0:00:06 > 0:00:10Once 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 > 0:00:15and every time I see it I'm just like, "Wow."
0:00:15 > 0:00:19It's a castle, it's a castle! How can you not buy a castle?
0:00:19 > 0:00:21Wow, that's some fireplace.
0:00:21 > 0:00:24It's going to be an amazing home.
0:00:24 > 0:00:25First day of the rest of its life.
0:00:25 > 0:00:27You happy?
0:00:29 > 0:00:34We are way, way, way over budget.
0:00:34 > 0:00:37I mean, I am actually living in a building site.
0:00:37 > 0:00:39You 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.
0:00:49 > 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 > 0:01:00You don't have any idea of how much money this is going to cost you?
0:01:01 > 0:01:05I don't think either of us envisaged quite as big a project
0:01:05 > 0:01:07as we've actually taken on.
0:01:07 > 0:01:08It's still a dream.
0:01:08 > 0:01:11It's still 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.
0:01:13 > 0:01:16Just a nightmare.
0:01:16 > 0:01:17I'm telling myself not to worry.
0:01:17 > 0:01:20I mean, what can I do? I've got to finish the house.
0:01:29 > 0:01:31This is Nebo Chapel,
0:01:31 > 0:01:34which sits in a prominent position in Hirwaun,
0:01:34 > 0:01:36an old mining village in south Wales.
0:01:36 > 0:01:40Once the heart and soul of the community,
0:01:40 > 0:01:45today Nebo is bleak, dismal and, worst of all, empty.
0:01:47 > 0:01:49The roof is letting in water,
0:01:49 > 0:01:53the timbers are rotten and the walls are crumbling,
0:01:53 > 0:01:57threatening the future of the chapel's 19th-century interior.
0:02:00 > 0:02:02Nebo Chapel has lost its way.
0:02:06 > 0:02:11But there's about to be a resurrection for this Nonconformist chapel
0:02:11 > 0:02:17because Nebo has two new disciples, Alan and Hayley.
0:02:18 > 0:02:21I showed Al lots of properties on the auction websites
0:02:21 > 0:02:23because I really enjoy looking at properties.
0:02:23 > 0:02:26I said, "Oh, let's buy a chapel" as a joke and then he turned round
0:02:26 > 0:02:29and said, "Oh, yeah, OK, great, let's look at it."
0:02:29 > 0:02:33So we did, and we ended up buying it.
0:02:34 > 0:02:38In October 2011, Alan from London and Hayley from Cardiff
0:02:38 > 0:02:41became the proud owners of this historic building
0:02:41 > 0:02:45for the heavenly sum of £25,000.
0:02:45 > 0:02:49When we walked in and saw it, it was a real dream.
0:02:49 > 0:02:52Beautiful windows, the pews, the pulpit, everything.
0:02:52 > 0:02:55You just walk into the building and you just fall in love with it.
0:02:55 > 0:02:57It's special.
0:02:57 > 0:03:01There has been a chapel on this site since 1823,
0:03:01 > 0:03:05although the Nebo we see today was erected in 1851,
0:03:05 > 0:03:07and seated 800 worshippers.
0:03:07 > 0:03:12A dwindling congregation led to its closure in 2007.
0:03:12 > 0:03:15I love old buildings. I just think they're just beautiful.
0:03:15 > 0:03:17It's got history, so you want to make sure the history's there
0:03:17 > 0:03:20- for the future. - Future generations, yeah.
0:03:21 > 0:03:22After buying Nebo,
0:03:22 > 0:03:26Hayley and Alan successfully applied for planning permission
0:03:26 > 0:03:29to change the use of the chapel to residential.
0:03:29 > 0:03:31Alan, who works as a building surveyor,
0:03:31 > 0:03:34made a 3D model to illustrate his proposal.
0:03:34 > 0:03:37His design has to take into consideration
0:03:37 > 0:03:42the planning restrictions surrounding this Grade II listed building.
0:03:42 > 0:03:45It's not necessarily just about achieving planning policy,
0:03:45 > 0:03:48it's about making sure the proposals fit in with the community's
0:03:48 > 0:03:51expectations of the structure.
0:03:51 > 0:03:53It meant something to many people in the past,
0:03:53 > 0:03:57and the proposals needed to be sympathetic to that
0:03:57 > 0:04:00and honour those memories and respect the structure as it was.
0:04:00 > 0:04:03Externally, we're not actually doing much to change the structure.
0:04:03 > 0:04:06Most of the works will go on inside.
0:04:07 > 0:04:10The first stage is the conversion of the vestry.
0:04:10 > 0:04:14Here, Hayley and Alan will build internal walls
0:04:14 > 0:04:19to create three bedrooms downstairs, an en-suite and a family bathroom.
0:04:20 > 0:04:22Upstairs will be an en-suite bedroom
0:04:22 > 0:04:26and an en-suite accessed from the downstairs master bedroom.
0:04:27 > 0:04:31Stage two of the project, the chapel, happens at a later date.
0:04:31 > 0:04:34this will be a much bigger job
0:04:34 > 0:04:37and as planning regulations state it cannot be divided up,
0:04:37 > 0:04:40they will retain the open-plan layout
0:04:40 > 0:04:43and turn it into a large living space and an office
0:04:43 > 0:04:46with a kitchen, dining area and lounge upstairs.
0:04:52 > 0:04:54But this is a high-risk restoration.
0:04:54 > 0:04:57They only have the money to get started on the vestry.
0:04:57 > 0:04:59They don't have enough to finish it.
0:05:02 > 0:05:06We've only got 20 grand to play with initially.
0:05:06 > 0:05:09It's not a lot of money at all, really.
0:05:09 > 0:05:11Yeah, it's making me nervous.
0:05:11 > 0:05:14We have to sort of beg, borrow and steal sort of to do it.
0:05:14 > 0:05:17Sometimes you need to take risks in life to get what you want.
0:05:19 > 0:05:22But the gamble will pay off if they can get enough work completed
0:05:22 > 0:05:25to convince the bank to give them a mortgage.
0:05:25 > 0:05:28This would fund further restoration.
0:05:28 > 0:05:32In spite of having full-time jobs, these novices are attempting
0:05:32 > 0:05:35to do the whole build themselves.
0:05:35 > 0:05:38It's a tiny budget for such an ambitious project
0:05:38 > 0:05:41so they're having to watch every single penny.
0:05:41 > 0:05:44We've been digging the trenches for about four full days.
0:05:44 > 0:05:47We did look at the costs for a mini digger and we'd rather save
0:05:47 > 0:05:50the £300 now and then when it comes to sort of buying something
0:05:50 > 0:05:54like a shower or a box of tiles, you can't use your physical labour
0:05:54 > 0:05:58or your enthusiasm to produce those things, you have to go and buy them.
0:05:58 > 0:06:01This is no ordinary restoration.
0:06:01 > 0:06:05We've never seen a budget so low for a building as big
0:06:05 > 0:06:07but if Alan and Hayley can pull this project off,
0:06:07 > 0:06:10they will have the forever home of their dreams.
0:06:10 > 0:06:13Time for me to find out why they're willing to risk it all
0:06:13 > 0:06:15on Nebo Chapel.
0:06:15 > 0:06:17Lovely to meet you, Alan. Really good to meet you.
0:06:17 > 0:06:19- Lovely to meet you, hi. - Hello, Hayley.
0:06:19 > 0:06:21And here it is, the fabulous chapel.
0:06:21 > 0:06:24It's an amazing building, isn't it?
0:06:24 > 0:06:25It is, it really is.
0:06:25 > 0:06:27You've got such scope to really do
0:06:27 > 0:06:29exactly what you want with this property.
0:06:29 > 0:06:32Is that part of the attraction for you, Hayley?
0:06:32 > 0:06:34Yeah, I think so, I think so.
0:06:34 > 0:06:36Obviously Al's got the skills to sort of draw the plans
0:06:36 > 0:06:38and things, so, it's a sort of real bonus for us, really,
0:06:38 > 0:06:42the fact that we can design it as we want it, and what we need.
0:06:42 > 0:06:45Is one of you going to take control of the finances?
0:06:45 > 0:06:48Well, Al's sort of allocated the finances to me.
0:06:48 > 0:06:49How's that?
0:06:49 > 0:06:51You know, it's OK!
0:06:51 > 0:06:53Al inevitably ends up doing everything,
0:06:53 > 0:06:56I have to be honest, and I just do what I'm told.
0:06:56 > 0:06:59Mix the cement, carry the buckets, you know.
0:07:05 > 0:07:06This is the upstairs.
0:07:06 > 0:07:08It's incredible!
0:07:08 > 0:07:13Isn't it a weird thought thinking of 800 faithful locals
0:07:13 > 0:07:15sitting in here staring down at the pulpit?
0:07:15 > 0:07:16Yeah, absolutely.
0:07:16 > 0:07:19Is that a nice feeling to know you're going to be living in that environment?
0:07:19 > 0:07:22- Yeah, it is quite a nice feeling, isn't it?- It is, yeah.
0:07:22 > 0:07:24It's going to be something special, isn't it?
0:07:24 > 0:07:28Alan and Hayley are not able to get a mortgage to help restore the chapel
0:07:28 > 0:07:31until significant building work has been done.
0:07:31 > 0:07:34There's no money in the budget for professional trades.
0:07:34 > 0:07:37There's a hell of a lot of pressure on you - are you worried?
0:07:37 > 0:07:38A little worried, yeah.
0:07:38 > 0:07:40This is the first property I've ever owned.
0:07:40 > 0:07:43We've done sort of bits and pieces together in the past,
0:07:43 > 0:07:44but it's very, very small.
0:07:44 > 0:07:47You know, decorating bedrooms and things like that.
0:07:47 > 0:07:50It's quite a big leap from doing a little bit of decorating together
0:07:50 > 0:07:54to buying a huge, almost derelict chapel, isn't it?
0:07:54 > 0:07:57Was there no point you thought maybe we'll start with a terraced house?
0:07:57 > 0:08:00There's times when I think, "why didn't we just buy a normal property?"
0:08:00 > 0:08:03You know, new kitchen, new bathroom, easy.
0:08:03 > 0:08:04But I don't think that's our characters.
0:08:04 > 0:08:07We like unusual things, we like to do...
0:08:07 > 0:08:09If there's an easy way or a hard way,
0:08:09 > 0:08:11we'll pick the hard way every time.
0:08:12 > 0:08:17But Alan and Hayley's £20,000 will barely touch the chapel
0:08:17 > 0:08:20so they're starting this restoration at the back of the building,
0:08:20 > 0:08:22in the vestry.
0:08:22 > 0:08:25Gosh, wow, it's enormous as well, isn't it?
0:08:25 > 0:08:27It's a very beautiful space, isn't it, this?
0:08:27 > 0:08:29Yeah, it is a beautiful space. It's gone back to its skeleton.
0:08:29 > 0:08:32When we bought it, it was like a school, Sunday school.
0:08:32 > 0:08:33A Sunday school, just a Sunday school.
0:08:33 > 0:08:37It's just a big hall and we've stripped it right back to its skeleton
0:08:37 > 0:08:38just to sort of identify defects
0:08:38 > 0:08:41and just so we can... blank canvas and start again.
0:08:41 > 0:08:44This area here will become the master bedroom, so be bedroom one.
0:08:44 > 0:08:47Within bedroom one, there'll be a small narrow staircase
0:08:47 > 0:08:50which will lead up to an en-suite bathroom.
0:08:50 > 0:08:52The idea is that you'll sit in the bath
0:08:52 > 0:08:54and your eye level will be at the window.
0:08:54 > 0:08:57Oh, God, how lovely. I like that.
0:08:57 > 0:09:00Very pleased with that, is Al. Yeah, no, I don't blame you.
0:09:00 > 0:09:04Because money is so tight on this,
0:09:04 > 0:09:07and I think this might be one of the tightest budgets
0:09:07 > 0:09:10I've ever come across, what are you doing
0:09:10 > 0:09:13to make sure that there's no wastage here?
0:09:13 > 0:09:14Anything and everything.
0:09:14 > 0:09:17I mean, to take the digging of the foundations as an example,
0:09:17 > 0:09:20on a normal project, people might excavate the spoil
0:09:20 > 0:09:23and have it sort of carted off site.
0:09:23 > 0:09:25We costed that and that was going to be about £1,500.
0:09:25 > 0:09:27That would be a huge proportion of our budget,
0:09:27 > 0:09:30so what we done was we spent £250 on railway sleepers,
0:09:30 > 0:09:33we put them in the garden, formed a structure
0:09:33 > 0:09:37and we deposited all the spoil from here into the railway sleepers.
0:09:37 > 0:09:40Formed our garden area at different tiers
0:09:40 > 0:09:43and we've not got to get rid of any spoil or anything like that.
0:09:43 > 0:09:45That's incredible.
0:09:48 > 0:09:52Hang on a minute. I thought you were meant to be doing this on your own?
0:09:52 > 0:09:55There are loads of people back here. Who are all these people?
0:09:55 > 0:09:59Al's son, Lewis, my two sisters, Madison and Lydia,
0:09:59 > 0:10:01my daughter Shannon and my dad's here as well.
0:10:01 > 0:10:04It's quite a project for them to do on their own, isn't it?
0:10:04 > 0:10:06Yes, I think they're very brave, really.
0:10:06 > 0:10:07What about you, Shannon,
0:10:07 > 0:10:10do you feel this is going to be a successful project?
0:10:10 > 0:10:13I'm not sure. I think it's a bit too much.
0:10:13 > 0:10:14Are you helping at all?
0:10:14 > 0:10:16Not really!
0:10:19 > 0:10:22Alan and Hayley know very little about the old chapel
0:10:22 > 0:10:26that still sits proudly in the village of Hirwaun.
0:10:26 > 0:10:29As they struggle to transform it into their home,
0:10:29 > 0:10:32Dr Kate Williams will attempt to uncover what it has meant
0:10:32 > 0:10:35to generations of this community.
0:10:35 > 0:10:38Meanwhile, Kieran Long will attempt to understand
0:10:38 > 0:10:41the secrets and stories that may be hidden in its architecture,
0:10:41 > 0:10:45starting in Hirwaun, home to Nebo.
0:10:45 > 0:10:47Well, it's fascinating standing on this spot in Hirwaun,
0:10:47 > 0:10:51because you immediately see, strikingly, three chapels
0:10:51 > 0:10:54within, you know, within sight. And that tells you something.
0:10:54 > 0:10:57That tells you that these were built at a time of new thinking
0:10:57 > 0:11:00about religion and differences between people's beliefs.
0:11:00 > 0:11:03It tells you that Hirwaun is a place of independent thought,
0:11:03 > 0:11:07of new thinking about religion and the buildings prove that.
0:11:07 > 0:11:10You can imagine, late 19th century, Sunday morning,
0:11:10 > 0:11:12everybody's day off from the mine. You know, meeting here,
0:11:12 > 0:11:14passing the time of day, getting the village news.
0:11:14 > 0:11:18And, now, what modern planning has done to that brilliant context
0:11:18 > 0:11:21for social life, is build a public toilet in the middle of it.
0:11:21 > 0:11:23It's like the worst insult to a kind of urbanism,
0:11:23 > 0:11:26to a kind of arrangement that really gives the heart and soul
0:11:26 > 0:11:29to a place, has been torn out of it by a public loo.
0:11:41 > 0:11:44You come up this path, up this rise to the highest point
0:11:44 > 0:11:49in the whole town and here's this quite imposing symmetrical facade.
0:11:49 > 0:11:52This is a chapel but it needs a sign on it telling you it's a chapel.
0:11:52 > 0:11:55That's not what we think of in terms of church architecture.
0:11:55 > 0:11:58We normally know exactly what a church looks like.
0:11:58 > 0:12:02Nebo Chapel was a place for Nonconformist worship.
0:12:02 > 0:12:05Nonconformism refers to a number of religious groups,
0:12:05 > 0:12:10such as Methodists and Baptists, who were members of a Protestant faith
0:12:10 > 0:12:14but had a more modest approach to worshipping than the established Church.
0:12:14 > 0:12:17This is reflected in the architecture at Nebo.
0:12:19 > 0:12:21Well, it's an amazing space.
0:12:21 > 0:12:25This kind of high, naturally-lit barn
0:12:25 > 0:12:26with this beautiful arcade in here.
0:12:26 > 0:12:31In front of us there's no altar, no sort of sacrificial symbolism.
0:12:31 > 0:12:33It's just a pulpit with a place to read.
0:12:33 > 0:12:36And even this clock, that I love,
0:12:36 > 0:12:40it's the kind of clock you might find in a station, or in an office.
0:12:40 > 0:12:42It's not anything elaborate.
0:12:42 > 0:12:45Well, at the beginning of the 19th century, in architectural terms,
0:12:45 > 0:12:48the fashion is Gothic architecture, especially in churches.
0:12:48 > 0:12:52All of those churches are in a way designed to make you feel quite small. This is the house of God.
0:12:52 > 0:12:56This, of course, is a completely different kind of architecture.
0:12:58 > 0:13:00You don't feel like you're up in the rafters here.
0:13:00 > 0:13:02This is kind of very generous space,
0:13:02 > 0:13:05and it really tells you what this building's all about.
0:13:05 > 0:13:07It's about light and it's about view.
0:13:07 > 0:13:10It's absolutely about that connection with the pulpit.
0:13:10 > 0:13:13These are meeting houses, not churches.
0:13:13 > 0:13:16They're not places of worship so much as places of a community
0:13:16 > 0:13:18coming together and sharing their beliefs.
0:13:18 > 0:13:23Now, this kind of stuff started in the upper rooms of pubs or in people's homes.
0:13:23 > 0:13:26This kind of reform religion began as a bottom-up community thing.
0:13:26 > 0:13:29And I think the roots of this religion
0:13:29 > 0:13:32beginning in somebody's home remains in the design of these buildings.
0:13:33 > 0:13:38Rebuilt in 1851, Nebo is one of over 5,000 chapels
0:13:38 > 0:13:41constructed in Wales during the 19th century.
0:13:41 > 0:13:46Kieran's task is to understand where Nebo Chapel sits in that story.
0:13:51 > 0:13:53It's another day at the chapel for Alan.
0:13:53 > 0:13:57He's spent every spare hour of the last five months on site
0:13:57 > 0:14:00and it's finally beginning to pay off.
0:14:00 > 0:14:03It feels like we're progressing, and quickly,
0:14:03 > 0:14:05which is nice because.... doing the digging the trenches
0:14:05 > 0:14:08and doing foundations and doing the strip out seems to have taken ages
0:14:08 > 0:14:12and now we're putting walls up and starting to form rooms, it really feels like it's moving.
0:14:12 > 0:14:15Compared to Hayley's cement, my cement's rubbish.
0:14:15 > 0:14:19When Hayley mixes it, she gets the consistency right every time.
0:14:19 > 0:14:23I miss having Hayley up here when she's not here to help.
0:14:25 > 0:14:29My experience in terms of brick and block work is limited to a degree.
0:14:29 > 0:14:32I mean, we've done brick ponds and brick walls in the garden
0:14:32 > 0:14:36but that's in the garden - it doesn't matter if you go too wrong with that.
0:14:36 > 0:14:40This is the first time I've really done a block wall to form a room
0:14:40 > 0:14:43and to sort of take a load off the floor.
0:14:43 > 0:14:46As long it don't fall down, I'll be happy.
0:14:46 > 0:14:49Hayley's back to pass a critical eye.
0:14:49 > 0:14:52Been busy. Al's done quite a lot today actually.
0:14:52 > 0:14:55Sort of, once you start seeing the walls up and you start seeing
0:14:55 > 0:14:58the room sort of being formed, it gets quite exciting.
0:14:58 > 0:15:00Although I do get a bit jealous.
0:15:00 > 0:15:04I'm like, "Oh, I would have liked to have been here myself." So...
0:15:04 > 0:15:06I wish you were here because I'm not very good at mixing the cement.
0:15:06 > 0:15:09I was going to say, your cement looks a little bit sloppy up there.
0:15:09 > 0:15:13- Yeah, it was a bit in places, yeah. - You've done a good job. - I did say I missed you.
0:15:13 > 0:15:15Ah, you've done a good job. It's really good.
0:15:15 > 0:15:17Alongside block walls in the vestry,
0:15:17 > 0:15:21there's also damage to the 19th century chapel to restore.
0:15:21 > 0:15:26He's starting in the rafters, some of which are rotten, thanks to a leaky roof.
0:15:26 > 0:15:32Our plan for today is to reinstate a timber framework that we've taken down.
0:15:32 > 0:15:35The timbers that we've removed were just completely rotten.
0:15:35 > 0:15:40The rigidity of the plaster was probably the only thing holding them up. They were just gone.
0:15:40 > 0:15:44I mean, when we first bought the chapel,
0:15:44 > 0:15:46we anticipated having to do a degree of repair works.
0:15:46 > 0:15:50I didn't anticipate having to do the extent that it is now,
0:15:50 > 0:15:54but that's just part and parcel of what you get when you buy an old building.
0:15:54 > 0:16:00You get a real sense of sort of space when you're up this high and when you're up with the gods.
0:16:00 > 0:16:03I can stand here and sort of visualise the finished living space
0:16:03 > 0:16:06and the dining space, the kitchen area.
0:16:06 > 0:16:08I am scared of heights.
0:16:10 > 0:16:14That's why you might catch me every now and then just holding on
0:16:14 > 0:16:17to something, just to sort of ease myself, really.
0:16:18 > 0:16:21Each nail that I drive into the timbers, like,
0:16:21 > 0:16:23it's one less nail I've got to worry about.
0:16:23 > 0:16:26It's a step closer to sort of reinstating the ceiling
0:16:26 > 0:16:29and finishing off this section of the works,
0:16:29 > 0:16:32and then sort of moving on to the next.
0:16:33 > 0:16:36To find the beginnings of Nonconformist religion,
0:16:36 > 0:16:40Kate's looking back almost 500 years
0:16:40 > 0:16:43to when Henry VIII changed the course of British history.
0:16:43 > 0:16:46He broke away from the Roman Catholic Church
0:16:46 > 0:16:48and established the Church of England.
0:16:50 > 0:16:53In the aftermath of the English Reformation in the 1540s,
0:16:53 > 0:16:58many people in Britain felt that Henry VIII hadn't gone far enough in Protestantism.
0:16:58 > 0:17:01Really, he pretty much kept the Church of Rome in terms
0:17:01 > 0:17:03of its trappings, in terms of its appearance,
0:17:03 > 0:17:07and these people wanted a much more stripped-down form of Protestantism.
0:17:07 > 0:17:12Nonconformism was banned as it was a threat to the Church of England
0:17:12 > 0:17:16and those who practised Nonconformist worship were victimised by the state.
0:17:16 > 0:17:20Nonconformists began as secret persecuted groups of people,
0:17:20 > 0:17:23but they soon came to dominate great swathes of our nation.
0:17:23 > 0:17:27And that's why Nebo Chapel should be a window into this incredible story.
0:17:29 > 0:17:32Following the Reformation in the 16th century,
0:17:32 > 0:17:35attitudes to religion fundamentally changed.
0:17:35 > 0:17:38This was also reflected in architecture.
0:17:39 > 0:17:44Kieran's come to London to the first new church to be built after the Reformation.
0:17:44 > 0:17:48And like Nebo, it doesn't look like a typical place of worship.
0:17:48 > 0:17:52In fact, at the time, it looked like nothing else.
0:17:52 > 0:17:57Well, we've come to one of the most influential churches built anywhere in Britain,
0:17:57 > 0:18:00Inigo Jones' Saint Paul's Church at Covent Garden in London.
0:18:00 > 0:18:03When this building was completed in 1633, it would have been
0:18:03 > 0:18:05completely alien to the rest of London.
0:18:05 > 0:18:07London was a medieval city, more or less, still then.
0:18:07 > 0:18:11This whole piazza would have been an open space, no market then in Covent Garden,
0:18:11 > 0:18:14and it would have commanded it with this Tuscan portico.
0:18:14 > 0:18:17This is the first entry of polite architecture,
0:18:17 > 0:18:19of classical architecture, into the UK.
0:18:19 > 0:18:21Saint Paul's Church had a profound influence,
0:18:21 > 0:18:26because it was the idea that you could bring different architectural styles from Greece and Rome
0:18:26 > 0:18:29to the UK for a kind of institutional building, for a religious building.
0:18:29 > 0:18:31And this was something that, in the 19th century,
0:18:31 > 0:18:35Nonconformism was to take up and to deploy on their own churches.
0:18:36 > 0:18:39This is the start of a whole movement that leads
0:18:39 > 0:18:41to a transformation in the way that Nonconformist chapels were built,
0:18:41 > 0:18:45and also explains how Nebo sits in that amazing chronology.
0:18:45 > 0:18:5017th-century worshippers at Saint Paul's followed the Church of England
0:18:50 > 0:18:56but for those who did not conform with the religion of the country, there were strict penalties.
0:18:56 > 0:19:01Kate has come to the home of the nation's greatest collection of Nonconformist literature,
0:19:01 > 0:19:03Dr Williams' Library.
0:19:04 > 0:19:08What I've come to look for is records of these Nonconformists.
0:19:08 > 0:19:13How life, how they proceeded in the late 17th century when they were,
0:19:13 > 0:19:16you know, being persecuted, when they were looked down on.
0:19:16 > 0:19:19They were really hated by many people in society.
0:19:19 > 0:19:21Well, this is this incredible document.
0:19:21 > 0:19:23I mean, it's really a great privilege for me to see it.
0:19:23 > 0:19:27A Nonconformist minister, Phillip Henry, his daughter, Sarah Henry,
0:19:27 > 0:19:29she wrote down all his sermons,
0:19:29 > 0:19:34and what is a really exciting moment is here, when she stops writing sermons,
0:19:34 > 0:19:38because at this point her father is being taken away.
0:19:38 > 0:19:41He's been imprisoned simply for being a Nonconformist minister.
0:19:41 > 0:19:44And what he says to them is really terribly moving.
0:19:44 > 0:19:47He says, "If this were the last time I were to speak to you,
0:19:47 > 0:19:50"as for ought I know it may, this should be my exaltation."
0:19:50 > 0:19:53He's saying, "Don't forget me, these are my words."
0:19:53 > 0:19:56And he goes on to remind them of their Christian duty, he says,
0:19:56 > 0:19:59"Wherefore my beloved, as you have always obeyed,
0:19:59 > 0:20:05"not in my presence only, but now much more in my absence.
0:20:05 > 0:20:08"Work about your own salvation with fear and trembling.
0:20:08 > 0:20:11"For it is God that worketh in you."
0:20:12 > 0:20:17Towards the end of the 17th century, and now under the rule of James II,
0:20:17 > 0:20:22Nonconformists had endured 150 years of repression.
0:20:22 > 0:20:25But a revolution would follow.
0:20:25 > 0:20:29Kate has come to the parliamentary archives to see what happened next.
0:20:29 > 0:20:33Attitudes to the freedom of worship fundamentally changed for ever
0:20:33 > 0:20:38when William and his wife, Mary, came to the throne in 1689.
0:20:38 > 0:20:41Parliament said, "Look, come on over, come and be king".
0:20:41 > 0:20:43This king who seemed very fair, very tolerant.
0:20:43 > 0:20:45He arrived, incredibly popular.
0:20:45 > 0:20:49He cemented his popularity, William, by simply saying,
0:20:49 > 0:20:52"We've got to have an Act of Toleration,
0:20:52 > 0:20:54"we can't have this continued fact
0:20:54 > 0:20:57"that the State dictates what religion you must have".
0:20:57 > 0:21:01The Act of Toleration was brought in almost immediately
0:21:01 > 0:21:05and granted freedom of worship to Nonconformists.
0:21:05 > 0:21:08This document is absolutely vital to British history,
0:21:08 > 0:21:11to the history of religion and, most of all, to the modern-day Briton.
0:21:11 > 0:21:16We live in a country in which we are all free to worship the way we wish.
0:21:16 > 0:21:20If it wasn't for this document then, simply, Nebo Chapel wouldn't exit.
0:21:20 > 0:21:22For me, I mean, this is the starting point,
0:21:22 > 0:21:25the beginning of a new dawn for Britain.
0:21:25 > 0:21:27You know, the old days of persecution, of religious,
0:21:27 > 0:21:30you know, tyranny, essentially, are over.
0:21:36 > 0:21:38Alan and Hayley have got just £20,000
0:21:38 > 0:21:42to do the first stage of restoration to Nebo Chapel.
0:21:42 > 0:21:44They are doing most of the work themselves,
0:21:44 > 0:21:46and with funds dwindling fast,
0:21:46 > 0:21:50they've got another potentially expensive problem.
0:21:50 > 0:21:54A large section of cornicing is missing, so Alan and Hayley
0:21:54 > 0:21:56want to make a mould and produce their own plasterwork,
0:21:56 > 0:21:58to repair the ceiling.
0:21:58 > 0:22:01Give it a couple of years, all this cornicing would have been lost,
0:22:01 > 0:22:04so we were lucky that we caught it at the right time
0:22:04 > 0:22:05to be able to take a moulding.
0:22:05 > 0:22:07So, I mean, it might cost us...
0:22:07 > 0:22:12I don't know, total process to make all the cornicing, maybe 200 quid.
0:22:12 > 0:22:16We was getting quotes in for sort of £200, £250, per linear metre,
0:22:16 > 0:22:18so if we can make all of the cornicing,
0:22:18 > 0:22:21which is a good 12 metres, we've saved a lot of money then.
0:22:21 > 0:22:25To make a mould, Hayley paints a section of the cornicing with latex.
0:22:25 > 0:22:28A total of 25 coats will be needed.
0:22:28 > 0:22:33This bit's the fun bit, sort of after all the hard graft,
0:22:33 > 0:22:37and I like crafty stuff as well, so this is good fun for me.
0:22:38 > 0:22:40Hopefully I'll do it right,
0:22:40 > 0:22:43hopefully it'll work and save us a small fortune.
0:22:45 > 0:22:47Two down, 23 to go!
0:22:55 > 0:22:58We continue our quest to find out where Nebo fits in
0:22:58 > 0:23:00to the story of Welsh chapels.
0:23:01 > 0:23:03We know the Act of Toleration
0:23:03 > 0:23:06changed the lives of Nonconformists,
0:23:06 > 0:23:07allowing them to worship freely.
0:23:09 > 0:23:11Kieran is visiting a chapel that shows how the Act
0:23:11 > 0:23:15affected communities in Wales during the 1690s.
0:23:16 > 0:23:20So, we've come to a fairly lonely, remote hillside in Mid Wales
0:23:20 > 0:23:24to see Maesyronnen Chapel, which is the earliest example
0:23:24 > 0:23:27of an independent chapel in Wales following the Act of Toleration.
0:23:28 > 0:23:31This remote location here really tells you something
0:23:31 > 0:23:33about the origins of these kinds of congregations
0:23:33 > 0:23:35and, therefore, explains the buildings,
0:23:35 > 0:23:37because these were groups of farm workers,
0:23:37 > 0:23:39sometimes in remote communities, coming together,
0:23:39 > 0:23:42sometimes in secret, at least initially in secret, to worship.
0:23:42 > 0:23:45Now, of course, it's no coincidence, then, that when they take on
0:23:45 > 0:23:48a kind of architectural home, it looks like a farm building.
0:23:57 > 0:24:00Oh, it's just absolutely beautiful in here.
0:24:02 > 0:24:04I think the first striking thing here
0:24:04 > 0:24:08is that sense of it not being like a theatre auditorium.
0:24:08 > 0:24:13The seating layout is quite different to most churches.
0:24:13 > 0:24:15The furniture here is disposed in a way
0:24:15 > 0:24:19where you look at each other across the room and, in a way,
0:24:19 > 0:24:22you're not really focused on any one part of the building.
0:24:30 > 0:24:32Well, the chapel here has been beautifully restored
0:24:32 > 0:24:35but, in a way, that can mask some of the truth
0:24:35 > 0:24:37of what it would have been like in the 17th century and 18th century
0:24:37 > 0:24:39to worship here.
0:24:39 > 0:24:41This piece of furniture tells some of that story
0:24:41 > 0:24:45because it's designed to shield you from the wicked draughts
0:24:45 > 0:24:48that would have been whistling through this barn-like building.
0:24:48 > 0:24:52And you have to also imagine this building with a rammed earth floor.
0:24:52 > 0:24:55You know, the flagstones are from the 19th century that we see today.
0:24:55 > 0:24:56It would have been freezing cold.
0:24:56 > 0:24:59You know, this was not an easy place to come and worship.
0:25:07 > 0:25:11Well, I'm now standing in the pulpit where generations of preachers,
0:25:11 > 0:25:13300 years or more, have been preaching.
0:25:13 > 0:25:17Now, the window over my left shoulder here has two purposes.
0:25:17 > 0:25:20One, of course - helps me to read the Bible, it allows light in.
0:25:20 > 0:25:22But it's wrong to see it as just a pragmatic thing.
0:25:22 > 0:25:26It also, of course, dramatically back-lights the preacher.
0:25:26 > 0:25:28And particularly if you're on this side of the chapel,
0:25:28 > 0:25:31if you enter the chapel and I'm stood here,
0:25:31 > 0:25:35you see this kind of halo-like light behind my head.
0:25:35 > 0:25:36And I think that's a really important
0:25:36 > 0:25:38and deliberate architectural effect.
0:25:38 > 0:25:42I can see from here the faces of every person in the congregation.
0:25:42 > 0:25:46There's a sense of this being a commanding position, of course,
0:25:46 > 0:25:49but also, it's one that is kind of equal for everybody.
0:25:50 > 0:25:53It's been great coming here today, because we've seen
0:25:53 > 0:25:56the kind of origins of a whole school of thought
0:25:56 > 0:25:59that leads to a wide variety of chapel building
0:25:59 > 0:26:01happening all over Wales.
0:26:01 > 0:26:03It shows the architectural expression
0:26:03 > 0:26:07founded on our ideas of equality amongst the congregation
0:26:07 > 0:26:10and, you know, all of those things are still present, I think, in Nebo
0:26:10 > 0:26:13and in other chapels, but this is the kind of wellspring of all of that.
0:26:15 > 0:26:18Kieran's next task will be to trace the journey of worshipping,
0:26:18 > 0:26:22from barns like Maesyronnen to buildings like Nebo.
0:26:26 > 0:26:29Hayley and Alan have spent the last nine months
0:26:29 > 0:26:31working tirelessly at the chapel,
0:26:31 > 0:26:34but things have taken a turn for the worse.
0:26:35 > 0:26:36Thieves have broken in.
0:26:39 > 0:26:40This is where they got in, yeah.
0:26:40 > 0:26:43When I arrived, the Perspex sheeting was bent up,
0:26:43 > 0:26:45the window was wedged open.
0:26:45 > 0:26:48Smashed the glass and the frame got chewed up a little bit.
0:26:48 > 0:26:51We're as secure as we can be for the budget that we've got.
0:26:51 > 0:26:55You could spend, you know, ten grand, easy, securing the premises,
0:26:55 > 0:26:59but in my eyes, it does one of two things.
0:26:59 > 0:27:00We haven't got that money to spend,
0:27:00 > 0:27:03but it also sends a beacon out to people, "Oh, actually, yeah,
0:27:03 > 0:27:05"we've got loads in there", when we haven't got...
0:27:05 > 0:27:07Well, now we've got nothing in there, so...
0:27:07 > 0:27:11The vital collection of power tools they rely on to restore Nebo
0:27:11 > 0:27:13has been stolen.
0:27:13 > 0:27:16We're doing this on a shoestring budget.
0:27:16 > 0:27:21We've got next to no money, so those tools that have been taken,
0:27:21 > 0:27:24those power tools, they're not top-of-the-range tools,
0:27:24 > 0:27:26they're tools that we've just about been able to afford
0:27:26 > 0:27:30in order to do things within the chapel and to progress that on.
0:27:31 > 0:27:34Having a negative experience like a burglary
0:27:34 > 0:27:37can change your perspective on what are we doing it for, you know,
0:27:37 > 0:27:39what's the benefits
0:27:39 > 0:27:43if it's two steps forward and two steps back?
0:27:43 > 0:27:47You can fall out of love with a project the more it lingers on,
0:27:47 > 0:27:49and the chapel's been in our life for 18 months.
0:27:49 > 0:27:52You haven't got the heating on, you haven't got the plumbing in.
0:27:52 > 0:27:55The list of things yet to do is a lot longer
0:27:55 > 0:27:58than the list of things that we've achieved.
0:28:08 > 0:28:12Wales was key to fuelling the Industrial Revolution of Britain
0:28:12 > 0:28:14in the 19th century.
0:28:14 > 0:28:17People flooded into the valleys of South Wales to find work,
0:28:17 > 0:28:21creating new communities in the process.
0:28:21 > 0:28:23As new pits were dug, new chapels were built
0:28:23 > 0:28:27and Nonconformist worship became increasingly popular.
0:28:29 > 0:28:35Kate's come to Blaenavon and has headed 90 metres underground.
0:28:35 > 0:28:36In the early 19th century,
0:28:36 > 0:28:40Wales was becoming a hotbed of nonconformity.
0:28:40 > 0:28:42You know, underneath, there were the mines,
0:28:42 > 0:28:45this hard, difficult, dangerous work, which seemed without salvation,
0:28:45 > 0:28:49and yet at the same time, the chapels were strengthening
0:28:49 > 0:28:50and I really think the two were linked.
0:28:50 > 0:28:54Essentially, chapels like Nebo gave people hope.
0:28:54 > 0:28:57Whole families would work in the mine - the father might be here,
0:28:57 > 0:28:58the mother may be next to him,
0:28:58 > 0:29:01the children, the grandparents, all his brothers.
0:29:01 > 0:29:04Basically, when you were born into a mining family,
0:29:04 > 0:29:06you knew that was your destiny.
0:29:06 > 0:29:08Life was really hard for the workers in the Industrial Revolution,
0:29:08 > 0:29:10particularly for the children.
0:29:10 > 0:29:13Children working in the mine could be as young as six,
0:29:13 > 0:29:15and they were expected to work 12 hours a day.
0:29:15 > 0:29:17It was difficult, it was dangerous,
0:29:17 > 0:29:19and it was often terrifying work for a child.
0:29:19 > 0:29:24Chapels became the social heart of these new communities,
0:29:24 > 0:29:26the effect of which is still seen today.
0:29:26 > 0:29:30Kate now needs to understand what role Nebo had to play
0:29:30 > 0:29:32in the village of Hirwaun.
0:29:37 > 0:29:40Restoring Nebo is an enormous challenge for Alan and Hayley.
0:29:40 > 0:29:42I've come to see how they're getting on
0:29:42 > 0:29:46and how they're coping since the burglary.
0:29:46 > 0:29:49Well, 80% of the tools, power tools, were stolen.
0:29:49 > 0:29:51Yeah, they took all the big power tools,
0:29:51 > 0:29:53which was a bit of a knock, wasn't it?
0:29:53 > 0:29:54What are you going to do, Alan?
0:29:54 > 0:29:57Because you've got absolutely no money.
0:29:57 > 0:30:00Well, we'll find a way. We just have to reallocate money.
0:30:00 > 0:30:02I mean, where we sort of budgeted
0:30:02 > 0:30:05to hire a nail gun for a weekend, which is £45,
0:30:05 > 0:30:07we won't hire a nail gun for a weekend,
0:30:07 > 0:30:10so that's two weekends on the trot - that's £90 we've saved.
0:30:10 > 0:30:14But have you managed to move on from that?
0:30:14 > 0:30:15Yeah, I think we have. I think...
0:30:15 > 0:30:18It's still raw, it's still quite early on,
0:30:18 > 0:30:20but...a project like this, you can't let it get you down.
0:30:20 > 0:30:23You have to remain positive, you have to look forward,
0:30:23 > 0:30:25and it's almost sticking two fingers up to them.
0:30:25 > 0:30:28It doesn't matter what you've done to us, we're going to finish this.
0:30:28 > 0:30:29This is going to be our family home.
0:30:31 > 0:30:34They only have £8,000 left to finish the build
0:30:34 > 0:30:37and the vestry still resembles a building site.
0:30:37 > 0:30:40They're a long way from getting Nebo up to scratch
0:30:40 > 0:30:42for the mortgage valuation by the bank.
0:30:44 > 0:30:47- That's going to be a bedroom? - That's a bedroom.- What's this one?
0:30:47 > 0:30:52This will be a doorway into the bathroom, family bathroom.
0:30:52 > 0:30:55- Family bathroom.- Underneath the sort of flat section ceiling
0:30:55 > 0:30:59will be a free-standing bath with a shower over.
0:30:59 > 0:31:01It all sounds really lovely, Alan,
0:31:01 > 0:31:04but it all seems to be a really long way away.
0:31:04 > 0:31:06- It looks like it is, but it's... - Yeah, because it is.
0:31:06 > 0:31:10Yeah, it is, yeah! There is a lot of work to do, but we'll get there.
0:31:11 > 0:31:14Alan and Hayley are determined to finish this project
0:31:14 > 0:31:15and with money tight,
0:31:15 > 0:31:18their parents are frequent visitors to lend a hand.
0:31:20 > 0:31:22You're hands-on parents, aren't you?
0:31:22 > 0:31:26Yeah. You've got to do what you've got to do for your kids.
0:31:26 > 0:31:30I'm supportive of Alan and, you know, believe in his dream,
0:31:30 > 0:31:32although I am a little concerned at various aspects of it.
0:31:32 > 0:31:35What could possibly be concerning you, Brian?!
0:31:35 > 0:31:40The size of the project. I think the project was way too ambitious to start.
0:31:40 > 0:31:41- Do you?- Yeah, I do.
0:31:41 > 0:31:43And I don't think the balance that they've got left
0:31:43 > 0:31:45is enough to get them to where they want to be.
0:31:45 > 0:31:49- What, the eight grand?- Yeah, I don't think there's enough money there. That's my opinion.
0:31:53 > 0:31:56Alan's parents are clearly worried about the future of this project,
0:31:56 > 0:31:59but does Hayley share their concerns?
0:31:59 > 0:32:03At what point would you step back from the project?
0:32:03 > 0:32:04I don't think we'd ever quit.
0:32:04 > 0:32:06I think if you take on something like this
0:32:06 > 0:32:08and you feel as passionately about it as me and Al do,
0:32:08 > 0:32:12I think you know that you will never quit.
0:32:12 > 0:32:15There must be nights when you go to bed and just weep with exhaustion.
0:32:15 > 0:32:17Yeah, I do get tired sometimes.
0:32:17 > 0:32:19It does start off as a fairy tale, doesn't it?
0:32:19 > 0:32:22But I think the reality of doing it does take its toll.
0:32:22 > 0:32:23And although it is a labour of love,
0:32:23 > 0:32:27- because we do love the property, it's hard work.- Yeah.
0:32:27 > 0:32:29It's really hard work.
0:32:31 > 0:32:35As communities were brought together by the mining industry,
0:32:35 > 0:32:38its workers and families flocked through the doors
0:32:38 > 0:32:39of Nonconformist chapels.
0:32:41 > 0:32:46Kate's come to Glamorgan Archives to trace this story at Nebo Chapel.
0:32:47 > 0:32:49At the centre of this boom were the Crawshay family.
0:32:49 > 0:32:51But they were actually a Yorkshire family
0:32:51 > 0:32:54and they invested a lot of money in the mine,
0:32:54 > 0:32:58machinery, made it much bigger, and people came from all over Wales,
0:32:58 > 0:33:00all over Britain, to work in the mine.
0:33:00 > 0:33:04To the Crawshay family, Nebo Chapel was somewhere for the workers.
0:33:04 > 0:33:07They gave money to it because they wanted the workers to go to chapel.
0:33:07 > 0:33:09But it really wasn't somewhere for them.
0:33:09 > 0:33:11But what happened was, there was a big change.
0:33:11 > 0:33:13Henry, the son of William, the first son,
0:33:13 > 0:33:16he was the ironmaster in charge of the ironworks,
0:33:16 > 0:33:19and he fell absolutely in love with a local girl,
0:33:19 > 0:33:22Eliza Harris, who worked at the ironworks.
0:33:22 > 0:33:24And he fell passionately in love with her.
0:33:24 > 0:33:26So much so that when she got pregnant, the family said,
0:33:26 > 0:33:28"Disown her, pay her off, get rid of her".
0:33:28 > 0:33:30And he said, "No, I want to marry her".
0:33:30 > 0:33:33Henry and Eliza became Nonconformists,
0:33:33 > 0:33:38and in 1834, their twin daughters were christened at Nebo Chapel.
0:33:38 > 0:33:40So, that's an incredible link there.
0:33:40 > 0:33:43This place that began in such humble circumstances
0:33:43 > 0:33:47is now at the christening of this millionaire family.
0:33:47 > 0:33:50They were really part of the community,
0:33:50 > 0:33:52and Nebo was so vital to this.
0:33:52 > 0:33:55William, the great patriarch,
0:33:55 > 0:33:57was so annoyed by the love of Henry for Eliza,
0:33:57 > 0:33:59he pushed him out of managing the mine
0:33:59 > 0:34:01and brought in his other son, Francis.
0:34:01 > 0:34:04And he was a man who was really devoted to the area.
0:34:04 > 0:34:07He learnt Welsh, he was interested in the workers.
0:34:07 > 0:34:09He spoke to them in their language,
0:34:09 > 0:34:11and also was very concerned about religion,
0:34:11 > 0:34:14and he gave a lot of money to Nebo Chapel as well.
0:34:14 > 0:34:16So, Francis is one of our really important figures,
0:34:16 > 0:34:18not only in the community, in the area,
0:34:18 > 0:34:20but also in the history of Nebo.
0:34:22 > 0:34:26Nebo Chapel was rebuilt in the style we see today
0:34:26 > 0:34:30thanks to money from the Crawshay family in 1851.
0:34:30 > 0:34:33But by this date, Nonconformist architecture in Wales
0:34:33 > 0:34:36had made a massive leap from its humble beginnings.
0:34:38 > 0:34:39Up to this point,
0:34:39 > 0:34:42Nonconformist communities had fairly modest lodgings,
0:34:42 > 0:34:44partly a hangover from when they had to worship in secret,
0:34:44 > 0:34:47and also because they were making these things from the ground up
0:34:47 > 0:34:50with the local labour force and the materials available to hand.
0:34:50 > 0:34:54At the beginning of the 19th century, everything begins to change.
0:34:54 > 0:34:58There was an explosion of chapel-building in Wales
0:34:58 > 0:35:01and by the mid-1850s, there were enough seats
0:35:01 > 0:35:04to accommodate 75% of the population.
0:35:05 > 0:35:08What were the publications and documents
0:35:08 > 0:35:10that the architects in Wales were looking at
0:35:10 > 0:35:11that were influencing them
0:35:11 > 0:35:14and helping them to find these new architectural languages?
0:35:22 > 0:35:24Kieran's headed to London.
0:35:24 > 0:35:28He's at the Royal Institute of British Architects library,
0:35:28 > 0:35:32reading the important journals and books of the day...
0:35:32 > 0:35:37starting with The Builder, a magazine launched in 1843.
0:35:39 > 0:35:40I think this kind of literature
0:35:40 > 0:35:43is one of the critical architectural debates of the day
0:35:43 > 0:35:45that would have influenced people
0:35:45 > 0:35:47building these ecclesiastical buildings.
0:35:47 > 0:35:49These are buildings for worship, after all,
0:35:49 > 0:35:51and they needed an appropriate style.
0:35:51 > 0:35:53They would have been reading about it here.
0:35:54 > 0:35:58Following its introduction by Inigo Jones in the 17th century,
0:35:58 > 0:36:01classical architecture grew in popularity
0:36:01 > 0:36:04throughout the Georgian period and into the 19th century.
0:36:05 > 0:36:08Publications like The Antiquities Of Athens,
0:36:08 > 0:36:09together with The Builder,
0:36:09 > 0:36:12were a font of knowledge on the classical style,
0:36:12 > 0:36:16focusing on symmetry and proportion.
0:36:16 > 0:36:18This is just an absolutely exquisite book,
0:36:18 > 0:36:22and it's also so evocative of a time when, you know,
0:36:22 > 0:36:26travel was becoming easier, these men were going to the Parthenon,
0:36:26 > 0:36:29drawing it with incredible precision and beauty,
0:36:29 > 0:36:31and then bringing it back as a kind of manual
0:36:31 > 0:36:32of how to do things in Victorian England.
0:36:32 > 0:36:35Now, what we see is this fans out across the country
0:36:35 > 0:36:38through these journals and books is, of course,
0:36:38 > 0:36:41people taking the bits that they can afford to reproduce,
0:36:41 > 0:36:43and that's how we see this kind of variation
0:36:43 > 0:36:46in the chapels of Nonconformism in Wales.
0:36:46 > 0:36:48We see different levels of resolution.
0:36:48 > 0:36:52I think Nebo has enough to suggest that they're aware of this stuff,
0:36:52 > 0:36:54but probably not enough money to reproduce the great porticos
0:36:54 > 0:36:57and tablatures of Greek temples.
0:36:57 > 0:37:01Classical architecture was the chosen style for Nonconformist chapels,
0:37:01 > 0:37:06but when did the architecture that inspired Nebo first arrive in Wales?
0:37:12 > 0:37:15Work is progressing at the chapel.
0:37:15 > 0:37:18The roof timbers have been replaced, and now Alan and Hayley
0:37:18 > 0:37:21need to make a start on removing the pews.
0:37:22 > 0:37:25We're going to try and take the pews out carefully
0:37:25 > 0:37:28so that we can hopefully put them back together
0:37:28 > 0:37:29in order to sell them on,
0:37:29 > 0:37:32because, obviously, the money then from the pews
0:37:32 > 0:37:36will be put towards, hopefully, a boiler, so...
0:37:36 > 0:37:38If we can get enough money.
0:37:38 > 0:37:41Fortunately, they've got help, as Hayley's sister, Laura,
0:37:41 > 0:37:43and her boyfriend, Emmett, are visiting.
0:37:43 > 0:37:46- It's going to be...- Huge. - ..nice to get a real sense of space.
0:37:46 > 0:37:49- It's quite an exciting day, really. - It is exciting, yeah.
0:37:49 > 0:37:51It's exciting when you start taking them out.
0:37:56 > 0:37:58They define the chapel as what it is and we're ripping it out
0:37:58 > 0:38:01and changing its use, so yeah, it is sad to see them go.
0:38:01 > 0:38:03It's not completely lost, is it?
0:38:03 > 0:38:06No, no, they'll appear in someone's home, can be enjoyed.
0:38:06 > 0:38:07And cherished, yeah.
0:38:08 > 0:38:11While Alan finishes taking out the pews,
0:38:11 > 0:38:14Hayley's continuing with the ceiling.
0:38:14 > 0:38:17She's taking a mould of the existing cornicing
0:38:17 > 0:38:21so it can be replicated and used to repair the plasterwork.
0:38:21 > 0:38:23It's time to remove the mould.
0:38:24 > 0:38:28If this doesn't work, Hayley will have wasted hours of her time
0:38:28 > 0:38:32and another piece of precious cornicing could be lost.
0:38:32 > 0:38:34It's taken sort of weeks and weeks to do it,
0:38:34 > 0:38:36so it'll sort of make or break today.
0:38:36 > 0:38:40Is it going to work or not? So, fingers crossed it'll be fine!
0:38:41 > 0:38:43This is a delicate operation.
0:38:43 > 0:38:47Emmett's a prop-maker and makes moulds for a living, so can advise.
0:38:47 > 0:38:49Emmett's given me some really good advice
0:38:49 > 0:38:51about putting even pressure on it
0:38:51 > 0:38:54and sort of doing it gradually and taking your time.
0:38:58 > 0:38:59I don't want to break it!
0:39:02 > 0:39:05Really conscious that I'm going to fall backwards off the ladder!
0:39:05 > 0:39:07It's just taking all the paint off.
0:39:10 > 0:39:11Oh!
0:39:15 > 0:39:18I was scared to put up a lock, unfortunately.
0:39:18 > 0:39:19Oh, sugar!
0:39:24 > 0:39:25We'll fix that. That's fine.
0:39:25 > 0:39:27We've got a mould to fix it now, so...
0:39:27 > 0:39:30It's quite dry, so we're just going to... It's worked, hasn't it?
0:39:30 > 0:39:31It's just...
0:39:34 > 0:39:38If it's come out like that, perhaps they needed replacing anyway.
0:39:38 > 0:39:40And now we've got the mould, we can do that.
0:39:41 > 0:39:44There's always a risk you're going to damage
0:39:44 > 0:39:46the section of cornicing that you've taken the mould from.
0:39:46 > 0:39:48If it had ripped it off and ripped the mould
0:39:48 > 0:39:51and we'd have lost the section of cornicing and lost the mould,
0:39:51 > 0:39:52it would have been all for nothing,
0:39:52 > 0:39:55but we've got a mould, we can fix what's broken.
0:39:56 > 0:39:57Yes, she's done a really good job.
0:39:57 > 0:40:02For her first mould, latex and fibreglass mould, it's brilliant.
0:40:02 > 0:40:05So, it's been a successful weekend at Nebo.
0:40:05 > 0:40:08It feels like you're ticking a lot off your list.
0:40:08 > 0:40:10- One of the positive ones, really. - Yeah, definitely.
0:40:17 > 0:40:20Kieran has come to the first Nonconformist chapel
0:40:20 > 0:40:22to be built in the classical style in Wales.
0:40:24 > 0:40:26It's one of the country's most important,
0:40:26 > 0:40:29but also tragically forgotten chapels.
0:40:30 > 0:40:33Well, it's a magnificent building.
0:40:34 > 0:40:38It's a bit tired, it's a bit half derelict-looking for now,
0:40:38 > 0:40:42but it's almost like discovering a Roman ruin in the Welsh countryside.
0:40:45 > 0:40:48Peniel Chapel in Tremadog was constructed in 1810
0:40:48 > 0:40:52and has clear references to Inigo Jones' St Paul's Church
0:40:52 > 0:40:56and none of the vernacular traditions of Nonconformism.
0:40:56 > 0:40:58It would directly influence every one
0:40:58 > 0:41:01of the thousands of classical chapels that would follow.
0:41:01 > 0:41:05This building really does introduce the classical revival into Wales.
0:41:05 > 0:41:07It's a kind of herald. There are still, of course,
0:41:07 > 0:41:10lots of chapels being built in a much more modest style at this period,
0:41:10 > 0:41:14but this is a building that really signals the future.
0:41:14 > 0:41:17The most striking thing about this building
0:41:17 > 0:41:20is this astonishing portico that just looms in front of you
0:41:20 > 0:41:21as you approach the chapel.
0:41:21 > 0:41:24And this is like nothing else we've ever seen so far
0:41:24 > 0:41:26in chapel-building in Wales.
0:41:26 > 0:41:28It's highly architectural, highly designed,
0:41:28 > 0:41:31and designed to kind of impose a set of civic values.
0:41:31 > 0:41:33It's like a monument all of a sudden.
0:41:33 > 0:41:35This is no mere meeting house.
0:41:40 > 0:41:43Once you get behind the portico, there's an interesting effect,
0:41:43 > 0:41:46because the building behind it is quite domestic.
0:41:46 > 0:41:49It has these square sash windows, not particularly grand,
0:41:49 > 0:41:51on two storeys, as if there's a two-storey house
0:41:51 > 0:41:54behind this amazing Tuscan portico.
0:41:54 > 0:41:57So, it's a strange effect, there's almost two faces to this building,
0:41:57 > 0:42:00and I think that shows that there's an architecture in transition here.
0:42:13 > 0:42:16Well, this building is built in 1810 and designed then
0:42:16 > 0:42:19and, of course, that makes it earlier than Nebo.
0:42:19 > 0:42:22Nebo's clearly kind of learnt from this building and from others,
0:42:22 > 0:42:25but I think what we're seeing here is kind of the blueprint.
0:42:25 > 0:42:28You know, this symmetrical arrangement with two aisles,
0:42:28 > 0:42:31two doors in the front, two doors behind the pulpit -
0:42:31 > 0:42:33all of that is so similar to Nebo
0:42:33 > 0:42:36that this feels like the kind of original.
0:42:36 > 0:42:39What strikes me here is that this is a little bit plainer.
0:42:39 > 0:42:41Nebo, the joinery is very, very beautiful.
0:42:41 > 0:42:44And it's more about this rake - again, like Nebo -
0:42:44 > 0:42:47giving people the view that they need of the action.
0:42:49 > 0:42:52Kieran's managed to trace how the change in fortunes
0:42:52 > 0:42:55of the congregation in the 19th century
0:42:55 > 0:42:57directly influenced architecture.
0:42:59 > 0:43:03All this timber panelling and beautifully lit from sash windows,
0:43:03 > 0:43:05but I think that's the crucial change that we've gone through -
0:43:05 > 0:43:07from a hidden away, rather rootsy,
0:43:07 > 0:43:10bottom-up type congregational arrangement,
0:43:10 > 0:43:12to one that, you know,
0:43:12 > 0:43:15you could happily bring your family to in their Sunday best.
0:43:15 > 0:43:19We've really uncovered a story here that's vital to Wales,
0:43:19 > 0:43:22and also to history of Christianity in the UK.
0:43:22 > 0:43:24By coming here today, we're uncovering a trajectory
0:43:24 > 0:43:26that Nebo is a very big part of.
0:43:31 > 0:43:32Funded by the Crawshay family
0:43:32 > 0:43:36and inspired by the architecture of Peniel Chapel,
0:43:36 > 0:43:41Nebo Chapel was rebuilt in the classical style in 1851,
0:43:41 > 0:43:43and Kate has now managed to discover
0:43:43 > 0:43:46who would have been overseeing the work -
0:43:46 > 0:43:48the Reverend William Williams.
0:43:48 > 0:43:51I found an article which really underlines how William Williams
0:43:51 > 0:43:53was the heart of the local area.
0:43:53 > 0:43:54They really loved him.
0:43:54 > 0:43:57It says here he won the hearts of the people, he was so popular.
0:43:57 > 0:44:00So, Nebo Chapel, the rebuilt Nebo Chapel,
0:44:00 > 0:44:03was really the kind of beating heart of the community.
0:44:03 > 0:44:07William Williams was the first Reverend of Alan and Hayley's chapel
0:44:07 > 0:44:10and evidence shows he also took a major role
0:44:10 > 0:44:13in improving conditions for the whole community.
0:44:13 > 0:44:16William Williams wanted Hirwaun to be a better place.
0:44:16 > 0:44:18He wants to reform the local community.
0:44:18 > 0:44:20He wants to improve the life of the people,
0:44:20 > 0:44:22particularly the life of the children,
0:44:22 > 0:44:25and what he wanted most of all was a proper school
0:44:25 > 0:44:27where children could learn and get an education
0:44:27 > 0:44:29and they could better themselves.
0:44:29 > 0:44:31He's so determined to build the school,
0:44:31 > 0:44:33he had a tea party to raise the money,
0:44:33 > 0:44:362,000 tickets, one shilling each,
0:44:36 > 0:44:40and finally, the school was opened in 1849.
0:44:40 > 0:44:42Now long gone, William Williams' school
0:44:42 > 0:44:45was situated on the hill opposite Nebo Chapel
0:44:45 > 0:44:47and he was very clear
0:44:47 > 0:44:49about how the children who attended should be treated.
0:44:49 > 0:44:51"The children are not to be punished.
0:44:51 > 0:44:54"If naughty, the master must speak to the parents."
0:44:54 > 0:44:57And this was a time when children were regularly beaten at school,
0:44:57 > 0:44:59but not at the Nebo school.
0:44:59 > 0:45:02Not at the school that William Williams had set up.
0:45:04 > 0:45:07Nebo Chapel was the embodiment of the efforts of William Williams
0:45:07 > 0:45:10and others to make the life of local people better,
0:45:10 > 0:45:13not just use them for industrial fodder.
0:45:19 > 0:45:20Back at Nebo
0:45:20 > 0:45:24and Alan and Hayley are continuing work on the pews.
0:45:25 > 0:45:29Although the ones they've removed are perfect for a grand building
0:45:29 > 0:45:31like Nebo, they're too big for most homes,
0:45:31 > 0:45:34but Alan has had a great idea.
0:45:34 > 0:45:36The plan is just to cut the seat down,
0:45:36 > 0:45:40the backs down, and then stick the two ends on the seat at the back
0:45:40 > 0:45:44and it's just reduced down to about a metre long.
0:45:44 > 0:45:47That length there we'll use to sell a pew,
0:45:47 > 0:45:49but that length there is a stair tread, so it's...
0:45:49 > 0:45:53You know, we've made £100 on this piece,
0:45:53 > 0:45:55we've saved on this piece, and it ties in
0:45:55 > 0:45:57because the wood's all the same, it's part of the history.
0:45:57 > 0:45:59Be able to walk up the flight of stairs saying,
0:45:59 > 0:46:01"That used to be a pew, that did".
0:46:04 > 0:46:06This is the second one we're putting together,
0:46:06 > 0:46:08and we're looking to make 20.
0:46:08 > 0:46:10Only another 18 to go.
0:46:11 > 0:46:14Assembling pews might sound like one of the more straightforward jobs
0:46:14 > 0:46:16in this chapel...
0:46:16 > 0:46:18Ready... Three, two, one...
0:46:19 > 0:46:21..but it seems that is not the case.
0:46:22 > 0:46:23- Oh!- Oh!
0:46:29 > 0:46:31HAYLEY LAUGHS
0:46:39 > 0:46:41At least we have a laugh, eh?
0:46:45 > 0:46:48Work in the vestry is progressing well - the walls are up
0:46:48 > 0:46:50and the studwork is going in.
0:46:50 > 0:46:55I feel really excited to see it all going up, and proud and motivated.
0:46:55 > 0:46:58It feels like it's been a long time coming to get us to this stage,
0:46:58 > 0:47:00and I would like to have been here a lot sooner,
0:47:00 > 0:47:03but won't be too long before we're concealing all this hard work.
0:47:06 > 0:47:09The studwork really does change everything quickly.
0:47:09 > 0:47:12You start to get a sense of the rooms and, you know,
0:47:12 > 0:47:16you've got a ground floor and a first floor.
0:47:16 > 0:47:18And you get... You've got...
0:47:18 > 0:47:22Now you can see the bathroom area, the en suite, the bedrooms, yeah.
0:47:22 > 0:47:23It does start to come together.
0:47:23 > 0:47:25It's a completely different stage.
0:47:25 > 0:47:29When you're digging the trenches, you're hacking plaster off the walls and you're stripping it back,
0:47:29 > 0:47:32it feels like you're going backwards in the project.
0:47:32 > 0:47:35It doesn't feel like you're making any sort of steps forward.
0:47:35 > 0:47:39But when you start building it up and sort of seeing the rooms take shape, it's really exciting
0:47:39 > 0:47:43because you want to see the next step come, so it's really good.
0:47:44 > 0:47:47Hayley's dad, a builder, is on site today.
0:47:50 > 0:47:54He's making openings in the vestry roof for skylights.
0:47:55 > 0:47:59As the light streams in, their dream feels one step closer.
0:47:59 > 0:48:03- It's amazing.- It's really good. What a difference.
0:48:03 > 0:48:06- Starting to feel like a home now. - You got it?
0:48:06 > 0:48:08The first skylight is about to go in.
0:48:10 > 0:48:12That's it.
0:48:14 > 0:48:15- Hooray!- Hooray!
0:48:16 > 0:48:20- We've got a window! - That's good, innit?
0:48:20 > 0:48:23Looks really good, doesn't it? That is brilliant, isn't it?
0:48:23 > 0:48:25That's awesome, that is.
0:48:25 > 0:48:28- Ah, thanks, Dad! - Thank you very much, Frank.
0:48:28 > 0:48:29Two more tomorrow!
0:48:34 > 0:48:37Before we discover whether Alan and Hayley
0:48:37 > 0:48:40managed to complete their restoration on a shoestring,
0:48:40 > 0:48:42they're going to find out all that we have
0:48:42 > 0:48:45about Nebo's role in Welsh history.
0:48:47 > 0:48:49This is the Act of Toleration.
0:48:49 > 0:48:50Without a document like this
0:48:50 > 0:48:53saying Protestant sects could worship as they pleased,
0:48:53 > 0:48:56Nebo Chapel would never have been possible.
0:48:56 > 0:48:59What's really important about the 17th century and architecture
0:48:59 > 0:49:02is the arrival of classical architecture.
0:49:02 > 0:49:04We discovered Peniel Chapel in Tremadog,
0:49:04 > 0:49:07and this is the kind of start of your chapel.
0:49:07 > 0:49:10These distinctive arched windows or that distinctive gable.
0:49:10 > 0:49:13- Very similar, isn't it? - Exactly, yeah.
0:49:13 > 0:49:16The Crawshay family was so vital in creating Nebo
0:49:16 > 0:49:19because they wanted to foster and improve the lives of the people around them,
0:49:19 > 0:49:21and this is the Reverend William Williams,
0:49:21 > 0:49:25who wanted to create this focus for the community, because it just didn't have it.
0:49:25 > 0:49:28I wasn't aware of it being such a beacon for the local community.
0:49:28 > 0:49:29And it's such a beautiful building,
0:49:29 > 0:49:32and sort of now you've told us the history about it,
0:49:32 > 0:49:33it sort of adds to the passion that,
0:49:33 > 0:49:35you know, that we feel about the building
0:49:35 > 0:49:38and sort of restoring it and putting it back to what it was.
0:49:44 > 0:49:49When Hayley and Alan bought this Welsh chapel in 2011,
0:49:49 > 0:49:50it seemed beyond redemption.
0:49:52 > 0:49:56I've come to see if they've done enough work to secure a mortgage,
0:49:56 > 0:49:59in order to complete the restoration.
0:49:59 > 0:50:01- Lovely to see you.- You too.
0:50:03 > 0:50:06They took on a building that was derelict - the roof leaked,
0:50:06 > 0:50:10the timbers were rotten and the vestry was just an empty shell.
0:50:12 > 0:50:17Alan and Hayley had just £20,000 to make the chapel habitable.
0:50:19 > 0:50:25Foundations were dug, walls built, floors constructed.
0:50:25 > 0:50:28What makes this restoration incredible
0:50:28 > 0:50:31is that they've done almost all the work themselves.
0:50:33 > 0:50:35With money and time being so tight,
0:50:35 > 0:50:39they haven't completed the vestry yet, but it's well on the way
0:50:39 > 0:50:42to being the family home they've always dreamed of.
0:50:48 > 0:50:51Well, this has improved. This has got a floor.
0:50:51 > 0:50:53- This room's going to be the master bedroom.- Our room.
0:50:53 > 0:50:55- Yeah.- There'll be another staircase sort of winding up
0:50:55 > 0:50:58to get to the en suite upstairs.
0:50:58 > 0:51:01- Well, it's not a finished room, is it?- No.
0:51:01 > 0:51:04Because it's just me and Al doing it, it just takes a long time.
0:51:04 > 0:51:08All the internal studs have been done and the floorboards have gone back in.
0:51:08 > 0:51:11- And all the insulation underneath the floorboards.- Yeah.- Lot of work.- Yeah.
0:51:11 > 0:51:14So, actually, there is a lot of work that's happened
0:51:14 > 0:51:16since I was last here, but a lot of it's invisible?
0:51:16 > 0:51:19- Yeah. That's the problem. - Have you done it all yourselves?
0:51:19 > 0:51:23- Everything. Literally everything. - Yeah, yeah, we've not had any trades on at all yet.- No.
0:51:26 > 0:51:31- This is REALLY different! It's bright, isn't it?- It is, yeah.
0:51:31 > 0:51:36Your skylights, oh, they're lovely. And the staircase.
0:51:36 > 0:51:40Hooray, you've got a staircase! That's really exciting.
0:51:40 > 0:51:45I recognise this. These aren't treads, these are pews!
0:51:45 > 0:51:47- They are. - Brilliant, you've used them.
0:51:47 > 0:51:51- Yeah, we made a staircase, didn't we?- And they look great.
0:51:51 > 0:51:54So, what would that cost you if you were going to go and buy that?
0:51:54 > 0:51:57With it being pitch pine, it was about £700, £800.
0:51:57 > 0:52:00- SHE GASPS - So, this has cost you...?
0:52:00 > 0:52:02- This staircase cost us about £40. - If that.
0:52:02 > 0:52:04If that, yeah. But we had to.
0:52:04 > 0:52:07We couldn't have afforded to buy a staircase to put in.
0:52:07 > 0:52:10I'm so impressed with that. I think it's utterly brilliant.
0:52:10 > 0:52:14- Hayley, have you run out of money? - Pretty much, yeah.
0:52:14 > 0:52:16Just got to work a bit harder, bring a bit more cash in, and...
0:52:16 > 0:52:18And as we've been selling the pews as well,
0:52:18 > 0:52:21we've been getting little bits of money from that,
0:52:21 > 0:52:22which sort of all adds up, doesn't it?
0:52:22 > 0:52:24- We sold about...ten?- Mm.
0:52:24 > 0:52:27- Well done.- Yeah.- Hayley's done really well in selling them.
0:52:27 > 0:52:30When you think that, you know, ten is £1,000.
0:52:30 > 0:52:32- Yeah, yeah, that's great. - That's, you know, a good chunk.
0:52:34 > 0:52:38Up the lovely stairs. It's so exciting.
0:52:38 > 0:52:41You've built yourself a second storey.
0:52:41 > 0:52:44You've got a whole other floor. It's fantastic.
0:52:46 > 0:52:49- This is a good size, isn't it? - This is, yeah.
0:52:49 > 0:52:51- And, this is what, your...? - A guest room.
0:52:51 > 0:52:54- Nice, big guest room.- Yeah.
0:52:54 > 0:52:56So, what's going to be through there?
0:52:56 > 0:52:59- That's a walk-in wardrobe. - And at the other end...
0:52:59 > 0:53:00Is the en suite.
0:53:00 > 0:53:04You've created a really luxurious home
0:53:04 > 0:53:07out of what was just a kind of big, empty space.
0:53:07 > 0:53:10Not many people can say, "Oh, we've got...
0:53:10 > 0:53:12"Our first home was a four double-bed,
0:53:12 > 0:53:14"three en suites and a family bathroom".
0:53:14 > 0:53:16And when the chapel's done,
0:53:16 > 0:53:19it's going to be an absolute huge living space in there.
0:53:19 > 0:53:22So, I think we are extremely lucky, but I think it's deserved,
0:53:22 > 0:53:26to a certain extent, for the effort and hard work we've put into it.
0:53:26 > 0:53:28I want to get the opinion of Alan's son.
0:53:28 > 0:53:30Hello, Lewis?
0:53:32 > 0:53:33- Hello!- Hello!
0:53:33 > 0:53:35- What you doing in there?- Hiding!
0:53:37 > 0:53:39What did you think when he first said to you, "Look, Lewis,
0:53:39 > 0:53:42"look at this chapel - I'm going to turn it into a house"?
0:53:42 > 0:53:46I was like, "Oh, you're not going to do that in a year"!
0:53:46 > 0:53:50- What do you think now? - But somehow he's managed to do it.
0:53:50 > 0:53:54- Quite incredible, isn't he?- Yeah. - You proud of him?- Yeah.- Yeah.
0:53:55 > 0:54:00Even Alan's son thought his dad and Hayley had taken on too much with Nebo,
0:54:00 > 0:54:04a massive project with huge financial risk.
0:54:04 > 0:54:10You started this project with £20,000. How much money is left?
0:54:11 > 0:54:14There's about £200 left in the kitty.
0:54:14 > 0:54:17There is money allocated elsewhere for the plasterboard and stuff,
0:54:17 > 0:54:21but once we're in here, we'll be saving sort of £1,000 a month,
0:54:21 > 0:54:25so we'll be able to use that money to buy the skirtings and the doors
0:54:25 > 0:54:26and finish off when we're living here.
0:54:26 > 0:54:29Are you proud of what you've achieved here so far?
0:54:29 > 0:54:33We couldn't have physically given any more than what we have
0:54:33 > 0:54:35sort of physically and emotionally,
0:54:35 > 0:54:37and to sort of come out with where we are,
0:54:37 > 0:54:39with what we had to spend at the start,
0:54:39 > 0:54:42I think you can't be anything but pleased and proud of what you've done.
0:54:42 > 0:54:45- I'm proud of Hayley as well, so yeah.- You should be.- Yeah.
0:54:45 > 0:54:46You should be incredibly proud,
0:54:46 > 0:54:50- because you're an extraordinary couple.- Thank you.
0:54:50 > 0:54:52With only £200 left in the kitty,
0:54:52 > 0:54:57Alan and Hayley will have to start saving again to complete the vestry.
0:54:58 > 0:55:02They bought Nebo Chapel for £25,000
0:55:02 > 0:55:05and the plan was to do up the vestry and then remortgage it
0:55:05 > 0:55:09in order to raise the money to pay for the restoration of the chapel.
0:55:10 > 0:55:12We've brought in surveyor Martin Challenger
0:55:12 > 0:55:14to see if the work they're doing
0:55:14 > 0:55:17will increase the property's value sufficiently.
0:55:17 > 0:55:21They need it to be worth at least £80,000
0:55:21 > 0:55:23in order to finish the whole project.
0:55:23 > 0:55:27Once they've finished the back of the building there
0:55:27 > 0:55:31can you give a rough idea of what it might be worth once it's finished?
0:55:31 > 0:55:33On completion of all the works to the vestry,
0:55:33 > 0:55:36you'd be looking in the region of £115,000.
0:55:36 > 0:55:38- I'm really pleased, yeah. - That's great! It's really good!
0:55:38 > 0:55:39Really, really good.
0:55:39 > 0:55:43It's almost a reward for the effort that we've put in.
0:55:43 > 0:55:45We're on the right track. It's just getting there, yeah.
0:55:45 > 0:55:48Having bought Nebo for £25,000,
0:55:48 > 0:55:52when the vestry is finished, it'll be worth 115,000,
0:55:52 > 0:55:55so Alan and Hayley will be able to raise funds
0:55:55 > 0:55:58to save the rest and turn it into a family home,
0:55:58 > 0:56:01which was always their goal.
0:56:01 > 0:56:03When this entire property is finished
0:56:03 > 0:56:06to your very high standards,
0:56:06 > 0:56:08do you have any idea what it might be worth?
0:56:08 > 0:56:11We thought about around the £200,000 mark, haven't we?
0:56:11 > 0:56:14- There or thereabouts. - Martin, have you got any idea?
0:56:14 > 0:56:16My proposed valuation with the property complete,
0:56:16 > 0:56:20externally and internally, you'd be looking in the region of £265,000.
0:56:24 > 0:56:27Martin and I are chuffed! I don't know how you're feeling!
0:56:27 > 0:56:30Yeah, well, I feel pretty good too, yeah.
0:56:30 > 0:56:32Oh, that's great. Good news, well done.
0:56:35 > 0:56:40Given those sums of money, do you think the chapel was worth saving?
0:56:40 > 0:56:42I think it was absolutely worth saving.
0:56:42 > 0:56:46I think everything we've put into it, this has just confirmed for us
0:56:46 > 0:56:48that it was absolutely worth it, and it's great.
0:56:48 > 0:56:50It's an important building to the community
0:56:50 > 0:56:54and the history of the local area, and to be a part of that
0:56:54 > 0:56:58and retain it for the future is quite special, really.
0:57:04 > 0:57:07Alan and Hayley fell in love with this Nonconformist chapel,
0:57:07 > 0:57:11but their dream to save it is just as unconventional
0:57:11 > 0:57:13as the people who created it.
0:57:13 > 0:57:16They bought this place for just £25,000
0:57:16 > 0:57:19and had even less to save it.
0:57:19 > 0:57:23But then they're not your typical restoration heroes.
0:57:23 > 0:57:28Very few people would risk so much with so little.
0:57:28 > 0:57:30But they did have one thing.
0:57:30 > 0:57:35Faith - in their dream and in each other.
0:57:35 > 0:57:38They've still got a long way to go on this building,
0:57:38 > 0:57:40but it's starting to pay off,
0:57:40 > 0:57:43and not as a cynical development opportunity
0:57:43 > 0:57:45but as a wonderful family home
0:57:45 > 0:57:49and, one day, that's exactly what Nebo Chapel will be.
0:57:57 > 0:57:59On the next Restoration Home...
0:57:59 > 0:58:04we step inside one of the biggest challenges yet.
0:58:04 > 0:58:08There are 112 rooms. Read it and weep!
0:58:08 > 0:58:11A Scottish castle with hidden surprises...
0:58:11 > 0:58:13Wow!
0:58:13 > 0:58:16- So, there is a doorway, isn't there? - There is a doorway, yes.
0:58:16 > 0:58:20..and a link to one of the greatest murder mysteries of all time.
0:58:20 > 0:58:22It certainly seems like he's in the thick
0:58:22 > 0:58:24of what is the biggest whodunnit in Scottish history.
0:58:51 > 0:58:53Subtitles by Red Bee Media Ltd