:04 > 0:36:09and so the late 19th century saw an explosion of philanthropically-funded education
0:36:09 > 0:36:11right across Scotland.
0:36:14 > 0:36:19Just 20 miles from Pitkennedy is the city of Dundee, and Kieran is there
0:36:19 > 0:36:24to explore the design of the much grander urban schools of the time.
0:36:24 > 0:36:27This is the Morgan Academy. It was a school originally for people
0:36:27 > 0:36:30who couldn't afford to go to school any other way,
0:36:30 > 0:36:33and it was left as a legacy by the great philanthropist, John Morgan.
0:36:33 > 0:36:37When you look at the Morgan Academy now it does come across as
0:36:37 > 0:36:40if it could be one of the poshest schools in Britain,
0:36:40 > 0:36:45precisely because they were copying the Gothic of the medieval colleges of Oxford and Cambridge.
0:36:45 > 0:36:49That reference in architecture has been brought to a school that is still for everybody.
0:36:49 > 0:36:53It's still a comprehensive school today, and was built intentionally to educate the poor.
0:36:54 > 0:36:57These Romantic Revival buildings were all about detail,
0:36:57 > 0:36:59all about the kind of craft skill,
0:36:59 > 0:37:03reviving some of that craft skill, and adding it in ladles.
0:37:04 > 0:37:07So actually, up here you start to see some of the ironwork
0:37:07 > 0:37:09and ironmongery in some of the carved stonework,
0:37:09 > 0:37:12which you would never see from ground level.
0:37:12 > 0:37:16Very much a statement about the importance of education.
0:37:16 > 0:37:20The architectural flourishes at Morgan Academy are much grander
0:37:20 > 0:37:24than those added by architect John Ramsay at Pitkennedy,
0:37:24 > 0:37:29but together, they hint at a much wider architectural trend from the era.
0:37:31 > 0:37:33Well, in the 19th century across Europe,
0:37:33 > 0:37:36but especially in Great Britain, you have an amazing
0:37:36 > 0:37:39explosion of Romantic styles, styles of architecture that look
0:37:39 > 0:37:42backwards in time to try to revive something that may have been
0:37:42 > 0:37:45lost by the sort of march forward of the Industrial Revolution.
0:37:45 > 0:37:49In Scotland, the inflection of that Romantic style
0:37:49 > 0:37:52is Scots Baronial revival, which looks back to a history
0:37:52 > 0:37:55of Scottish castle building and fortified house building, and if you
0:37:55 > 0:38:00needed any confirmation that Scots Baronial revival was, if you like,
0:38:00 > 0:38:04the national style in this period, you find it in Balmoral Castle.
0:38:04 > 0:38:08This was to be a deeply influential building for the rest of Scotland.
0:38:08 > 0:38:12Houses, as well as schools and many other kinds of building were
0:38:12 > 0:38:15being dressed up in a kind of Romantic style in order to
0:38:15 > 0:38:18give them some roots in a way, give them a place in Scotland's
0:38:18 > 0:38:21history, and I think in a way, Pitkennedy is part of that.
0:38:24 > 0:38:26In terms of its design,
0:38:26 > 0:38:30Pitkennedy School is part of a wider architectural movement
0:38:30 > 0:38:35linking it with schools both large and small right across Scotland.
0:38:35 > 0:38:38But that's only half the story.
0:38:38 > 0:38:41What about the teaching that was going on inside those
0:38:41 > 0:38:43architect-designed walls?
0:38:47 > 0:38:51Kate has already discovered the name of Pitkennedy's first teacher,
0:38:51 > 0:38:53but to really understand the school,
0:38:53 > 0:38:59the crucial next step is to find out what was being taught there.
0:38:59 > 0:39:03In 1872, the government in London sets up a Scottish education
0:39:03 > 0:39:06department, and they publish a code which is essentially
0:39:06 > 0:39:08the Scottish National Curriculum,
0:39:08 > 0:39:10and it's very strict about what children should learn, especially
0:39:10 > 0:39:13the three Rs. History and Geography don't get a look in till
0:39:13 > 0:39:17standard four, and many children don't ever get to standard four.
0:39:17 > 0:39:20What it's all about is reading and writing and notation
0:39:20 > 0:39:24and numeration, and on the writing, it's essentially copying out.
0:39:24 > 0:39:26This curriculum is all about standardisation.
0:39:26 > 0:39:29It's all about the idea that every child's going to come out
0:39:29 > 0:39:32with the same skill sets, the same capabilities, and the
0:39:32 > 0:39:35inspectors are always going to be able to test for the same things,
0:39:35 > 0:39:38apart from in one respect, as it says here,
0:39:38 > 0:39:42"The work of girls will be judged more leniently than that of boys."
0:39:45 > 0:39:47What Kate has discovered is that schools like Pitkennedy
0:39:47 > 0:39:50witnessed the birth of a national curriculum.
0:39:50 > 0:39:55For the first time, pupils like 101-year-old Susan were
0:39:55 > 0:40:00learning the same things as every other school child in the country.
0:40:08 > 0:40:10With winter fast approaching
0:40:10 > 0:40:13and work in Pitkennedy nowhere near finished,
0:40:13 > 0:40:19Charlotte and Helen have had to think about how to keep warm as they complete their restoration.
0:40:20 > 0:40:23It's an auspicious moment because we're lighting the stove
0:40:23 > 0:40:26to fire up the central heating for the first time. Yay!
0:40:26 > 0:40:29Right, is everybody ready? Yes. Go for it.
0:40:32 > 0:40:35This stove will be the primary source of both heating
0:40:35 > 0:40:38and hot water for the whole house.
0:40:40 > 0:40:42Yeah!
0:40:43 > 0:40:47Look at that! Yay! We have hot running water! This is brilliant!
0:40:47 > 0:40:49I can wash up!
0:40:50 > 0:40:52It's a really welcome step forward for this project
0:40:52 > 0:40:56because since builder Alan finished his part of the restoration,
0:40:56 > 0:41:00Charlotte and Helen have mostly been working here alone.
0:41:03 > 0:41:08But one thing they can't do themselves is install the vital staircase.
0:41:08 > 0:41:12So securing an installation date is next on the agenda.
0:41:14 > 0:41:17When can we have our staircase, Bill?
0:41:17 > 0:41:19'Not this Tuesday coming but the following.'
0:41:19 > 0:41:23Can you make it any before that? 'Er, we can do next Thursday.'
0:41:23 > 0:41:25Next Thursday would be fine.
0:41:25 > 0:41:26Yay!
0:41:26 > 0:41:29With an installation date agreed,
0:41:29 > 0:41:33Bill and his team can finally assemble the stairs in his workshop.
0:41:35 > 0:41:38The basic stair is made out of American white ash.
0:41:38 > 0:41:41While Bill has supplied the majority of wood for the stairs,
0:41:41 > 0:41:45the newel posts are made from something even more special.
0:41:46 > 0:41:53Helen's father supplied home-grown walnut, a couple of beams for that.
0:41:53 > 0:41:57There wasn't enough to do all four newels, so what we've done is,
0:41:57 > 0:42:01we've put a softwood core in it and then laminated all the way around.
0:42:02 > 0:42:05The stairs are taking shape, so Charlotte and Helen will only
0:42:05 > 0:42:08have to wait a few more days until they can be installed.
0:42:15 > 0:42:16So far,
0:42:16 > 0:42:20Kate has discovered a lot about the foundation of Pitkennedy School...
0:42:21 > 0:42:25..and we have accounts of life in the classrooms from within living memory.
0:42:30 > 0:42:34To delve further back, Kate's at the Angus Archives.
0:42:34 > 0:42:38She's managed to unearth the very first logbook from Pitkennedy School,
0:42:38 > 0:42:41dating back to 1871.
0:42:41 > 0:42:45It offers a unique opportunity to actually hear the voices
0:42:45 > 0:42:49from the classroom during the very first days of the school.
0:42:52 > 0:42:55This logbook is a wonderful resource.
0:42:55 > 0:42:58Every year there was a school inspector's report, pretty painful
0:42:58 > 0:43:02for the teacher here, because the school is not really doing that well.
0:43:02 > 0:43:05What we have here is, "Reading is poor throughout,
0:43:05 > 0:43:08"in many cases deplorably so. Arithmetic is very inaccurate."
0:43:08 > 0:43:12There's criticisms here for the management, of the desk,
0:43:12 > 0:43:16of the layout - there aren't many good signs about the school at all.
0:43:17 > 0:43:22It wasn't only what happened inside the school that affected standards.
0:43:22 > 0:43:24For rural schools like Pitkennedy,
0:43:24 > 0:43:28Kate has evidence that there were other factors at work.
0:43:28 > 0:43:31In a rural area like Angus, the problem is that
0:43:31 > 0:43:34some of the children were needed elsewhere, so on the 31st October,
0:43:34 > 0:43:39it says "Owing to the potato lifting, only about one third
0:43:39 > 0:43:42"of the pupils are present today." The following week the mistress
0:43:42 > 0:43:45gave up and said, "The school has been closed all this week."
0:43:45 > 0:43:49This is the minutes to the school management committee reports, and
0:43:49 > 0:43:52it gives you everything here about the accounts and the organisation.
0:43:52 > 0:43:55But what's really interesting to me is, it's about the students
0:43:55 > 0:43:58who are exempted from ever coming again, and it's not just
0:43:58 > 0:44:00the harvest, they always were needed at home to look after
0:44:00 > 0:44:04the family. For example here, Rose Stewart, she's the daughter of
0:44:04 > 0:44:05John Stewart, and it says,
0:44:05 > 0:44:08"Father unable to work, and her service required
0:44:08 > 0:44:12"for the remainder of school age," so she's needed at home to look
0:44:12 > 0:44:16after her siblings, look after the family, and no more school for her.
0:44:16 > 0:44:19This entry's from 1920, and this is, of course,
0:44:19 > 0:44:22before the welfare state, there was no-one to look after you if you
0:44:22 > 0:44:25fall ill other than your children, so they have to leave school.
0:44:28 > 0:44:29Finally, the day that Charlotte
0:44:29 > 0:44:32and Helen have been waiting for is here.
0:44:32 > 0:44:35Their brand-new staircase has arrived.
0:44:40 > 0:44:42Ah, that's gorgeous.
0:44:42 > 0:44:45Charlotte and Helen have been waiting six months for this day.
0:44:46 > 0:44:51How's about that! I'm almost getting emotional about it.
0:44:54 > 0:44:56I'm hoping it fits!
0:44:59 > 0:45:01How much more? That's it.
0:45:01 > 0:45:04For a staircase like this, the margin of error is tiny,
0:45:04 > 0:45:08and there's only so much adjustment that can be made on site to make it fit.
0:45:10 > 0:45:1410mm off that check and it'll go back. But that's about it.
0:45:14 > 0:45:18With some minor adjustments, the staircase slots in as planned
0:45:18 > 0:45:22and for the first time in this building's history, not only
0:45:22 > 0:45:26are there bedrooms to go to, but you can actually get to them with ease.
0:45:28 > 0:45:30So much easier than a ladder!
0:45:31 > 0:45:33Very beautiful.
0:45:33 > 0:45:34You happy?
0:45:37 > 0:45:39When it gets right up there with having a hole cut through
0:45:39 > 0:45:43the concrete and... And when the roof was waterproof.
0:45:43 > 0:45:45..it ties the whole thing together.
0:45:46 > 0:45:49The stairs couldn't have come at a better time, because just
0:45:49 > 0:45:54a few days later, Charlotte gets the news she's been praying for.
0:45:54 > 0:45:57I've sold the house - yes!
0:45:57 > 0:46:00It's been on the market for 18 months.
0:46:00 > 0:46:06The sale of the bungalow may take the pressure off the finances, but it adds a whole new problem.
0:46:06 > 0:46:10We have to move out on the 15th of January,
0:46:10 > 0:46:12which is something less than four weeks.
0:46:12 > 0:46:16Um, which gives us a deadline.
0:46:17 > 0:46:20Once they've moved out of Charlotte's house,
0:46:20 > 0:46:24their only option is to move into Pitkennedy, ready or not.
0:46:24 > 0:46:30So the celebrations are put on hold as they embark on four weeks of hard graft.
0:46:33 > 0:46:35To be able to move in, the very least
0:46:35 > 0:46:37they will have to do is complete the two stud walls
0:46:37 > 0:46:41dividing their bedrooms, and plasterboard the whole
0:46:41 > 0:46:45of the upstairs, so their building skills are really being tested.
0:46:54 > 0:46:59The night before the final move, things are just about habitable.
0:46:59 > 0:47:03But the anticipation of filling an already full building with another
0:47:03 > 0:47:06houseload of belongings has put the ladies in reflective mood.
0:47:09 > 0:47:12You know, we thought, when we first bought this place,
0:47:12 > 0:47:15that we would have stacks of space, and actually there isn't.
0:47:15 > 0:47:17It feels as though there's nowhere to put anything.
0:47:17 > 0:47:20I have no idea, apart from the stove,
0:47:20 > 0:47:21where anything is going at all!
0:47:24 > 0:47:28And finally, nine months after buying Pitkennedy,
0:47:28 > 0:47:30Charlotte and Helen are moving in.
0:47:34 > 0:47:38There's still a lot to do at Pitkennedy School, but after months
0:47:38 > 0:47:42of chasing their tails to keep up with the other trades on-site,
0:47:42 > 0:47:46moving in day brings a much-needed change of gear.
0:47:47 > 0:47:51It's just a really nice thought that from now on we can do it
0:47:51 > 0:47:57at our own pace, and not be constantly...
0:47:57 > 0:48:00one screw ahead of somebody else.
0:48:00 > 0:48:02Literally, in some cases.
0:48:13 > 0:48:14Before we find out if Charlotte
0:48:14 > 0:48:18and Helen have completed their transformation of Pitkennedy School,
0:48:18 > 0:48:21Kate and Kieran are going to share their discoveries
0:48:21 > 0:48:24about the very beginnings of the building that's now their home.
0:48:25 > 0:48:27It's been a great journey,
0:48:27 > 0:48:30but where we began was with a document that we found
0:48:30 > 0:48:34in the National Archives in Kew, which relates directly to Pitkennedy School.
0:48:34 > 0:48:38It gives us an amazing kind of description of the building.
0:48:38 > 0:48:42This is 1847, and here we have the signature of John Ramsay, architect.
0:48:42 > 0:48:45The idea that you would employ an architect tells you
0:48:45 > 0:48:48something about the importance of that building.
0:48:48 > 0:48:51He lost his money in a West Coast herring fishery co-partnery
0:48:51 > 0:48:53and had to be laid aside in an asylum.
0:48:53 > 0:48:57Oh, dear! Oh, poor chap! A little bit unfortunate. Yeah. Yeah.
0:48:58 > 0:49:01Kieran's discovery about the name and fate of Pitkennedy's
0:49:01 > 0:49:03architect is only half the story.
0:49:04 > 0:49:08For Kate, it was the discovery of the philanthropist who
0:49:08 > 0:49:11paid for the school which led to an understanding of its history.
0:49:13 > 0:49:17"I, Patrick Chalmers, Esquire, grant a sale for the said school."
0:49:17 > 0:49:20So there we are. To find the man who founded your school,
0:49:20 > 0:49:22and thanks to whom your school exists... Yes, yeah.
0:49:22 > 0:49:25Here he is, pretty handsome gentleman.
0:49:25 > 0:49:27THEY LAUGH
0:49:27 > 0:49:31It sort of brings it to life in a way that it didn't really come to life before.
0:49:31 > 0:49:35Pitkennedy is almost THE story of education in Scotland. I mean,
0:49:35 > 0:49:39it's a crucial part of education becoming universal, I think. Yes.
0:49:39 > 0:49:42To me, it just shows what an exciting building it is.
0:49:42 > 0:49:44And now we know and we've seen what at least one of the people
0:49:44 > 0:49:47involved looks like, his picture can go up on the wall.
0:49:47 > 0:49:50It's kind of paying tribute to his memory,
0:49:50 > 0:49:51of what he was trying to achieve.
0:49:58 > 0:50:02When Charlotte and Helen took on Pitkennedy School a year ago,
0:50:02 > 0:50:04neglect had wreaked havoc.
0:50:06 > 0:50:09Water was penetrating.
0:50:09 > 0:50:11Mould and rot were rampant.
0:50:12 > 0:50:14And the plaster was crumbling.
0:50:15 > 0:50:17But now...
0:50:19 > 0:50:20..it has been saved.
0:50:33 > 0:50:35Hello. How are you?
0:50:35 > 0:50:38Quite blustery up on the hill, isn't it?
0:50:40 > 0:50:42The place has come a long way.
0:50:42 > 0:50:44Yeah, we'll get there. We're pretty much there.
0:50:44 > 0:50:47I know there's still little things to do out here,
0:50:47 > 0:50:49but that was always going to be the case, wasn't it?
0:50:49 > 0:50:52Absolutely. You can't build Rome in a day. Yeah, absolutely,
0:50:52 > 0:50:56And you can't build Pitkennedy in a year or something. Yeah, yeah.
0:50:56 > 0:50:58Still a work in progress, as you can see. Yeah.
0:50:58 > 0:51:01But inside it's looking pretty good, I think. And it's warm.
0:51:01 > 0:51:04Good, cos it's absolutely freezing out here!
0:51:04 > 0:51:07The main attraction of the school was the space
0:51:07 > 0:51:11and light offered by its two large classrooms.
0:51:11 > 0:51:14But they were stuffed with school paraphernalia,
0:51:14 > 0:51:18and nothing like the homely rooms they needed to be.
0:51:21 > 0:51:24Now, one has been turned into a comfortable living room with
0:51:24 > 0:51:26space for all their possessions.
0:51:31 > 0:51:35Charlotte and Helen have also cleverly incorporated reminders
0:51:35 > 0:51:39of the building's past, like the green paint and original cupboards.
0:51:42 > 0:51:45Come into the living room.
0:51:45 > 0:51:51Oh! And it is, it's a beautifully light, bright living room.
0:51:51 > 0:51:54Yeah. Yes. It's no longer a classroom. No.
0:51:54 > 0:51:56It's a haven. Yes.
0:51:56 > 0:52:00These treasured items give the room a unique feel,
0:52:00 > 0:52:04detached from mass-market minimalism.
0:52:04 > 0:52:06In the other classroom...
0:52:08 > 0:52:10..they've created a cosy kitchen-diner...
0:52:16 > 0:52:18..with a host of eclectic touches.
0:52:21 > 0:52:24It's like anything that you put your heart and soul into. Yeah.
0:52:24 > 0:52:27It gives you a real grip on a place, if you like.
0:52:27 > 0:52:31Yeah, there is a bond, isn't there, I think, when you've actually
0:52:31 > 0:52:33really put, not blood, sweat and tears, but when you physically...
0:52:33 > 0:52:35Oh, quite a lot of blood. Yeah!
0:52:35 > 0:52:38A certain amount of sweat. Not many tears, actually.
0:52:38 > 0:52:40Oh, good, I'm glad to hear it. No, no.
0:52:43 > 0:52:46The rest of the existing building was in a bad way.
0:52:46 > 0:52:51Mushrooms were sprouting and the plaster failing in the damp staffroom.
0:52:53 > 0:52:57Now it's been transformed into a charming guest bedroom.
0:53:03 > 0:53:05It's lovely, isn't it? It's really nice, yeah, I really like it.
0:53:07 > 0:53:10Really cosy and warm. Yeah.
0:53:13 > 0:53:17This building was built for the community and loved by the community.
0:53:17 > 0:53:21How do you feel about the fact that you have saved it?
0:53:21 > 0:53:25Good. I think, yeah, we feel good about saving it.
0:53:25 > 0:53:27And people around here are very pleased,
0:53:27 > 0:53:29and I think we've done it proud.
0:53:29 > 0:53:33Yeah, I think you're right to be proud of it, Helen. Yeah.
0:53:37 > 0:53:40Next door is the downstairs bathroom,
0:53:40 > 0:53:44mixing modern-day convenience with Victorian style.
0:53:49 > 0:53:50This is beautiful.
0:53:51 > 0:53:54I love what you've done in here - it's quite eclectic,
0:53:54 > 0:53:57you've got all sorts of lovely different things in here.
0:53:57 > 0:53:58Yes, with the proper loo,
0:53:58 > 0:54:02and then a few oddball touches like the weight and scales.
0:54:02 > 0:54:04It's bonkers, but it kind of really works, doesn't it?
0:54:04 > 0:54:07THEY LAUGH Yeah!
0:54:10 > 0:54:14The biggest change of all is where once there was a functional
0:54:14 > 0:54:16but charmless lobby.
0:54:17 > 0:54:21Now the focus is a staircase designed by Helen.
0:54:24 > 0:54:27The staircase, the magical staircase. Isn't it fabulous?
0:54:27 > 0:54:29It's absolutely wonderful.
0:54:29 > 0:54:33The moment we stopped having to climb a ladder to get upstairs...
0:54:33 > 0:54:35Wonderful. Oh, such a relief.
0:54:35 > 0:54:38I love these little bull-nosed steps and your lovely, soft, rounded
0:54:38 > 0:54:42step at the bottom. Is that how you imagined they'd look? Yes, exactly.
0:54:43 > 0:54:47It doesn't feel like a school any more, it feels like you live here. Yeah. Yeah.
0:54:49 > 0:54:51The staircase leads to the most tangible
0:54:51 > 0:54:54sign of the change from school to home.
0:54:57 > 0:55:01The ugly single-storey extension now has a brand-new second floor.
0:55:07 > 0:55:10There's still work to do, but already bedrooms
0:55:10 > 0:55:16for Charlotte, Helen and visiting grandchildren are taking shape.
0:55:20 > 0:55:23Charlotte's lovely room! Yeah.
0:55:24 > 0:55:27Now there's space for family heirlooms.
0:55:27 > 0:55:29Isn't that stunning? It's a fabulous piece.
0:55:30 > 0:55:33I have a sneaking suspicion that my bedroom may still be
0:55:33 > 0:55:35plasterboard and screws in five years' time.
0:55:35 > 0:55:38Would it bother you, Charlotte? Not in the least.
0:55:40 > 0:55:43The bright, airy upper floor overlooks the view that so
0:55:43 > 0:55:47enchanted Helen and Charlotte when they first came to Pitkennedy.
0:55:55 > 0:55:59Generally speaking, when people finish their restoration project,
0:55:59 > 0:56:04they like it to look clear, but you want it to stay like this?
0:56:04 > 0:56:07Yeah, absolutely. We like to be surrounded by our stuff,
0:56:07 > 0:56:12and there's no point having it if you don't have it visible.
0:56:12 > 0:56:14Yes, otherwise what's the point of collecting it?
0:56:14 > 0:56:17Yeah, it's partly also that we're terrible squirrels.
0:56:17 > 0:56:21Are you a right pair of squirrels? We are squirrels, yeah. We are.
0:56:21 > 0:56:24Actually, in about ten years' time, we'll probably need a bigger house.
0:56:24 > 0:56:27THEY LAUGH
0:56:48 > 0:56:52When Pitkennedy School was first built on top of this blustery hill,
0:56:52 > 0:56:57it was a beacon calling to generations of pupils,
0:56:57 > 0:57:02offering them new opportunities where previously they'd had none.
0:57:02 > 0:57:06Then, when finally the doors closed in 2005,
0:57:06 > 0:57:11the building went into a rapid decline and the rot really set in,
0:57:11 > 0:57:16and those voices of creativity and friendship were silenced.
0:57:16 > 0:57:21That is, until Charlotte and Helen came along with their brave
0:57:21 > 0:57:26new restoration, and they have given this place a whole new life -
0:57:26 > 0:57:32a life of fun and friendship and eccentricity.
0:57:32 > 0:57:37They plan to stay here for the rest of their lives, as friends,
0:57:37 > 0:57:41continuing to work on this project.
0:57:41 > 0:57:44And I think that deserves full marks.
0:57:52 > 0:57:55'Next time on Restoration Home -
0:57:55 > 0:57:56'a divine project...'
0:57:56 > 0:57:59It's quite a bit leap from doing a little bit of decorating
0:57:59 > 0:58:03together to buying a huge, almost derelict chapel.
0:58:03 > 0:58:05As long as it don't fall down, I'll be happy.
0:58:07 > 0:58:08'..with a historical pilgrimage.'
0:58:08 > 0:58:13This document is absolutely vital to British history, to the history of religion.
0:58:13 > 0:58:16'But can this chapel be born again?'
0:58:16 > 0:58:18It does start off as a fairy-tale, doesn't it?
0:58:18 > 0:58:21But I think the reality of doing it does take its toll.