0:00:06 > 0:00:09Once we walked through that gate, we were hooked.
0:00:09 > 0:00:13When I look at that house, I just think, "Wow!"
0:00:13 > 0:00:15Every 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 > 0:00:26First day of the rest of its life.
0:00:26 > 0:00:27You happy?
0:00:29 > 0:00:33We are way, way, way over budget.
0:00:34 > 0:00:37I am actually living in a building site.
0:00:37 > 0:00:39We all have to make sacrifices.
0:00:39 > 0:00:42There are days when you think, "Have we made the right decision?
0:00:42 > 0:00:43"Are we doing the right thing?"
0:00:43 > 0:00:47I want it to look what it looked like when it was first built.
0:00:50 > 0:00:52This is just such a beautiful place.
0:00:52 > 0:00:56It's like every romantic part of my brain is just firing.
0:00:56 > 0:01:00You don't have any idea how much money this is going to cost you?
0:01:01 > 0:01:04I don't think either of us envisaged
0:01:04 > 0:01:07quite as big a project as we've actually taken on.
0:01:07 > 0:01:10It's still a dream. It's a dream that we're actually doing it.
0:01:10 > 0:01:14I can't wait just to move in. It's seemed just to take for ever.
0:01:14 > 0:01:15It's just a nightmare.
0:01:15 > 0:01:18I'm telling myself not to worry.
0:01:18 > 0:01:21Because what can I do? I've got to finish the house.
0:01:30 > 0:01:32In the city of Hull,
0:01:32 > 0:01:36on Yorkshire's east coast, is number 114 Coltman Street.
0:01:40 > 0:01:44It was built to be a fine family house, elegant and grand,
0:01:44 > 0:01:48back in Victorian times, when Hull was a boom town.
0:01:52 > 0:01:55It used to be the centre of a vital fishing industry,
0:01:55 > 0:01:57and the docks were packed with boats
0:01:57 > 0:01:59that brought great wealth to the city.
0:02:01 > 0:02:05But as fishing declined, the city fell on hard times,
0:02:05 > 0:02:08and the once-proud Coltman Street suffered
0:02:08 > 0:02:12the effects of unemployment, poverty, and inner-city decay.
0:02:14 > 0:02:19Number 114 was taken by the council and chopped up into flats.
0:02:20 > 0:02:27Finally, for the last ten years, it's stood empty and abandoned.
0:02:27 > 0:02:30But now, someone's come along who wants to save it.
0:02:32 > 0:02:35When I look at that house, I just think, "Wow!"
0:02:37 > 0:02:40Every time I see it, every time I come in the morning,
0:02:40 > 0:02:41I'm just like, "Wow!"
0:02:43 > 0:02:45His name is Simon Kelsey.
0:02:48 > 0:02:51I love the fact that it's the tallest building on the street.
0:02:51 > 0:02:54I love the fact that there are nine steps up to the front door.
0:02:54 > 0:02:57It's just really nice. It makes it stand out.
0:02:59 > 0:03:01It's all the things I've ever wanted.
0:03:01 > 0:03:03It's got a massive garden.
0:03:03 > 0:03:06It really is a terrific house and a great challenge.
0:03:08 > 0:03:11Simon grew up around here and he believes that this neighbourhood
0:03:11 > 0:03:14and this house are both worth saving.
0:03:15 > 0:03:16This is my house.
0:03:16 > 0:03:18This is the hallway.
0:03:18 > 0:03:20And when it's all opened up,
0:03:20 > 0:03:23the hallway will go to that back wall there.
0:03:26 > 0:03:30Most people would be put off by the terrible condition of the house,
0:03:30 > 0:03:31but Simon has a vision.
0:03:34 > 0:03:37First thing I really need to do is just open the whole building up,
0:03:37 > 0:03:42take away all these walls that shouldn't be here.
0:03:42 > 0:03:46He's 47 years old, and used to be a nightclub bouncer,
0:03:46 > 0:03:49though he now works as a self-employed gardener.
0:03:49 > 0:03:50Simon's not married,
0:03:50 > 0:03:54but has a girlfriend who lives 30 miles away in Lincolnshire.
0:03:54 > 0:03:57Take out the old kitchen, replace the coving,
0:03:57 > 0:04:01put the new skirting boards in, replace the windows.
0:04:02 > 0:04:05Simon has renovated old houses before -
0:04:05 > 0:04:08in fact, he did the last three he's lived in.
0:04:08 > 0:04:12But he's no property developer - he just loves old houses.
0:04:12 > 0:04:15I am very sad, but I do get very excited
0:04:15 > 0:04:18when I see original spindles like this.
0:04:18 > 0:04:21Yeah, the original features are what make the house.
0:04:21 > 0:04:25I'm a house-geek, what can I say? LAUGHS
0:04:25 > 0:04:29This is a much bigger project than anything Simon's tackled before.
0:04:33 > 0:04:37His ultimate aim is to restore the exterior to its former glory,
0:04:37 > 0:04:40and the interior to its original layout.
0:04:42 > 0:04:46In the basement he's aiming to have a gym and a games room,
0:04:46 > 0:04:51while on the ground floor there will be just two massive reception rooms.
0:04:51 > 0:04:54The back one will become a kitchen-diner,
0:04:54 > 0:04:56almost 40 feet wide.
0:04:56 > 0:05:00On the first floor he'll have four huge bedrooms.
0:05:00 > 0:05:03And in the attic there's space for four smaller rooms.
0:05:04 > 0:05:07Hull City Council were keen to see the house restored
0:05:07 > 0:05:10and they liked Simon's plans.
0:05:10 > 0:05:16So they sold him the house at a very low price - £105,000.
0:05:16 > 0:05:17I don't think anywhere in England
0:05:17 > 0:05:22you could get a house that looks like that for just over £100,000.
0:05:23 > 0:05:25But there's a catch.
0:05:27 > 0:05:29As a Grade II listed building,
0:05:29 > 0:05:34the council needs to be sure that the house will be restored properly.
0:05:34 > 0:05:37So they made the sale with a conditional contract -
0:05:37 > 0:05:40Simon has one year to complete the restoration.
0:05:40 > 0:05:44And if he fails, the council can repossess the house.
0:05:45 > 0:05:49If I don't manage to turn the building back into a house
0:05:49 > 0:05:51and if the council don't sign it off,
0:05:51 > 0:05:54I will have spent all the money I own on a house that isn't mine
0:05:54 > 0:05:57and the council don't have to sign it over to me.
0:05:57 > 0:05:59So, it's a huge risk.
0:06:01 > 0:06:04The budget for the restoration is about £100,000.
0:06:04 > 0:06:09Simon can raise half that sum from the sale of his previous house.
0:06:09 > 0:06:12But he'll be relying on a special regeneration grant
0:06:12 > 0:06:13to cover the rest.
0:06:16 > 0:06:18March 2012...
0:06:21 > 0:06:23..and the restoration has now begun.
0:06:27 > 0:06:30The first job is to demolish the stud walls and false ceilings
0:06:30 > 0:06:32that were put up 30 years ago
0:06:32 > 0:06:34when the council converted the house into flats.
0:06:38 > 0:06:39What about that!?
0:06:39 > 0:06:43Simon's budget means he'll only be using professional builders
0:06:43 > 0:06:45when he absolutely has to.
0:06:45 > 0:06:48Today he's got a couple of local friends to help.
0:06:49 > 0:06:53And, in order to concentrate on the restoration, he'll be
0:06:53 > 0:06:56putting his gardening work on the back burner until it's finished.
0:06:58 > 0:07:02Bit to go yet, but it's a start, isn't it?
0:07:08 > 0:07:11But now, as the false ceilings and walls come down,
0:07:11 > 0:07:15parts are revealed that have been covered up for three decades.
0:07:16 > 0:07:21Taken off this ceiling now and we've found this lovely bit of detailing -
0:07:21 > 0:07:22bit of corbelling.
0:07:24 > 0:07:28They've found fragments of the original decorated plaster mouldings.
0:07:28 > 0:07:31But it's in very poor condition.
0:07:32 > 0:07:34Oh, dear.
0:07:34 > 0:07:36Yeah. That is all wet.
0:07:37 > 0:07:41The detail, the moulded detail, right across the hallway...
0:07:41 > 0:07:44but I'm afraid to say, it's going to come out.
0:07:44 > 0:07:45Oh, that is such a shame.
0:07:47 > 0:07:50The damp has made the plaster loose and crumbly.
0:07:52 > 0:07:54OK. Right.
0:07:54 > 0:07:57This is the dodgy bit.
0:07:58 > 0:08:01Some of the plaster decoration could be copied
0:08:01 > 0:08:03if they can save some pieces.
0:08:05 > 0:08:07Right, I've got a weight on my board now.
0:08:07 > 0:08:08Right. Yeah.
0:08:08 > 0:08:10So, this is it.
0:08:12 > 0:08:14Just hold that steady.
0:08:14 > 0:08:15Oh, hang on.
0:08:15 > 0:08:17It's about to go.
0:08:30 > 0:08:31Right.
0:08:31 > 0:08:33Hang on, Paul.
0:08:33 > 0:08:34Whoa!
0:08:34 > 0:08:36I've got the board.
0:08:36 > 0:08:38- And I've got this. - You take your piece.- OK.
0:08:40 > 0:08:41Right.
0:08:41 > 0:08:43Lovely.
0:08:43 > 0:08:46Well, that was worth it.
0:08:48 > 0:08:50Look what we've got.
0:08:50 > 0:08:52Yes, so...
0:08:52 > 0:08:55couldn't be saved on the ceiling, but that's beautiful.
0:08:55 > 0:08:59That was pretty hairy. HE LAUGHS
0:09:01 > 0:09:04This section should be enough for the design to be copied,
0:09:04 > 0:09:06so that, eventually, the hallway can be
0:09:06 > 0:09:09restored to its Victorian splendour.
0:09:14 > 0:09:17'I've come to Hull to see the house now that all the false walls
0:09:17 > 0:09:19'and ceilings have been removed.'
0:09:20 > 0:09:23Ahh! Now, I can see this is really...
0:09:23 > 0:09:27This is not looking like small flats any more,
0:09:27 > 0:09:30- this has opened up and the light's flooding in.- Completely, yeah.
0:09:30 > 0:09:34It's extraordinary, cos now you can see the grand proportions again.
0:09:34 > 0:09:36Yeah, it's opened it up, hasn't it?
0:09:36 > 0:09:38Big spaces!
0:09:38 > 0:09:40Well, this is, of course, two bedrooms,
0:09:40 > 0:09:43I'm just in the process of moving this wall.
0:09:43 > 0:09:45Right. And again, up here, Simon,
0:09:45 > 0:09:49- the light just floods in, doesn't it?- It really does.
0:09:49 > 0:09:53Will you be able to use this whole house, you and your girlfriend?
0:09:53 > 0:09:54Will you rattle round here?
0:09:54 > 0:09:57Er, well, it's only really four bedrooms,
0:09:57 > 0:09:59but I'll probably, initially, anyway,
0:09:59 > 0:10:01just have a couple of lodgers in.
0:10:01 > 0:10:04- OK.- Just to keep it going, until we have kids.
0:10:04 > 0:10:06Pay a few bills? Until you have children?
0:10:06 > 0:10:08So, do you think you'll have children in this house?
0:10:08 > 0:10:09- This is a family house.- Yeah.
0:10:09 > 0:10:12That's what, hopefully, we're going to do.
0:10:12 > 0:10:16How important is it that these big houses...
0:10:16 > 0:10:19are turned back into family homes,
0:10:19 > 0:10:21as opposed to being studio flats?
0:10:21 > 0:10:25I think for the street, for the community, it's very important.
0:10:25 > 0:10:27You've got to have a few family homes.
0:10:27 > 0:10:30If all the houses are one-bedroomed flats,
0:10:30 > 0:10:32you get a very transient population.
0:10:32 > 0:10:34It needs people to move in and live here.
0:10:34 > 0:10:38People to invest in the area, but invest not as landlords
0:10:38 > 0:10:40- but to invest for themselves and their own families.- Yeah.
0:10:40 > 0:10:44And that's how you regenerate a community.
0:10:44 > 0:10:46So Simon is committed to the neighbourhood,
0:10:46 > 0:10:48but why this house in particular?
0:10:49 > 0:10:52I have always loved this house. I've always wanted this house.
0:10:52 > 0:10:54When I first walked past here when I was ten,
0:10:54 > 0:10:57I looked up and I thought, "Ohh, that is a house!"
0:10:57 > 0:11:00It's a lot of house for 105, isn't it?
0:11:00 > 0:11:02- Not on Coltman Street.- Really?
0:11:02 > 0:11:03Not in Hull.
0:11:03 > 0:11:06It's not the most salubrious area, is that what you're saying?
0:11:06 > 0:11:09Well, it has got problems. There are a lot of drug dealing down here,
0:11:09 > 0:11:12a lot of prostitution, and it's essentially derelict,
0:11:12 > 0:11:15so, yeah, it's the only way I could afford to buy it.
0:11:15 > 0:11:18The area is known as the Hessle Road neighbourhood,
0:11:18 > 0:11:22and Simon has been organising community projects for years.
0:11:22 > 0:11:26'For example, back in 2005 he led a movement
0:11:26 > 0:11:28'to rebuild an old fountain.'
0:11:29 > 0:11:32It must have cost a lot of money. How did you manage to get people to pay for it?
0:11:32 > 0:11:35What I did was, basically, went round all the primary schools
0:11:35 > 0:11:38and did an assembly on how good it was to be from Hessle Road.
0:11:38 > 0:11:41Basically, I promised the children, if they helped me raise some money,
0:11:41 > 0:11:44I'd get a brick with their name engraved on it,
0:11:44 > 0:11:46so that they could feel part of Hessle Road
0:11:46 > 0:11:48and part of the history of Hessle Road.
0:11:48 > 0:11:50And that's what I've done.
0:11:55 > 0:11:58One of the nice things about getting children involved is that,
0:11:58 > 0:12:01now that they're older, this fountain has never been vandalised.
0:12:01 > 0:12:03That was one of the criticisms I had when I was doing the campaign.
0:12:03 > 0:12:06- Really?- Yeah, "Oh, what's the point of spending money?
0:12:06 > 0:12:08"People will just break it." It's never been vandalised.
0:12:08 > 0:12:11- It looks immaculate, actually. - Hi, Simon.- All right, Sophie?
0:12:11 > 0:12:15- Sophie's one of the children on there.- Are you one of the children on here?
0:12:15 > 0:12:17- Are you.- Come here.- Come here.
0:12:17 > 0:12:18Sophie, that's hilarious.
0:12:18 > 0:12:22- This is Sophie Mellors. - OK, let's see if we can find Sophie.
0:12:22 > 0:12:25Sophie Mellors, there you are. Scott Mellors.
0:12:25 > 0:12:26There we go.
0:12:26 > 0:12:27Who's that?
0:12:27 > 0:12:30This is what happens - little primary school children - look what happens.
0:12:30 > 0:12:33And then they have their own children. Can we get baby out?
0:12:33 > 0:12:35- We can't get her out, no. - I've not met her.
0:12:35 > 0:12:37- Am I on telly?- Yeah.- Yeah.
0:12:39 > 0:12:42While Simon attempts to regenerate the neighbourhood
0:12:42 > 0:12:45and save his house, we're going to help
0:12:45 > 0:12:48by finding out all we can about number 114.
0:12:52 > 0:12:54Our historian Kate Williams,
0:12:54 > 0:12:58and architectural expert Kieran Long have both come to Hull.
0:13:03 > 0:13:06To begin the investigation, they're hitting the archives.
0:13:09 > 0:13:12The first question - how did Coltman Street get its name?
0:13:15 > 0:13:17Coltman Street, according to these sources,
0:13:17 > 0:13:19was named for the Coltman family,
0:13:19 > 0:13:22the original land owners on which Coltman Street was built.
0:13:24 > 0:13:27And the next - who lived there?
0:13:27 > 0:13:29What I've got here are the Victorian trade directories,
0:13:29 > 0:13:32and the first mention of 114 Coltman Street at all,
0:13:32 > 0:13:35is in this one from 1867.
0:13:35 > 0:13:39And the person living there is Michael Wrangles Clarke - a tailor.
0:13:44 > 0:13:47If an old building is worthy of note, The Buildings Of England
0:13:47 > 0:13:50by Nikolaus Pevsner usually has the basic details.
0:13:53 > 0:13:56Coltman Street does make the grade and is mentioned.
0:13:58 > 0:14:02He says, yes, there are two buildings here of real interest -
0:14:02 > 0:14:05numbers 114 and 168.
0:14:05 > 0:14:06Now, 114 is our house.
0:14:06 > 0:14:09He gives it a date - around 1854,
0:14:09 > 0:14:11and says that they are by Benjamin Musgrave.
0:14:11 > 0:14:13Now, that could be an architect or a builder,
0:14:13 > 0:14:16but it's really exciting that we find here a name,
0:14:16 > 0:14:18a kind of author of our house.
0:14:22 > 0:14:25Searching through the Victorian census records,
0:14:25 > 0:14:28Kieran's tracked down Benjamin Musgrave.
0:14:28 > 0:14:31His profession is given as bricklayer and plasterer,
0:14:31 > 0:14:36but it also says that he employed almost 50 people.
0:14:36 > 0:14:38The thing that we have to understand is that
0:14:38 > 0:14:41our modern idea of a tradesman, of a bricklayer, plasterer,
0:14:41 > 0:14:44was quite different to what a bricklayer could be in this period.
0:14:44 > 0:14:47If you were a master craftsman, you could be in charge of
0:14:47 > 0:14:48a large contracting business,
0:14:48 > 0:14:51you could also be well capable of designing buildings,
0:14:51 > 0:14:54or whole rows of houses at the scale of Coltman Street.
0:14:57 > 0:15:00Meanwhile, working through the trade registers,
0:15:00 > 0:15:04Kate has made a surprising discovery.
0:15:04 > 0:15:09It seems that someone very important used to live at number 114.
0:15:09 > 0:15:12So, in the 1870s we've got a new resident.
0:15:12 > 0:15:14It's Christopher Pickering.
0:15:16 > 0:15:18That's a pretty significant name in Hull.
0:15:20 > 0:15:24Christopher Pickering seems to be some kind of local legend.
0:15:24 > 0:15:28The city has a number of roads and landmarks named after him.
0:15:30 > 0:15:34We've got Pickering Park, we've got a school named after Mr Pickering.
0:15:34 > 0:15:38And what he did, clearly from this 1882 trade register,
0:15:38 > 0:15:41he is a smack owner.
0:15:41 > 0:15:44That's a fishing boat - he owns a fishing trawler.
0:15:44 > 0:15:46So, that's a big question, for me, really.
0:15:46 > 0:15:48How come a man who's living in Coltman Street,
0:15:48 > 0:15:51he's got a fishing boat - how come he gets to be someone
0:15:51 > 0:15:53who gets a park named after him?
0:15:59 > 0:16:01It's five months into the build
0:16:01 > 0:16:03and Simon is on his way to a meeting
0:16:03 > 0:16:07that will decide if he will enough money to finish the project.
0:16:07 > 0:16:12We're going to the offices of the Townscape Heritage Initiative,
0:16:12 > 0:16:16who are the people giving me a grant...hopefully.
0:16:18 > 0:16:20As a listed building in a deprived area,
0:16:20 > 0:16:25number 114 is eligible for a special grant towards the exterior work -
0:16:25 > 0:16:29repairing the roof, the gutters and all the rotten windows.
0:16:29 > 0:16:33Simon is hoping to get over £50,000.
0:16:35 > 0:16:39So, yeah, the whole project wouldn't go ahead without this grant.
0:16:40 > 0:16:44But winning one of these grants is a complicated business.
0:16:47 > 0:16:50It's a process that generates a lot of paperwork.
0:16:52 > 0:16:54And they've had a few of these meetings already.
0:17:03 > 0:17:06But approval from the Townscape Heritage Initiative
0:17:06 > 0:17:07is only the first step -
0:17:07 > 0:17:12the grant application also needs approval from Hull City Council.
0:17:16 > 0:17:18Ahh! I think it went all right.
0:17:18 > 0:17:21It's just a question now of, they've got to add up
0:17:21 > 0:17:25all those different quotes, see how much it comes to,
0:17:25 > 0:17:29go to the council and find out if they're going to grant aid
0:17:29 > 0:17:33that amount, and tell me how much I can have, basically.
0:17:35 > 0:17:39Back at Coltman Street, Simon is moving in.
0:17:39 > 0:17:41Though not into the house.
0:17:42 > 0:17:45In this neighbourhood it's not safe
0:17:45 > 0:17:47to leave a property empty overnight.
0:17:47 > 0:17:49And while the house is still very dusty,
0:17:49 > 0:17:52home is going to be a tent in the garden.
0:17:55 > 0:17:58Simon's girlfriend Catherine has come to help.
0:17:58 > 0:18:01Coincidentally, they started going out about the same time
0:18:01 > 0:18:03that he began the build.
0:18:03 > 0:18:06I think he's been searching for the right house for a long time,
0:18:06 > 0:18:09and the right woman - which hopefully I am.
0:18:09 > 0:18:12- It's starting to look like a tent. - This is the moment of truth.
0:18:12 > 0:18:15I'm not really a girly-girl, I don't really care about getting mucky and stuff.
0:18:15 > 0:18:18- I like to get stuck in. - Ta-da!- How exciting!
0:18:18 > 0:18:22It takes a lot of guts to take on a project like this.
0:18:22 > 0:18:25I don't think I'd have the guts to do it on my own.
0:18:25 > 0:18:28He does, and hopefully I can take away
0:18:28 > 0:18:30some of his stress that he takes on.
0:18:30 > 0:18:33We'll easily get a double bed in here.
0:18:33 > 0:18:35I think we could have a double bed going across.
0:18:35 > 0:18:37I'll manage to get the chest of drawers in, I reckon, as well.
0:18:37 > 0:18:39That'll be quite nice.
0:18:39 > 0:18:42Simon and Catherine are now thinking about getting married,
0:18:42 > 0:18:44though that would be after the house is finished.
0:18:45 > 0:18:49- Well, that first conflict test went quite well.- Indeed.
0:18:49 > 0:18:51I've never put up a tent so smoothly.
0:18:52 > 0:18:55If only restoring the house itself was so easy.
0:19:00 > 0:19:02Kieran discovered that Simon's house
0:19:02 > 0:19:06was put up by a local builder, Benjamin Musgrave, in 1854.
0:19:06 > 0:19:09But it's regarded as a building of note.
0:19:12 > 0:19:16Now Kieran has come to try and find out what makes it so special,
0:19:16 > 0:19:18starting with how it fits in to the street.
0:19:22 > 0:19:25I think every city in the UK has a street or streets a bit like this.
0:19:25 > 0:19:28It's a typical 19th-century inner suburban street,
0:19:28 > 0:19:31and all of this amazing mix of characters
0:19:31 > 0:19:32and styles of houses in it.
0:19:32 > 0:19:35But by far the grandest house in this street
0:19:35 > 0:19:36is the one right behind me -
0:19:36 > 0:19:41this beautiful, grand, elevated, very fine house,
0:19:41 > 0:19:43which is like the manorial house
0:19:43 > 0:19:45on this pretty typical suburban street.
0:19:48 > 0:19:51But there's nothing grand about its state of repair.
0:19:58 > 0:20:00I think, when you get round to the back of the building,
0:20:00 > 0:20:04you start to realise the size of the task that's on - saving it.
0:20:04 > 0:20:07And really, it's just a story of terrible neglect.
0:20:07 > 0:20:10For me, the building is just months away,
0:20:10 > 0:20:11or just a couple of winters away
0:20:11 > 0:20:13from being unsaveable,
0:20:13 > 0:20:15so the task of restoring it is really urgent.
0:20:21 > 0:20:23It's the same story inside.
0:20:26 > 0:20:28Most of the original features are gone.
0:20:32 > 0:20:35This house is, more or less, destroyed internally.
0:20:35 > 0:20:37It's kind of heartbreaking as you walk around.
0:20:37 > 0:20:40But this staircase is the one little fragment,
0:20:40 > 0:20:42the one coherent piece,
0:20:42 > 0:20:45of the kind of elegance that this interior would once have had.
0:20:45 > 0:20:48It has all of these fine balusters
0:20:48 > 0:20:50and this lovely continuous handrail winding around
0:20:50 > 0:20:54and, for me, this staircase is really special and important
0:20:54 > 0:20:57because it just hints at the elegance that once was,
0:20:57 > 0:20:59in what is now a building site.
0:21:05 > 0:21:09But this restoration is about more than just rebuilding the past.
0:21:10 > 0:21:13For me, this is a really, really important restoration.
0:21:16 > 0:21:18Not just of because of what the building is,
0:21:18 > 0:21:19but because of where it is.
0:21:21 > 0:21:25To some people, the idea of restoring the original features
0:21:25 > 0:21:27that may have been lost from a Victorian building,
0:21:27 > 0:21:31in a place that has other problems, social problems,
0:21:31 > 0:21:33you know, problems with deprivation and poverty,
0:21:33 > 0:21:37it might seem like a luxury. And perhaps it is in one way.
0:21:37 > 0:21:40In another way, the kind of investment in pride
0:21:40 > 0:21:44and in quality that an area like this hasn't seen for some time,
0:21:44 > 0:21:47is something that can't be underestimated.
0:21:47 > 0:21:49So, I think what Simon's doing here, and the way he's doing it,
0:21:49 > 0:21:52make it one of the most important restoration projects
0:21:52 > 0:21:54we've ever looked at.
0:21:54 > 0:21:59But Simon doesn't have enough money to do the restoration.
0:21:59 > 0:22:03Everything hinges on getting that grant to pay for the exterior work.
0:22:07 > 0:22:10And now, three weeks after he applied through
0:22:10 > 0:22:14the Townscape Heritage Initiative, a decision has come back.
0:22:14 > 0:22:17Unfortunately, last night we discovered
0:22:17 > 0:22:20that we've been turned down for the grant.
0:22:20 > 0:22:23The Townscape Heritage Initiative had approved me,
0:22:23 > 0:22:26but it's actually administered by the council,
0:22:26 > 0:22:28and they turned it down.
0:22:28 > 0:22:31I've given them, practically, my life savings
0:22:31 > 0:22:33and I've got nowhere else to go!
0:22:37 > 0:22:39Simon's problems are snowballing.
0:22:39 > 0:22:43The Townscape Heritage people have asked the council to reconsider,
0:22:43 > 0:22:46but each delay is bringing him closer
0:22:46 > 0:22:49to his completion deadline at the end of February.
0:22:55 > 0:22:58Kate discovered that in Victorian times,
0:22:58 > 0:23:01Simon's house was the home of Christopher Pickering -
0:23:01 > 0:23:03a famous name here in Hull.
0:23:05 > 0:23:07The legend goes that he rose from the gutter
0:23:07 > 0:23:11to become the owner of a whole fleet of fishing boats,
0:23:11 > 0:23:14and that he died a man of immeasurable wealth.
0:23:15 > 0:23:18So Kate's mission is to separate truth from legend,
0:23:18 > 0:23:22and discover the real Mr Christopher Pickering.
0:23:22 > 0:23:26She's starting in the picture collection at Hull Maritime Museum.
0:23:29 > 0:23:33This picture of Mr Pickering, he is the ideal Victorian master.
0:23:33 > 0:23:35These are the men who built Victorian Britain.
0:23:35 > 0:23:38He's dignified, he's respectable, he's wealthy.
0:23:38 > 0:23:40Everything about this photograph says,
0:23:40 > 0:23:42a man of status, a man of importance.
0:23:42 > 0:23:45He's someone that everyone would look up to.
0:23:48 > 0:23:51To see just how Pickering made his fortune,
0:23:51 > 0:23:55Kate is going through the city's Victorian shipping records.
0:23:55 > 0:23:59What I've found here is the register of all the boats in Hull,
0:23:59 > 0:24:04and Christopher Pickering features pretty prominently.
0:24:04 > 0:24:07The first boat he ever bought - his first fishing boat -
0:24:07 > 0:24:11it's the George Peabody, and he bought that in 1872.
0:24:11 > 0:24:13And he bought that with a mortgage of £1,000,
0:24:13 > 0:24:15which is about £40,000 today.
0:24:15 > 0:24:18So that's a pretty significant investment he's making.
0:24:20 > 0:24:23Before the year's even out, he's buying another one.
0:24:23 > 0:24:25This is the Grace Darling.
0:24:25 > 0:24:30And then, four years later, pays off the mortgage for this boat, George Peabody,
0:24:30 > 0:24:32and buys another one - the Titus Salt.
0:24:33 > 0:24:36The register shows that over the next decade,
0:24:36 > 0:24:39Pickering acquired 21 sailing trawlers.
0:24:39 > 0:24:43But then everything changes - along comes steam.
0:24:50 > 0:24:53The steamboat changes everything, because simply the steamboat
0:24:53 > 0:24:55doesn't have to wait for the wind, like the sailboat.
0:24:55 > 0:24:59They can go out further, they can carry more.
0:24:59 > 0:25:03Pickering saw straight away that the steam trawler was the future.
0:25:06 > 0:25:09Here we have the first steamship that he bought.
0:25:09 > 0:25:12He called it Romulus, it was one of the first steamships in Hull.
0:25:12 > 0:25:16And this is hugely expensive, but it pays off.
0:25:16 > 0:25:18And when the money began to flow,
0:25:18 > 0:25:21everyone wanted to follow Pickering's lead.
0:25:26 > 0:25:28By the end of the year he's bought three more,
0:25:28 > 0:25:31and he keeps on buying them because these boats,
0:25:31 > 0:25:34they can carry a huge amount and also, they can go further.
0:25:35 > 0:25:39They go to Iceland, they go to Russia, they go to North Africa
0:25:39 > 0:25:41and this is when he really starts making big money.
0:25:43 > 0:25:47So Pickering was the trailblazer who brought steam power to Hull.
0:25:52 > 0:25:56Back on Coltman Street, there's been some news about Simon's grant.
0:25:59 > 0:26:01The council have done a U-turn
0:26:01 > 0:26:04and decided to give him the money after all.
0:26:04 > 0:26:08So, Simon will now be getting £56,000
0:26:08 > 0:26:10towards the work on the outside of his house.
0:26:14 > 0:26:17The scaffolding has gone up, and work has begun in earnest.
0:26:19 > 0:26:22One of the first jobs is to repair the guttering,
0:26:22 > 0:26:25but they've already run into problems.
0:26:25 > 0:26:30Well, the aim was to just change the fascia board and put new gutters on.
0:26:30 > 0:26:34What we actually found was the roof joists
0:26:34 > 0:26:38and both wall plates were completely rotten.
0:26:38 > 0:26:41Dry rot all the way along.
0:26:41 > 0:26:45So, we've had to take six layers of brick off,
0:26:45 > 0:26:50we've had to cut off nearly all the ends of the joists
0:26:50 > 0:26:53and replace with what you can see here,
0:26:53 > 0:26:55and build it back up.
0:26:57 > 0:27:00The state of the brickwork on the side of the house
0:27:00 > 0:27:01is much worse than expected.
0:27:04 > 0:27:07The wall's pretty rotten. I mean, you can see the good bricks
0:27:07 > 0:27:12lower down, the darker bricks, with a nice smooth face.
0:27:12 > 0:27:14And then an awful lot of bricks which are
0:27:14 > 0:27:17delaminated and quite rough and uneven.
0:27:17 > 0:27:24And then further along - holes, big, big holes.
0:27:24 > 0:27:28So we haven't budgeted for the number of bricks that need replacing,
0:27:28 > 0:27:31so we've got a bit of a job on our hands.
0:27:33 > 0:27:36The grant was enough to cover the builders' original quotes.
0:27:36 > 0:27:39But Simon will have to pay these extra costs,
0:27:39 > 0:27:43and that will leave him less to spend on the inside of the house.
0:27:53 > 0:27:56Kieran discovered that number 114
0:27:56 > 0:28:01was constructed by a local builder named Benjamin Musgrave.
0:28:01 > 0:28:06And further up Coltman Street Musgrave also built Number 168.
0:28:06 > 0:28:09Musgrave was a master builder, not an architect,
0:28:09 > 0:28:12but did he have his own style?
0:28:12 > 0:28:15It's great to see another example of Benjamin Musgrave's work,
0:28:15 > 0:28:19because I've started to get the impression that he did have
0:28:19 > 0:28:20some design skill.
0:28:21 > 0:28:23In the context of Coltman Street,
0:28:23 > 0:28:26which is very mixed, I think his buildings stand out.
0:28:26 > 0:28:29Look, just a bit higher than the others and bit more grand.
0:28:29 > 0:28:32These door cases so distinctive and so much like 114.
0:28:32 > 0:28:34And there's just a general sense of composition.
0:28:34 > 0:28:38I think this is a builder with some real skill as a designer too.
0:28:41 > 0:28:44While Musgrave's two houses stand out from the rest,
0:28:44 > 0:28:46Kieran has noticed there's
0:28:46 > 0:28:48something odd about a lot of the other houses too.
0:28:48 > 0:28:51On a terraced street you'd expect the houses to match.
0:28:56 > 0:28:59When you look at the houses along Coltman Street, you start to notice
0:28:59 > 0:29:02that there are pretty wild variations between them.
0:29:02 > 0:29:05We talk about Victorian terraces in our cities,
0:29:05 > 0:29:07and everybody's got Victorian terraced streets,
0:29:07 > 0:29:10but, actually, they're not coherent, are they?
0:29:10 > 0:29:12We see behind me Venetian windows,
0:29:12 > 0:29:15we see bay windows on the ground floor.
0:29:15 > 0:29:17Further along we see bay windows on ground and upper floor,
0:29:17 > 0:29:21and even variations in the dormer windows on the roof line.
0:29:21 > 0:29:23This tells you that,
0:29:23 > 0:29:25actually these buildings weren't developed all at once,
0:29:25 > 0:29:30these are small builders, building two or three houses each at a time,
0:29:30 > 0:29:31probably side-by-side.
0:29:31 > 0:29:35And that accounts for the quite extreme stylistic variation,
0:29:35 > 0:29:38within the kind of strict parameter of the Victorian terrace.
0:29:39 > 0:29:44This might explain why number 114 is different from its neighbours,
0:29:44 > 0:29:47but it doesn't explain why it's so much grander.
0:29:47 > 0:29:50Kieran needs to find out how this upper-class house
0:29:50 > 0:29:53ended up on an inner-city street.
0:29:57 > 0:29:59It's the middle of October,
0:29:59 > 0:30:02and the old rotten windows are being knocked out.
0:30:04 > 0:30:07Simon has now moved out of the tent, and into the house,
0:30:07 > 0:30:11even though it's dustier and messier than ever before.
0:30:12 > 0:30:15Once the scaffolding came up
0:30:15 > 0:30:17we really had to start sleeping in the house,
0:30:17 > 0:30:20just purely for security.
0:30:20 > 0:30:22There are days when you think,
0:30:22 > 0:30:25"Oh, if only I had somewhere clean to sit."
0:30:27 > 0:30:29I am actually living in a building site.
0:30:32 > 0:30:34It's pretty grim, really, but...
0:30:36 > 0:30:37..things you've got to do!
0:30:39 > 0:30:41And things are getting done.
0:30:44 > 0:30:46New sash windows have been delivered,
0:30:46 > 0:30:48and are being fitted by a team of carpenters.
0:30:50 > 0:30:53It's vital to get the house water-tight
0:30:53 > 0:30:55before the weather gets any worse.
0:30:56 > 0:31:00Fingers crossed, by Christmas the roof should be fixed.
0:31:00 > 0:31:03Fingers crossed, the gutters will be working,
0:31:03 > 0:31:07the down pipes will be in and all the windows and doors will be done.
0:31:07 > 0:31:11So, basically by...Christmas...
0:31:11 > 0:31:15the outside of the house should be done.
0:31:15 > 0:31:16Basically.
0:31:19 > 0:31:20Definitely.
0:31:20 > 0:31:23Hopefully.
0:31:23 > 0:31:24Maybe!
0:31:25 > 0:31:30To make real progress on all these outdoor jobs, they need good weather.
0:31:30 > 0:31:36But the autumn of 2012 was one of the wettest on record.
0:31:36 > 0:31:38And December was even worse.
0:31:41 > 0:31:44It's now five days to Christmas.
0:31:45 > 0:31:48We were hoping to get the outside finished today.
0:31:48 > 0:31:53The down pipes are in, most of the pointing's done...
0:31:53 > 0:31:55We've been delayed by the weather
0:31:55 > 0:31:59and today it's absolutely pouring down.
0:31:59 > 0:32:03So, we're just putting up a stud wall instead.
0:32:03 > 0:32:06So, it's all a bit like wading through treacle today.
0:32:09 > 0:32:13Ten months in and we've just got the windows in.
0:32:13 > 0:32:16The house is still leaking when it rains,
0:32:16 > 0:32:19and when you think that we were going to try and do it in a year,
0:32:19 > 0:32:22it doesn't look two months from being finished, does it?
0:32:27 > 0:32:30It's getting desperate. The budget's out of the window.
0:32:30 > 0:32:33I don't have any way of borrowing money.
0:32:33 > 0:32:38And, of course, the grant won't go up, so when it's gone, it's gone.
0:32:38 > 0:32:41But the outside is going to look fantastic.
0:32:41 > 0:32:44So... I'm still upbeat.
0:32:44 > 0:32:46Yeah, definitely. Definitely.
0:32:47 > 0:32:49I think.
0:32:50 > 0:32:52Kill me!
0:32:59 > 0:33:00Christmas has come and gone,
0:33:00 > 0:33:04and a wet December has given way to a freezing January.
0:33:05 > 0:33:07With just six weeks until
0:33:07 > 0:33:10the council's completion deadline expires,
0:33:10 > 0:33:13it's time I caught up with Simon and Catherine.
0:33:15 > 0:33:17- Hi?- Hello.
0:33:17 > 0:33:19- Hello.- Hello. How are you?
0:33:19 > 0:33:21I'm good, thank you. How are you?
0:33:21 > 0:33:23- Nice to see you. - I haven't seen you for six months!
0:33:23 > 0:33:25- You've changed your hair. - I have changed my hair!
0:33:25 > 0:33:27And a little bit's changed here.
0:33:27 > 0:33:29Yeah, it's meant to be done by the end of February,
0:33:29 > 0:33:32but we didn't get the house watertight until last week.
0:33:32 > 0:33:35It's been so difficult just getting any jobs finished.
0:33:35 > 0:33:38Everything's bigger than you expect, everything's wetter than you expect,
0:33:38 > 0:33:42- everything takes more time and more money.- How are you feeling about it today?- Er...
0:33:42 > 0:33:44Well, you're here - it's great. Hello.
0:33:44 > 0:33:47Put the kettle on while you're here.
0:33:47 > 0:33:50There must be mornings when you wake up and think, "What am I doing?"
0:33:50 > 0:33:53- You know, it's an emotional rollercoaster.- Yeah.
0:33:53 > 0:33:55- It sounds like a cliche, but it really is.- Yeah.
0:33:55 > 0:33:59You get a room plastered and it's like, "Wow, it looks great."
0:33:59 > 0:34:03Um, and then sometimes you think, "How can we ever do this?"
0:34:03 > 0:34:06'Catherine lives 30 miles away and works full time.
0:34:06 > 0:34:10'But she spends her weekends helping with the house.'
0:34:10 > 0:34:13This is a massive project, isn't it?
0:34:13 > 0:34:14It is massive.
0:34:14 > 0:34:19There's so much to do, but it is coming together, very slowly.
0:34:19 > 0:34:22Once we get some plumbing and running water inside,
0:34:22 > 0:34:23then it'll be much better.
0:34:23 > 0:34:26How do you manage, cos you've only got a loo in that corner?
0:34:26 > 0:34:28Yeah, which we flush with a bucket of water.
0:34:28 > 0:34:32- Once it is done, it will be amazing. - What do you love about it?
0:34:32 > 0:34:36Just the grandness and you can tell it's going to be a nice family home.
0:34:36 > 0:34:39- Can you?- Yeah. You can, sort of, see it,
0:34:39 > 0:34:42see the piano in a room and where the sofa's going to go
0:34:42 > 0:34:46and everything like that, and where the dog's going to sleep.
0:34:46 > 0:34:48- Things like that. - THEY LAUGH
0:34:49 > 0:34:51But the danger's still there
0:34:51 > 0:34:53that the dream will turn into something else.
0:34:55 > 0:35:00It could just all be going into a house that you'll never own.
0:35:00 > 0:35:02It would be a nightmare.
0:35:02 > 0:35:06That is exactly it. I'm basically... buying the house off the council,
0:35:06 > 0:35:09I pay the money. Well, I've paid the money,
0:35:09 > 0:35:11I do all the work,
0:35:11 > 0:35:13and then they decide whether they transfer it over.
0:35:13 > 0:35:18If I fulfil their contractual obligations.
0:35:18 > 0:35:20And there are lots of ways they could say no,
0:35:20 > 0:35:24and technically, yeah, they could take the house off me.
0:35:26 > 0:35:30HE INHALES SHARPLY It's quite worrying when you say it like that!
0:35:30 > 0:35:32Let's not talk about that.
0:35:32 > 0:35:34But whether he wants to talk about it or not,
0:35:34 > 0:35:37the council's deadline is approaching fast.
0:35:37 > 0:35:40While outside, the scaffolding is still up,
0:35:40 > 0:35:42and indoors they've barely started.
0:35:48 > 0:35:51Kate is investigating Christopher Pickering,
0:35:51 > 0:35:55who lived in Simon's house back in Victorian times.
0:35:55 > 0:35:59She discovered that from 1872 he began to build up his fishing fleet.
0:35:59 > 0:36:02Now she's found a book that dates from 1915,
0:36:02 > 0:36:05when Pickering was one of the city's greatest businessmen.
0:36:07 > 0:36:10This book really shows how important Christopher Pickering was
0:36:10 > 0:36:13in the fishing industry, and we've got his picture here.
0:36:13 > 0:36:17And what's really great is he's written an autobiographical essay
0:36:17 > 0:36:19in which he talks about his life. And he says,
0:36:19 > 0:36:21he started at the very bottom.
0:36:21 > 0:36:24He started as a ten-year-old boy in a fish smokery in a factory.
0:36:24 > 0:36:28It was very hard work. And he ends Freeman of the City of Hull,
0:36:28 > 0:36:30and he's chairman of six fish companies.
0:36:30 > 0:36:33So, an incredible rise, really, and very Victorian.
0:36:35 > 0:36:38And as Pickering expanded his own fortunes,
0:36:38 > 0:36:40he turned Hull into a boom town.
0:36:42 > 0:36:44Hull was a metropolis of fish.
0:36:44 > 0:36:46We've got 500 trawlers sailing from Hull,
0:36:46 > 0:36:49and they're bringing in a huge amount of fish.
0:36:49 > 0:36:53It says here 3 million hundredweight of fish, annually.
0:36:53 > 0:36:57That's the equivalent of 150,000 tonnes.
0:36:57 > 0:37:00And there was a reason that the country needed ever more fish -
0:37:00 > 0:37:04because, long before burgers and pizzas, there was
0:37:04 > 0:37:07a new food craze sweeping the nation.
0:37:09 > 0:37:12We think that fish and chips is a very traditional English meal,
0:37:12 > 0:37:13but actually it wasn't until
0:37:13 > 0:37:17the second half of the 19th century that anyone even tasted it at all.
0:37:17 > 0:37:19Cos before then, fish was always smoked or dried
0:37:19 > 0:37:22and it was very difficult to get hold of.
0:37:22 > 0:37:25So when fish and chips came along, it really took off.
0:37:25 > 0:37:27It was convenience food, it could be eaten in the street.
0:37:27 > 0:37:31And this is the time when people are really flooding into the big cities.
0:37:31 > 0:37:33They wanted something that was hot, that was cheap
0:37:33 > 0:37:37and they could eat fast, and that was fish and chips.
0:37:37 > 0:37:39It became Britain's most popular food,
0:37:39 > 0:37:43and that was thanks to people like Christopher Pickering.
0:37:46 > 0:37:49When Christopher Pickering lived on Coltman Street,
0:37:49 > 0:37:53there would have been massive wooden gates on the side arches.
0:37:53 > 0:37:57Determined to restore as many original features as possible,
0:37:57 > 0:37:59Simon commissioned new ones.
0:37:59 > 0:38:01They're as close as anyone can tell
0:38:01 > 0:38:04to what the Victorian gates were like.
0:38:04 > 0:38:08We are slowly bringing the house, dragging it kicking and screaming
0:38:08 > 0:38:12back into the mid 19th century. It's closer.
0:38:12 > 0:38:16Carpenters Gavin and Simon have made them in the workshop
0:38:16 > 0:38:19Now they've come out to fit them.
0:38:19 > 0:38:20Oh, dear.
0:38:20 > 0:38:23Er, it looks a bit... it looks a bit wide.
0:38:23 > 0:38:25Oh, my goodness, it is a bit wide.
0:38:26 > 0:38:30The wooden arch doesn't quite fit the brick arch.
0:38:30 > 0:38:32That wall's out of plumb, that's what it is.
0:38:32 > 0:38:37That one's all right, but that one's out about an inch.
0:38:37 > 0:38:41It was measured perfectly, but of course, the walls aren't straight,
0:38:41 > 0:38:45so you can't fit straight wood into a wobbly wall.
0:38:47 > 0:38:51The carpenters thought they were in for an easy day.
0:38:51 > 0:38:55I don't mind making them, that's all right, that's the nice bit.
0:38:55 > 0:38:57It's when you get this. Hmm...
0:38:57 > 0:39:00If they change the new wood to fit the old bricks
0:39:00 > 0:39:03the whole thing will end up crooked.
0:39:03 > 0:39:06There's no choice but to shave the bricks straight.
0:39:19 > 0:39:22Everything takes longer than you expect. Everything.
0:39:24 > 0:39:25This is no exception.
0:39:34 > 0:39:38CARPENTERS CHATTER
0:39:50 > 0:39:52I've had enough.
0:39:53 > 0:39:57I'll be glad when it's all screwed in and done and anchor bolt up.
0:39:57 > 0:39:59And then doors are on, and everything.
0:40:02 > 0:40:03HE SIGHS
0:40:04 > 0:40:06What about that, eh?
0:40:08 > 0:40:10And they almost fit.
0:40:10 > 0:40:11Almost.
0:40:11 > 0:40:14I'm surprised how different it looks, actually.
0:40:14 > 0:40:18It looks a lot... It kind of looks like a castle, or something.
0:40:18 > 0:40:21The grand gates certainly do make number 114
0:40:21 > 0:40:24stand out from the rest of the street.
0:40:27 > 0:40:30Kieran has gone back to the archives to find out why Simon's house
0:40:30 > 0:40:33seems to be in a different class from its neighbours.
0:40:35 > 0:40:38He's going through the old maps to discover what happened
0:40:38 > 0:40:41to the city of Hull through the Victorian period.
0:40:43 > 0:40:46This is a lovely copy of a map from 1842,
0:40:46 > 0:40:49which shows Coltman Street on it.
0:40:49 > 0:40:52Though at this point with hardly any buildings on it at all.
0:40:54 > 0:40:59This next map is from 1855, just 13 years later.
0:41:00 > 0:41:04By this time, we can see that several plots have been developed.
0:41:05 > 0:41:07And here is our house.
0:41:11 > 0:41:13This map is from 1875,
0:41:13 > 0:41:1620 years after the Ordnance Survey maps we looked at.
0:41:16 > 0:41:20And we can see there are buildings almost the length of the street on both sides.
0:41:20 > 0:41:23But it's a different kind of tipping point now,
0:41:23 > 0:41:26and actually it's not the suburban dream it once was.
0:41:31 > 0:41:36114 Coltman Street is a rather grand and refined home for a gentleman,
0:41:36 > 0:41:39and this street was supposed to be a setting for those kinds of houses,
0:41:39 > 0:41:41a lovely retreat on the edge of the city.
0:41:41 > 0:41:44But the 19th century in Hull didn't really play out that way.
0:41:44 > 0:41:47The booming population meant that Coltman Street was swallowed up
0:41:47 > 0:41:50and it wasn't really the gentlemanly classes that moved here,
0:41:50 > 0:41:53it was the clerical and working classes.
0:41:53 > 0:41:56And that accounts for the diversity on the street and makes 114
0:41:56 > 0:41:59a rather charming survival of an original suburban dream.
0:42:01 > 0:42:05And Simon is determined to restore that dream.
0:42:05 > 0:42:08He's got the wooden gates back, and now in a workshop
0:42:08 > 0:42:11on the outskirts of Hull, Paul Richardson is making
0:42:11 > 0:42:16new copies of another original feature - the cast-iron railings.
0:42:20 > 0:42:23It's difficult work, it's very time-consuming work.
0:42:23 > 0:42:25But it's an opportunity as well.
0:42:25 > 0:42:29You've got the chance to look back in history,
0:42:29 > 0:42:33see how these things are done and then use the modern techniques
0:42:33 > 0:42:36to try and emulate what others did before you.
0:42:38 > 0:42:41The opportunities don't come up all the time,
0:42:41 > 0:42:43and they're an absolute joy.
0:42:48 > 0:42:53And it seems that Simon's railings are particularly special.
0:42:53 > 0:42:55This one was prestigious, it really was.
0:42:55 > 0:42:59You can tell that by the spacing on the railings.
0:43:01 > 0:43:05The bigger and the heavier they can be, the more status you've got.
0:43:05 > 0:43:10And these are certainly, for this town,
0:43:10 > 0:43:13particularly heavy, particularly big.
0:43:15 > 0:43:17Somebody was really trying to make a statement
0:43:17 > 0:43:20when these were originally installed.
0:43:27 > 0:43:30Kate found out that Christopher Pickering made a fortune from fish,
0:43:30 > 0:43:33but that doesn't explain why there are
0:43:33 > 0:43:35so many things named after him here in Hull.
0:43:38 > 0:43:42But now, Kate's found something that makes everything clear.
0:43:44 > 0:43:46Well, this book is fantastic,
0:43:46 > 0:43:48it's the Lord Mayor's scrapbook over the years
0:43:48 > 0:43:50and it's full of invitations and parties.
0:43:50 > 0:43:53And it really shows us how important Mr Pickering is,
0:43:53 > 0:43:55because what I've got here
0:43:55 > 0:43:58is all about the opening of Mr Pickering's park.
0:43:58 > 0:44:01He gives this money so that the city of Hull can have a park,
0:44:01 > 0:44:03and this is a pretty fabulous park.
0:44:03 > 0:44:08You've got bowling green, a croquet lawn, a grand bandstand area,
0:44:08 > 0:44:09lakes and fountains.
0:44:09 > 0:44:11It's really pretty impressive.
0:44:11 > 0:44:15At the time, this would have been a complete extravaganza.
0:44:16 > 0:44:18But the park was just the beginning -
0:44:18 > 0:44:21Pickering gave money to build homes for the poor,
0:44:21 > 0:44:25as well as a long list of worthy causes in Hull.
0:44:31 > 0:44:34So, he's a pretty significant philanthropist.
0:44:34 > 0:44:36Actually, over the course of his life,
0:44:36 > 0:44:39Mr Pickering gave £150,000 to charitable causes in Hull.
0:44:39 > 0:44:43And that's the equivalent of £8 million today,
0:44:43 > 0:44:46so he made a lot of money out of Hull, but he also gave a lot back.
0:44:50 > 0:44:53February 2013.
0:44:53 > 0:44:58It's been one year since Simon took on Mr Pickering's old house.
0:44:58 > 0:45:00The scaffolding has just come down,
0:45:00 > 0:45:04but number 114 is still a long way from finished.
0:45:06 > 0:45:08Hi, Michael. How are you?
0:45:08 > 0:45:10Yes, very well, thank you. Yourself?
0:45:10 > 0:45:11Good, yeah.
0:45:13 > 0:45:17Simon's contract with Hull City Council states that,
0:45:17 > 0:45:21should he fail to finish the restoration within one year,
0:45:21 > 0:45:23they are legally entitled to throw him out.
0:45:24 > 0:45:27But there is a clause in the contract whereby the council
0:45:27 > 0:45:31can grant Simon an extension to the completion deadline.
0:45:34 > 0:45:37Now, with a few days to go, surveyor Michael Nicholas is here
0:45:37 > 0:45:40to assess whether Simon has made enough progress
0:45:40 > 0:45:43to justify giving him more time to finish.
0:45:46 > 0:45:48So when are you hoping that it's dried out
0:45:48 > 0:45:51- and you can actually get on with this then?- Who knows?
0:45:51 > 0:45:52Cap it in a different sort of cement.
0:45:52 > 0:45:55What have you done then? Have you just sanded this up?
0:45:55 > 0:45:58Blowtorched it, jet-washed it, scraped it.
0:45:58 > 0:46:01This is the shape that it used to be. You can see where the cove is.
0:46:01 > 0:46:03How much of this coving do you think you'll be able to save?
0:46:03 > 0:46:05Well none of it. To be honest, it needs taking out now
0:46:05 > 0:46:08before it falls and kills someone. SURVEYOR LAUGHS
0:46:08 > 0:46:11How many staff do you have working for you now then?
0:46:11 > 0:46:13Staff? I don't have staff.
0:46:13 > 0:46:16I mean, the only thing I'm worried about is that...
0:46:16 > 0:46:17is it going to get done in six months?
0:46:17 > 0:46:19Of course it'll get done in six months.
0:46:19 > 0:46:23Look at it, this is a lick of paint, literally just a lick of paint.
0:46:23 > 0:46:26Watch your feet. So...
0:46:26 > 0:46:28Yes, you still look a bit worried.
0:46:28 > 0:46:30Well... I think it looks great.
0:46:30 > 0:46:33I think you've clearly made a lot of progress,
0:46:33 > 0:46:35but if I said to you how complete is this -
0:46:35 > 0:46:38what percentage of completion is this, what would you say?
0:46:38 > 0:46:40I would say...65%.
0:46:40 > 0:46:43- 65%.- Yeah, just under two-thirds. - Right.
0:46:43 > 0:46:45- OK, great. - Thank you very much for your time.
0:46:45 > 0:46:49The surveyor will be submitting a report to the council.
0:46:49 > 0:46:53The question is - will 65% completed be enough?
0:46:55 > 0:46:58Unfortunately, that isn't Simon's only problem.
0:46:59 > 0:47:02I didn't want to tell him I'm down to my last 20,000.
0:47:02 > 0:47:04And that's what my last plumbing quote was.
0:47:04 > 0:47:09HE LAUGHS So actually, I've run out of money.
0:47:15 > 0:47:16Five months on,
0:47:16 > 0:47:20and there's an important delivery for number 114.
0:47:22 > 0:47:23Nice one!
0:47:23 > 0:47:25And Simon is still here,
0:47:25 > 0:47:29because the council did agree to extend his completion deadline.
0:47:33 > 0:47:36All the heating and plumbing is finally being installed
0:47:36 > 0:47:38and now they've brought the boiler.
0:47:39 > 0:47:43It's a great day, quite a contrast to when Simon was up against
0:47:43 > 0:47:45the council's completion deadline.
0:47:45 > 0:47:49It was the biggest stress. Just thinking that they could
0:47:49 > 0:47:52walk in, say, "You've had 12 months to do it up.
0:47:52 > 0:47:54"This isn't what we wanted. Can we have the keys, please?
0:47:54 > 0:47:58"Be out by lunchtime." And that was a real possibility.
0:47:58 > 0:48:02So luckily, Hull City Council are very understanding.
0:48:02 > 0:48:05So they gave us a six-month extension...
0:48:05 > 0:48:07and we've had five months of that.
0:48:10 > 0:48:13Even with the extension, it's still a struggle -
0:48:13 > 0:48:16money's very tight, and he's had other problems.
0:48:18 > 0:48:21Oh, of course, this hasn't helped. I broke this about six weeks ago
0:48:21 > 0:48:24and, er, so I've been in a cast ever since.
0:48:24 > 0:48:27Luckily I'm right handed. Says me pointing at the hand.
0:48:27 > 0:48:30I've got a bit of tendon damage in that hand as well.
0:48:30 > 0:48:32I really am in the wars.
0:48:32 > 0:48:35This house is breaking me. It's trying to.
0:48:38 > 0:48:43But now, once the plumbing has gone in, other jobs can be completed too.
0:48:43 > 0:48:47So Simon is hoping that it won't be long before the house will be
0:48:47 > 0:48:50good enough for the council to sign over full ownership.
0:48:50 > 0:48:55By next week we'll have water, we'll have boilers.
0:48:55 > 0:48:58We'll have radiators on the walls. So it'll look like a house.
0:48:58 > 0:49:00There'll be a gas safe certificate.
0:49:00 > 0:49:03There'll be electric safety certificates.
0:49:03 > 0:49:06It'll be certified as a house.
0:49:06 > 0:49:09And so I think that will be enough.
0:49:09 > 0:49:12I am...87% sure of that.
0:49:14 > 0:49:1787 and a half! HE LAUGHS
0:49:36 > 0:49:39When we began our investigation, it was clear
0:49:39 > 0:49:43there was something special about number 114 Coltman Street.
0:49:44 > 0:49:47But the connection to Christopher Pickering
0:49:47 > 0:49:50makes it truly significant in the history of Hull.
0:49:52 > 0:49:55Now the time has come to share with Simon and Catherine
0:49:55 > 0:49:57all that we've learnt about their home.
0:49:59 > 0:50:01You can't live in Hull and not be aware of the name.
0:50:01 > 0:50:04So, yeah, it's amazing to find out that Christopher Pickering
0:50:04 > 0:50:06lived in the house that I've now got.
0:50:06 > 0:50:09I mean, I used to work on Pickering Park.
0:50:09 > 0:50:12- Did you?- Yeah, I was a parkie there. Yeah, years ago.- Oh, my goodness.
0:50:12 > 0:50:16I worked on his park, opened by Mrs Christopher Pickering, it say there.
0:50:18 > 0:50:21- But it is fascinating to see it all. - Isn't it.
0:50:21 > 0:50:24Fascinated by the pictures of Christopher Pickering and his wife.
0:50:24 > 0:50:26They're just amazing pictures.
0:50:26 > 0:50:28- I know, we'll have to get that framed.- Yeah.
0:50:30 > 0:50:35I feel very proud to be part of it. Cos really what I'm doing is just...
0:50:35 > 0:50:38I'm bringing the building back to life for a start,
0:50:38 > 0:50:40but just carrying on this sort of
0:50:40 > 0:50:43architectural history of Hull, really.
0:50:43 > 0:50:46Restoring a little bit of what he was trying to do.
0:50:46 > 0:50:49So I'm really pleased. It's amazing that you found it all.
0:50:54 > 0:50:57When we first saw number 114,
0:50:57 > 0:50:59the whole building was in a perilous state.
0:51:00 > 0:51:04The rotten windows were boarded up, the roof leaked,
0:51:04 > 0:51:07even the bricks and stonework were crumbling.
0:51:09 > 0:51:11But look at it now...
0:51:18 > 0:51:20There's still work to do inside,
0:51:20 > 0:51:22but the exterior is finished.
0:51:29 > 0:51:32- Hello!- Hello.- It looks fantastic.
0:51:32 > 0:51:35- Do you like it?- You're brilliant. You're absolutely brilliant.
0:51:36 > 0:51:39- It's looking superb. - Well, thank you.
0:51:39 > 0:51:42Yeah, it's not finished yet, but it's getting there.
0:51:42 > 0:51:45- It's transformed, isn't it? - Do you like the pond?
0:51:45 > 0:51:49I love your pond. It's beautiful and it's...pristine.
0:51:49 > 0:51:53Yeah, it's amazing actually cos it used to be full of litter, this yard,
0:51:53 > 0:51:56- and now no-one throws litter in. - So no cans thrown in.
0:51:56 > 0:51:59No, you don't ever see anything thrown in.
0:51:59 > 0:52:01- I mean, that's a real lesson, isn't it?- Yeah.
0:52:01 > 0:52:04If you make something beautiful, people will respect it, look after it.
0:52:04 > 0:52:06Yeah. We just need the rest of the street to be like that now.
0:52:06 > 0:52:09You've set an example, there's no question.
0:52:11 > 0:52:14For almost a year and a half, Simon has been struggling
0:52:14 > 0:52:18to restore this house, not knowing if or when
0:52:18 > 0:52:22the council would finally sign full ownership over to him.
0:52:22 > 0:52:26And there's one last condition that still needs to be satisfied -
0:52:26 > 0:52:29they won't hand over the contract until the plumbing is finished.
0:52:31 > 0:52:34We've got a lot of plumbing to do. I mean, lots of the gas pipes are in
0:52:34 > 0:52:38and a lot of pipes are laid, but we still haven't got water in the house.
0:52:38 > 0:52:40So that's what you're waiting for.
0:52:40 > 0:52:43Yeah, were just waiting for the plumbers. So we are incredibly close.
0:52:43 > 0:52:45A week of plumbing will do it.
0:52:46 > 0:52:51When Simon began work, the house had been abandoned for ten years.
0:52:51 > 0:52:54Damp, rot and vandalism had done their worst.
0:52:56 > 0:53:01So it may not be finished, but it has come an awful long way...
0:53:08 > 0:53:10It's looking so beautiful.
0:53:10 > 0:53:14- It looks nice, doesn't it? - Oh, it's fantastic.- Yeah.
0:53:14 > 0:53:17Yeah, we... That corbel up there was original.
0:53:17 > 0:53:20We had that cast so we've got it all the way round.
0:53:20 > 0:53:22And all the rest we made up.
0:53:22 > 0:53:26It's gorgeous. This whole hallway, actually, is looking so beautiful.
0:53:26 > 0:53:29- SHE GASPS - Look at the light coming in!
0:53:29 > 0:53:30That's what I always said, wasn't it?
0:53:30 > 0:53:34How did you have the vision to see it could look like this?
0:53:34 > 0:53:35I don't know, I just...
0:53:35 > 0:53:38I-I-I could see it.
0:53:39 > 0:53:42Simon and Catherine spent months living in a building site.
0:53:44 > 0:53:48That bed is now gone, and the room is unrecognisable.
0:53:55 > 0:53:59- Catherine!- Hello.- How are you, darling? Lovely to see you.
0:54:01 > 0:54:05The last time I saw you in this room it was colder in here
0:54:05 > 0:54:08than it was outside and it was below freezing.
0:54:08 > 0:54:12Oh, yeah, it's so much warmer now. It's just a happier place to be.
0:54:12 > 0:54:15But it is looking so beautiful. You must be proud of it.
0:54:15 > 0:54:17Yeah, it's getting there. It's still hard work though.
0:54:28 > 0:54:29'It may be hard work
0:54:29 > 0:54:33'but Simon's enthusiasm for the project remains undimmed.'
0:54:34 > 0:54:36I'm excited about the stuff that we haven't done yet.
0:54:36 > 0:54:38You know, the basement is going to be fantastic.
0:54:38 > 0:54:41And the garden, I mean, the garden is going to be amazing.
0:54:41 > 0:54:44We're going to have gravel drives, we're going to have a water feature,
0:54:44 > 0:54:47we're going to have waterfalls. It's going to be fantastic.
0:54:47 > 0:54:49Unicorns, wildebeest! SHE LAUGHS
0:54:50 > 0:54:54This house has meant a lot to Simon for a very long time.
0:54:54 > 0:54:56When I was a boy, when I was little
0:54:56 > 0:55:00I would walk around here and see the steps, the columns.
0:55:00 > 0:55:02I remember thinking what an amazing house it is.
0:55:02 > 0:55:05I did always think one day I would live in a house like that.
0:55:05 > 0:55:07How does it feel to have done that?
0:55:09 > 0:55:12It feels great. It really does. I do feel I've...
0:55:12 > 0:55:15It sounds corny, but it is like a childhood ambition.
0:55:15 > 0:55:16So I've actually...
0:55:16 > 0:55:18Well, I say tick it off the list,
0:55:18 > 0:55:20when it's finished, I'll be ticking that off the list.
0:55:20 > 0:55:21It is a nice thing to do.
0:55:21 > 0:55:25It's great for me and Catherine, but it's great for the street.
0:55:25 > 0:55:27- It's good for the area. - It's important for you, that,
0:55:27 > 0:55:30building up the local community and improving it.
0:55:30 > 0:55:33Yeah, I've always believed if you want to live in a better area,
0:55:33 > 0:55:37you don't need to move, you just need to make your area better.
0:55:42 > 0:55:45Oh, beautiful, beautiful balcony!
0:55:45 > 0:55:46This wasn't here.
0:55:46 > 0:55:50'There's one thing that still worries me about this project.'
0:55:50 > 0:55:55My concern is that this build could go on for 40 or 50 years.
0:55:55 > 0:55:58- It really could. - Are you going to finish it?
0:55:58 > 0:56:00Yeah, I mean, we won't stop, we'll just keep going.
0:56:00 > 0:56:02We don't want to be spending our lives doing it.
0:56:02 > 0:56:05- You want to live a life as well as doing the house.- Exactly.
0:56:05 > 0:56:08We want to get married and have children enjoy the lawn.
0:56:08 > 0:56:10You know, we want to do all that.
0:56:21 > 0:56:26Simon and Catherine's future lies in a house with a rich past -
0:56:26 > 0:56:28a history that's important enough to be commemorated
0:56:28 > 0:56:31by the city council and the mayor.
0:56:31 > 0:56:36Ladies and gentlemen, I'm delighted to have been invited here today
0:56:36 > 0:56:39to officially unveil a blue plaque of Christopher Pickering.
0:56:40 > 0:56:43CHEERING AND APPLAUSE
0:56:45 > 0:56:49Simon and Catherine's house may now be a city landmark,
0:56:49 > 0:56:50but that's not all.
0:56:50 > 0:56:53Just as it was for Christopher Pickering,
0:56:53 > 0:56:56it's once again a home.
0:57:01 > 0:57:05There are some pretty fundamental differences between Simon Kelsey
0:57:05 > 0:57:06and Christopher Pickering.
0:57:06 > 0:57:10For a start, Simon's never had a park named after him,
0:57:10 > 0:57:12though he did work in one for a bit.
0:57:12 > 0:57:15And Simon's never built a beautiful house
0:57:15 > 0:57:17by throwing pots of money at it.
0:57:17 > 0:57:21Actually, he's trying to save one by spending as little as possible,
0:57:21 > 0:57:25but both men are champions of this area.
0:57:25 > 0:57:27Ever since Simon first spotted this house
0:57:27 > 0:57:30when he was just ten years old, he fell in love with it
0:57:30 > 0:57:34and he dreamed of living in a house with pillars and steps.
0:57:35 > 0:57:39I think that childhood dream is going to have a ripple effect
0:57:39 > 0:57:40throughout this area.
0:57:42 > 0:57:45One man, one house, but I think,
0:57:45 > 0:57:47like Christopher Pickering,
0:57:47 > 0:57:50Simon is going to make a difference.
0:57:59 > 0:58:03On the next Restoration Home, a magnificent barn...
0:58:03 > 0:58:05Whoever built this was somebody who was deeply in touch with
0:58:05 > 0:58:08the latest thinking on architecture.
0:58:08 > 0:58:09..with a grand past.
0:58:09 > 0:58:12He's essentially a man with a hot-line to the king.
0:58:12 > 0:58:15Now a brave couple want to save it from ruin.
0:58:15 > 0:58:18I love the place. Absolutely love it.
0:58:18 > 0:58:19It's so exciting.
0:58:19 > 0:58:23- But they're doing it alone. - This has become extremely hard.
0:58:23 > 0:58:25More than I could have possibly imagined.
0:58:28 > 0:58:31Subtitles by Red Bee Media Ltd