0:00:06 > 0:00:09Once we walked through that gate, we were hooked.
0:00:09 > 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 > 0:00:27- We'll stay here for the rest of its life.- Are you happy?
0:00:29 > 0:00:33We 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 > 0:00:43Are we doing the right thing?
0:00:43 > 0:00:46I want it to look what it looked like when it was first built.
0:00:50 > 0:00:51This is just such a beautiful place.
0:00:51 > 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 > 0:01:03I don't think either of us envisaged
0:01:03 > 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 > 0:01:13I can't wait to move in. It seemed just to take forever.
0:01:13 > 0:01:15It's just a nightmare!
0:01:15 > 0:01:17I'm telling myself not to worry.
0:01:17 > 0:01:20I mean, because what can I do? I've got to finish the house.
0:01:29 > 0:01:32This is St Peter's Barn,
0:01:32 > 0:01:36located on the long-gone Stanninghall Agricultural Estate,
0:01:36 > 0:01:38between Norwich and the Norfolk Broads.
0:01:40 > 0:01:43In past centuries, it was a magnificent building,
0:01:43 > 0:01:46commanding the surrounding countryside.
0:01:49 > 0:01:51And boasting a cathedral-like interior.
0:01:54 > 0:01:57It's 35 metres long and 20 metres high.
0:02:01 > 0:02:04As agricultural practices changed in the 20th century,
0:02:04 > 0:02:08the barn was ravaged to accommodate them,
0:02:08 > 0:02:12its elegant design marred by ugly alterations.
0:02:12 > 0:02:16St Peter's Barn is a crumbling shadow of its former self.
0:02:16 > 0:02:19And so huge that few would dare to take it on.
0:02:26 > 0:02:28But now there's hope it will be saved
0:02:28 > 0:02:30because Nicola and Graham have decided
0:02:30 > 0:02:32it's exactly the right project for them.
0:02:34 > 0:02:35It was love at first sight, definitely.
0:02:37 > 0:02:39The couple married in 2010
0:02:39 > 0:02:43and each has a daughter from a previous marriage.
0:02:43 > 0:02:47They'd been searching for a barn to convert into their new family home.
0:02:47 > 0:02:48When we pulled up...
0:02:48 > 0:02:51- We saw it initially from through the trees over there.- Over there.
0:02:51 > 0:02:54It just stood above everything else.
0:02:54 > 0:02:57And that was it for me, I was done, sold.
0:03:01 > 0:03:04Graham's been a builder and roofer ever since leaving school.
0:03:04 > 0:03:07He's drawn to the building personally and professionally.
0:03:09 > 0:03:11It's beautiful. The way it's been designed,
0:03:11 > 0:03:14the way it's been put together.
0:03:14 > 0:03:17It's such a feeling, it's fantastic, I love the place.
0:03:17 > 0:03:19Absolutely love it.
0:03:19 > 0:03:22And it's just the size of it.
0:03:22 > 0:03:25The whole grandeur of this building.
0:03:25 > 0:03:27And when it's done, it's going to be absolutely fantastic.
0:03:31 > 0:03:33I can actually see what it's going to look like.
0:03:33 > 0:03:35See it in my mind already.
0:03:37 > 0:03:42In July 2011, the couple bought the barn for £325,000.
0:03:43 > 0:03:45They decided to call it St Peter's Barn
0:03:45 > 0:03:48after an ancient ruined church in the grounds.
0:03:48 > 0:03:52For Graham, owning this barn is an ambition realised.
0:03:52 > 0:03:55I've built for everybody else all my life.
0:03:55 > 0:03:59Done it for everybody, but never for myself. So this one's for us.
0:03:59 > 0:04:00This is going to be our home.
0:04:02 > 0:04:05The family have sold their home and moved to a rented cottage
0:04:05 > 0:04:08next to the barn while Graham converts it.
0:04:12 > 0:04:16The barn was Grade II listed in 1984.
0:04:16 > 0:04:20So Graham and Nicola will be working with the conservation authorities
0:04:20 > 0:04:22to restore the exterior
0:04:22 > 0:04:25and sympathetically convert the interior.
0:04:25 > 0:04:29Sadly, a lot of damage was done well before it was listed.
0:04:29 > 0:04:32A few things been done over the years by different people,
0:04:32 > 0:04:35which has basically destroyed
0:04:35 > 0:04:37what could've looked absolutely fantastic.
0:04:37 > 0:04:41The slits in the windows, we're going to open them up,
0:04:41 > 0:04:42bring the light in.
0:04:42 > 0:04:45They've been done very, very poorly over the years.
0:04:47 > 0:04:51Telltale signs of damp indicate parts of the roof are leaking.
0:04:51 > 0:04:52The roof structure in that corner
0:04:52 > 0:04:54may need a bit more attention than what we think.
0:04:54 > 0:04:57Until we actually get up there and get the roof off,
0:04:57 > 0:04:59we're not going to know.
0:04:59 > 0:05:03Arches and doors have been knocked through, weakening the structure.
0:05:03 > 0:05:07To me, those cracks looks like it's about to fall down.
0:05:07 > 0:05:08It looks quite scary.
0:05:10 > 0:05:14Nicola and Graham will have a huge task making the building sound.
0:05:14 > 0:05:17And only then can they start on turning the enormous space
0:05:17 > 0:05:19into a liveable family home.
0:05:23 > 0:05:25To conserve the sense of scale,
0:05:25 > 0:05:30the west wing will retain its full floor-to-rafters height.
0:05:30 > 0:05:34Nicola and Graham intend to use it as a sitting room cum party room.
0:05:35 > 0:05:37The ground floor of the central crossing
0:05:37 > 0:05:40becomes an entrance hall and dining room.
0:05:40 > 0:05:43And in the east wing, there's a kitchen breakfast room,
0:05:43 > 0:05:48utility room, study and bedroom.
0:05:48 > 0:05:51On the second floor are three more bedrooms,
0:05:51 > 0:05:56a cinema room, and on the third floor is the master bedroom.
0:06:00 > 0:06:03It's a colossal project,
0:06:03 > 0:06:06with a budget of just £200,000 for the restoration,
0:06:06 > 0:06:09funded from a self-build mortgage.
0:06:09 > 0:06:11The only way to make it realistic
0:06:11 > 0:06:15is for Graham to do virtually all the work himself.
0:06:15 > 0:06:18If I wasn't building on it, you'd look at
0:06:18 > 0:06:20nigh on a million pound to do.
0:06:21 > 0:06:25It is a lot of work, but over 20-odd years of building,
0:06:25 > 0:06:28you know what's got to be done and what order it has to be done.
0:06:28 > 0:06:31So I'm not worried at all.
0:06:39 > 0:06:43St Peter's Barn is a restoration on an extraordinary scale.
0:06:43 > 0:06:46I want to find out how Nicola and Graham feel
0:06:46 > 0:06:48about the challenges that lie ahead.
0:06:48 > 0:06:51- Hello.- Hi.- Lovely to meet you.
0:06:51 > 0:06:53- Nice to meet you, too. - Lovely to meet you. Morning.
0:06:53 > 0:06:54- Nice to meet you, too.- Morning.
0:06:54 > 0:06:57What an incredible building!
0:06:57 > 0:07:00- Hm.- Beautiful.- It's vast!
0:07:00 > 0:07:03- Do you really think you can make it a home?- We'll try.
0:07:03 > 0:07:06Can you already envisage what it's going to look like when you've done?
0:07:06 > 0:07:09It's going to be beautiful. All the bricks need to be cleaned.
0:07:09 > 0:07:13It needs all re-pointing. It'll make the building look completely different...
0:07:13 > 0:07:14- Yeah.- ...once it's repaired.
0:07:14 > 0:07:17Oh, it'll look absolutely amazing!
0:07:19 > 0:07:24Ooo! This is a big, big barn, isn't it?
0:07:24 > 0:07:25It's massive!
0:07:25 > 0:07:28- Yeah.- Is it a bit more than you expected to take on?
0:07:28 > 0:07:32- Yes.- Yeah. Probably by a double.
0:07:32 > 0:07:35Is there any aspect of it that's freaking you out slightly, Graham?
0:07:35 > 0:07:37Starting the roof.
0:07:37 > 0:07:40- You're doing that yourself? - Most of the work myself, yeah.
0:07:40 > 0:07:43So you've taken on the hardest barn you could find.
0:07:43 > 0:07:45Why would you do that?
0:07:45 > 0:07:48Er...it is a challenge
0:07:48 > 0:07:52and it deserves, it warrants to be put back and made to look good again.
0:07:53 > 0:07:55The arches are extraordinary.
0:07:55 > 0:07:58Yeah. It is the soul, isn't it?
0:07:58 > 0:08:00- It's what the building's about.- Yeah.
0:08:00 > 0:08:03You sound like you've got an emotional connection with it.
0:08:03 > 0:08:06I think I have. It becomes part of you, doesn't it?
0:08:06 > 0:08:09Because you're opening it up, you're seeing what's been done.
0:08:09 > 0:08:10It's beautiful.
0:08:10 > 0:08:13Every day I come in, there's something different I find.
0:08:13 > 0:08:17All the history and everything that comes with this barn, is what it's about.
0:08:17 > 0:08:21And I think to make too big a change to it, to make it look...
0:08:21 > 0:08:24would just destroy its soul, basically.
0:08:24 > 0:08:27What's your game plan on this, by the way?
0:08:27 > 0:08:28We're hoping, by Christmas,
0:08:28 > 0:08:31to have enough built down that end for us to move into.
0:08:31 > 0:08:34- About eight months' time. - Eight months' time, yeah.
0:08:34 > 0:08:35Blimey!
0:08:35 > 0:08:38I can see the house. I can see it all finished. I can see it painted.
0:08:38 > 0:08:41I can see absolutely everything every time I look at it.
0:08:41 > 0:08:44Nicola and Graham's previous property
0:08:44 > 0:08:46was a fairly typical modern home.
0:08:46 > 0:08:47And even though Graham's a builder,
0:08:47 > 0:08:51he's never attempted anything this size alone.
0:08:51 > 0:08:55You could've gone from living on an estate to living in a house with a large garden.
0:08:55 > 0:08:59But you've sort of done the most extreme leap you can do.
0:08:59 > 0:09:01Is that a bit unnerving?
0:09:01 > 0:09:04Both of us are the kind of people that just go for everything.
0:09:04 > 0:09:05We don't do anything by half measures.
0:09:05 > 0:09:08And I'm not really afraid to do it.
0:09:08 > 0:09:11But there's a lot resting on Graham, isn't there, with this build?
0:09:11 > 0:09:14Yeah, everything. And there's nothing I can do to help.
0:09:14 > 0:09:16I can't go up on the roof. So it is difficult.
0:09:21 > 0:09:24What I'd like to know is what you plan to do
0:09:24 > 0:09:27with the inside of St Peter's Barn.
0:09:27 > 0:09:29You'll come in through your entrance hall,
0:09:29 > 0:09:31putting some lovely glass windows in.
0:09:31 > 0:09:36Coming into your main grand hall, go up into the oak staircase.
0:09:36 > 0:09:38And then into the sitting room
0:09:38 > 0:09:41and we've got a big log-burning fireplace we're going to stick in.
0:09:41 > 0:09:43Dining room at the back looking across the fields.
0:09:43 > 0:09:45Got your kitchen and utility room.
0:09:45 > 0:09:47- How many bedrooms? - Six bedrooms.
0:09:47 > 0:09:50- And your bedroom's on the top floor? - Yep. Yep. We're up in the roof.
0:09:50 > 0:09:53Bedroom four, which is actually going to become a cinema room.
0:09:53 > 0:09:55I wonder what the old farmer would make of that?
0:09:55 > 0:10:00His old barley barn with a great big cinema in it.
0:10:00 > 0:10:02Is this kind of what your life's been leading to?
0:10:02 > 0:10:06Yeah. Everything I've ever learned is going to go into this, and more.
0:10:06 > 0:10:08It's then become more than just a home, hasn't it?
0:10:08 > 0:10:10More than just bricks and mortar.
0:10:13 > 0:10:15Since they bought the barn,
0:10:15 > 0:10:17Nicola and Graham have spent months
0:10:17 > 0:10:20wading through planning and preliminary tasks.
0:10:20 > 0:10:23Now Graham's finally able to get to work.
0:10:23 > 0:10:27Great. Just to get on and do something.
0:10:29 > 0:10:31He's starting ten metres off the ground
0:10:31 > 0:10:35with the most critical job in securing the barn's future -
0:10:35 > 0:10:36replacing the entire roof.
0:10:38 > 0:10:39It is all about the roof.
0:10:39 > 0:10:43A lot of the damage is caused because the roof's not been looked after.
0:10:43 > 0:10:44It's absolutely everything.
0:10:47 > 0:10:53550 square metres of 1950s asbestos needs to come off by hand.
0:10:53 > 0:10:57It's heavy, dirty work on a gigantic scale.
0:10:57 > 0:11:00I think there's 300 sheets on here.
0:11:06 > 0:11:08Removing the sheets enables him to see
0:11:08 > 0:11:11the craftsmanship of past centuries.
0:11:11 > 0:11:16Being a builder myself, to see the work that's been involved into this
0:11:16 > 0:11:18is truly amazing, it really is.
0:11:18 > 0:11:20When they built this, they built them downstairs,
0:11:20 > 0:11:22so each piece would be numbered.
0:11:22 > 0:11:25So like you'd have X and II joined to X and II.
0:11:25 > 0:11:29Move along, you've got this beam becomes X and III.
0:11:29 > 0:11:32Moves in with X and III.
0:11:32 > 0:11:36I think it's just pure craftsmanship that's gone into it.
0:11:38 > 0:11:42For Graham, the markings are a fascinating glimpse into the past.
0:11:42 > 0:11:46He and Nicola are keen to know all about the history of their home.
0:11:46 > 0:11:49So far, they've only gleaned fragments of hearsay.
0:11:49 > 0:11:54It's not clear who made the barn so magnificent, or why.
0:11:54 > 0:11:57We're going to do all we can to solve these mysteries
0:11:57 > 0:12:00and discover the story behind St Peter's Barn.
0:12:02 > 0:12:06Our historian, Doctor Kate Williams, combs the archives
0:12:06 > 0:12:09to trace the people and events from its past,
0:12:09 > 0:12:11while architectural expert, Kieran Long,
0:12:11 > 0:12:14searches for clues in the building itself.
0:12:17 > 0:12:21It's just an incredible, grand barn of the highest order.
0:12:21 > 0:12:25I mean, this really is a barn of antiquity and status.
0:12:25 > 0:12:27You see the old barn and you see the new barn
0:12:27 > 0:12:30and people talk to us that we're making progress in our culture,
0:12:30 > 0:12:32and to me, I see these two things next to each other
0:12:32 > 0:12:35and this doesn't look like progress to me.
0:12:36 > 0:12:40When you stand in this location, you realise what this building's all about.
0:12:40 > 0:12:41It's perfectly symmetrical.
0:12:41 > 0:12:44At the crossing is the main entrance.
0:12:44 > 0:12:46A higher arch, slightly more modelled
0:12:46 > 0:12:48with another course of bricks at the top.
0:12:48 > 0:12:50It's really, really literate, architecturally.
0:12:53 > 0:12:57This is a facade that's all about modelling in the depth of it.
0:12:57 > 0:12:59They might look like blocked-up arches, but they're not.
0:12:59 > 0:13:02This is an architectural exercise, if you like,
0:13:02 > 0:13:04in seeing what you can do with a depth of a brick.
0:13:04 > 0:13:06How beautiful can you make a brick wall?
0:13:06 > 0:13:10And the bigger order, that we see up here of these four arches,
0:13:10 > 0:13:12is dividing the facade geometrically.
0:13:12 > 0:13:14It's giving an order to it.
0:13:14 > 0:13:16And that is a clue to me that it's been designed.
0:13:17 > 0:13:21It's already clear to Kieran this is no ordinary barn.
0:13:21 > 0:13:24And the building materials in the gable wall confirm it.
0:13:24 > 0:13:29This is a beautiful, sort of mottled polychrome facade of flint.
0:13:29 > 0:13:32And you can see the effect is so decorative.
0:13:32 > 0:13:35This is so common in Norfolk, this knapped flint,
0:13:35 > 0:13:39on quite grand buildings. So it's a very high status material.
0:13:43 > 0:13:45It's when Kieran goes inside the barn
0:13:45 > 0:13:49he gets a true sense of just what an amazing building it is.
0:13:55 > 0:13:57There's just an incredible atmosphere in here.
0:13:57 > 0:13:58It's so tangible.
0:14:00 > 0:14:03It's quite dark in here, it's quite cool. Dead silent.
0:14:05 > 0:14:08It feels like being in a church. It's really extraordinary.
0:14:11 > 0:14:14And because of the architecture, it just doubles that atmosphere.
0:14:17 > 0:14:21It's all functional, too. It's all here for a purpose.
0:14:21 > 0:14:22This bit I'm standing in here
0:14:22 > 0:14:25would have had arched openings at each side,
0:14:25 > 0:14:28and then these would have been the places for storage.
0:14:28 > 0:14:31So in this central area would have been a place for work
0:14:31 > 0:14:35and, you know, possibly a threshing floor, something like that.
0:14:35 > 0:14:38Well, you can see how whichever farmer owned it very recently
0:14:38 > 0:14:41has tried to make it into a more functional building
0:14:41 > 0:14:43for modern farmyard machinery.
0:14:43 > 0:14:46And, of course, this wide entrance here
0:14:46 > 0:14:49is all about trying to get a tractor into here
0:14:49 > 0:14:51or large trailers and so on.
0:14:51 > 0:14:53Of course, this would never have been an entrance
0:14:53 > 0:14:56and it ruins the kind of arcading that we see
0:14:56 > 0:14:59so beautifully preserved in the other bays.
0:14:59 > 0:15:02Kieran notices that despite the damage,
0:15:02 > 0:15:05something very intriguing remains.
0:15:05 > 0:15:08He thinks there might be a significant relationship
0:15:08 > 0:15:10between the length and width of the barn.
0:15:10 > 0:15:13So he tests his theory.
0:15:17 > 0:15:21So I'm just pacing out the length of this wing.
0:15:21 > 0:15:24So from this wall to that crossing is around 17 paces, I make it.
0:15:24 > 0:15:26I'm just about to pace the width now
0:15:26 > 0:15:30to see, kind of, if there is this relationship.
0:15:30 > 0:15:32Three, four, five,
0:15:32 > 0:15:33six, seven, eight.
0:15:33 > 0:15:35About eight-and-a-half paces.
0:15:35 > 0:15:39That means that it's exactly double as long as it is wide.
0:15:42 > 0:15:45The even proportions are hugely significant,
0:15:45 > 0:15:48echoing principles of Renaissance architecture.
0:15:48 > 0:15:50It's somebody thinking about geometry.
0:15:50 > 0:15:53They're not thinking about the practical business
0:15:53 > 0:15:56of putting brick on brick and how big a sack of wheat is.
0:15:56 > 0:15:57And it tells you that whoever built this
0:15:57 > 0:15:59was somebody who was deeply in touch
0:15:59 > 0:16:02with the latest thinking on architecture.
0:16:02 > 0:16:04One of the things that we can tell about this building
0:16:04 > 0:16:07is that it was related to a very elaborate estate.
0:16:07 > 0:16:10How do we know that? Well, it's a really big barn
0:16:10 > 0:16:13and that means you needed a big productive farming business
0:16:13 > 0:16:16that could fill that barn and probably many others around it.
0:16:16 > 0:16:19For me, you know, one of the first steps
0:16:19 > 0:16:20will be to try and date it more clearly
0:16:20 > 0:16:23so we can see just how advanced, in a way,
0:16:23 > 0:16:25this architectural sophistication was.
0:16:25 > 0:16:28Who was responsible for coming up with this ordered,
0:16:28 > 0:16:31beautiful, symmetrical building for a mere barn?
0:16:41 > 0:16:44Graham and Nicola are bringing the barn into the 21st century
0:16:44 > 0:16:47with renewable energy, including solar panels.
0:16:49 > 0:16:51They're on land close to the barn
0:16:51 > 0:16:54so they don't affect the look of the roof.
0:16:54 > 0:16:58Graham's also fitting as much insulation as he can to the roof.
0:16:58 > 0:17:00We're going to lose heat through the walls
0:17:00 > 0:17:02because there's no way of insulating the walls
0:17:02 > 0:17:05because we're exposing the brickwork.
0:17:05 > 0:17:08So the only way of trying to keep any sort of heat in there
0:17:08 > 0:17:10is through the roof structure.
0:17:14 > 0:17:18Nicola's a scuba-diving instructor who works in the warmer months.
0:17:18 > 0:17:20She can't offer skilled help to Graham,
0:17:20 > 0:17:22but determined to do her bit,
0:17:22 > 0:17:24she's masterminding the budget
0:17:24 > 0:17:27and preparing the grounds to be turned into a garden.
0:17:27 > 0:17:33This whole site needs to be flattened and ploughed and planted.
0:17:33 > 0:17:36I'm doing this because I can do it and I can't do the roof,
0:17:36 > 0:17:38so I'm just pressing on with this.
0:17:40 > 0:17:43As the heavy work continues on site,
0:17:43 > 0:17:47our historical investigation needs its first big answer.
0:17:47 > 0:17:50How old is St Peter's Barn?
0:17:50 > 0:17:54Records are scarce, but archive and council references
0:17:54 > 0:17:59suggest a date of about 1680, but it's not conclusive.
0:17:59 > 0:18:01With no way of confirming the date of the building,
0:18:01 > 0:18:04Kate begins her search at the Norfolk Record Office,
0:18:04 > 0:18:07focusing on the 17th century.
0:18:09 > 0:18:15She's quickly able to track down a deed of sale dating back to 1663.
0:18:15 > 0:18:17It's for a farm at Stanninghall,
0:18:17 > 0:18:21the former agricultural estate where St Peter's Barn stands.
0:18:22 > 0:18:24And this is great.
0:18:24 > 0:18:27It says it's being sold from a family called the Waldgrave family
0:18:27 > 0:18:29to a gentleman called Sir Charles Harbord.
0:18:29 > 0:18:33And this rather fabulous work of art of a document
0:18:33 > 0:18:36is all about exactly what the buyer received.
0:18:36 > 0:18:39What it doesn't mention is the barn.
0:18:39 > 0:18:41Perhaps it's not even there at all.
0:18:44 > 0:18:46Kate goes in search of further clues
0:18:46 > 0:18:51and discovers Sir Charles Harbord bought more land in 1676.
0:18:52 > 0:18:53He is buying Gunton Manor.
0:18:53 > 0:18:57And most interestingly to me, he's buying that for his son John.
0:18:57 > 0:19:01I suspect there's an elder son who's going to receive Stanninghall,
0:19:01 > 0:19:03and so John is getting this estate,
0:19:03 > 0:19:05which was a very common practice at the time.
0:19:05 > 0:19:08The land purchased suggests to Kate
0:19:08 > 0:19:10that Sir Charles Harbord must have been a wealthy man.
0:19:13 > 0:19:15She heads for the Norfolk Heritage Centre
0:19:15 > 0:19:17to see what she can find out about him.
0:19:21 > 0:19:22Sir Charles Harbord turns out to be
0:19:22 > 0:19:25one of the most influential men in 17th-century England.
0:19:25 > 0:19:28He's important in Norfolk, but most of all,
0:19:28 > 0:19:31he's very significant at the court of Charles II.
0:19:31 > 0:19:33He's essentially a man with a hotline to the king.
0:19:33 > 0:19:37This is because he's a surveyor general of the king's estates.
0:19:38 > 0:19:42Charles II came to the throne in 1660.
0:19:42 > 0:19:45As the king's surveyor general, Sir Charles Harbord's job
0:19:45 > 0:19:47was raising revenue from royal estates
0:19:47 > 0:19:50to fund armies, government and royal palaces.
0:19:50 > 0:19:52But he played a wider role, too.
0:19:54 > 0:19:58Well, here's an example of how he couldn't possibly be more important.
0:19:58 > 0:20:01Charles II decides to marry Catherine of Braganza,
0:20:01 > 0:20:03and our Charles Harbord goes over to Portugal
0:20:03 > 0:20:06to escort the future queen and bring her back to England.
0:20:06 > 0:20:08He's also massively significant
0:20:08 > 0:20:11in the rebuilding of London after the Great Fire.
0:20:11 > 0:20:13He's on the rebuilding committee for St Paul's
0:20:13 > 0:20:15and he's so famous that when the celebrated diarist
0:20:15 > 0:20:19Samuel Pepys meets him at a dinner, Samuel Pepys is star struck.
0:20:21 > 0:20:24Clearly, Sir Charles was a man of great status.
0:20:24 > 0:20:26And Kate suspects that had an impact
0:20:26 > 0:20:29on his personal wealth and landholdings in Norfolk.
0:20:30 > 0:20:33Charles Harbord was a very effective surveyor general,
0:20:33 > 0:20:36but he was also pretty good at lining his own pocket.
0:20:36 > 0:20:39He'd got land all over the country. He'd accrued huge estates.
0:20:39 > 0:20:41And that's, of course, because as surveyor general,
0:20:41 > 0:20:45he'll find out very early about the kind of land that's going cheap.
0:20:45 > 0:20:47And that's exactly what I think we've got for Stanninghall.
0:20:47 > 0:20:49He snapped up Stanninghall
0:20:49 > 0:20:51because he heard it was going for a good deal.
0:20:51 > 0:20:53And that's where St Peter's Barn is made.
0:20:58 > 0:21:00So I've found the name Sir Charles Harbord,
0:21:00 > 0:21:02but I wanted to know more about the family.
0:21:02 > 0:21:05And this book gives me the name of his eldest son, Philip,
0:21:05 > 0:21:09who is also described as, "of Stanninghall".
0:21:09 > 0:21:11And this seems to me to be the answer.
0:21:11 > 0:21:14Sir Charles Harbord and then his son, who inherits in 1679,
0:21:14 > 0:21:18one of them is the wealthy landowner who builds St Peter's Barn.
0:21:21 > 0:21:22Kate's found the names of the father and son
0:21:22 > 0:21:26who owned Stanninghall around 1680,
0:21:26 > 0:21:29exactly the time the barn is thought to have been built.
0:21:29 > 0:21:34It could be the key to establishing why it's such an ambitious building.
0:21:37 > 0:21:39Late spring 2012.
0:21:39 > 0:21:42Atrocious weather wreaks havoc at St Peter's Barn.
0:21:44 > 0:21:46I've never known anything like it.
0:21:46 > 0:21:49The trees were bent, it was ridiculous.
0:21:49 > 0:21:51The wind was horrific. The rain was torrential.
0:21:51 > 0:21:54We had thunder, lightning, everything. Honest to God!
0:21:54 > 0:21:58Absolutely everything hit us, just while we had that roof open.
0:22:00 > 0:22:02You could actually feel the roof moving.
0:22:02 > 0:22:06It must have been moving at least a foot either way,
0:22:06 > 0:22:08which is quite terrifying when you're ten metres up.
0:22:10 > 0:22:11The walls of St Peter's Barn
0:22:11 > 0:22:14are designed to take the weight of the roof structure above,
0:22:14 > 0:22:19but with the roof open, it started moving sideways.
0:22:19 > 0:22:23That put outward pressure on the walls, with frightening results.
0:22:23 > 0:22:26You can see how far it's pushed the brickwork out.
0:22:26 > 0:22:28It's moved by about 50mm.
0:22:32 > 0:22:35Somehow, the old barn survived the storms,
0:22:35 > 0:22:37but while he inspected the damage,
0:22:37 > 0:22:40Graham uncovered a much more worrying problem.
0:22:40 > 0:22:42There's a critical weakness in the roof.
0:22:42 > 0:22:44We've got big tie beams
0:22:44 > 0:22:47that stretch from one side of the roof to the other.
0:22:47 > 0:22:48They sit on the soleplate.
0:22:48 > 0:22:51It's a big timber that all the roof sits on.
0:22:51 > 0:22:53That one, where it's been rotting away over the years,
0:22:53 > 0:22:56someone in their infinite wisdom's propped it up
0:22:56 > 0:22:58with a little bit of six by two.
0:22:58 > 0:23:00Now that's also rotted, so that whole timber
0:23:00 > 0:23:03that probably weighs the best part of two or three tonnes,
0:23:03 > 0:23:05and that's tying this whole section together,
0:23:05 > 0:23:09basically, balancing on about four inches worth of timber.
0:23:09 > 0:23:12That little bit of timber, if that came crashing down,
0:23:12 > 0:23:15that would take the whole roof with it. It's one big structure.
0:23:15 > 0:23:18You take away a part of that structure, the rest can't cope.
0:23:19 > 0:23:21St Peter's Barn is much closer to collapsing
0:23:21 > 0:23:24than anyone dared to think.
0:23:26 > 0:23:28It is solely luck it didn't come down.
0:23:28 > 0:23:30In fact, I don't know how it didn't come down. I really don't.
0:23:30 > 0:23:33I was prepared to wake up the next morning and see it gone.
0:23:37 > 0:23:39With the barn so vulnerable,
0:23:39 > 0:23:42Graham has had to totally rethink this restoration.
0:23:42 > 0:23:44Any additional weight on that roof
0:23:44 > 0:23:46could be enough to bring it down,
0:23:46 > 0:23:49so plans to start tiling have been scrapped.
0:23:50 > 0:23:53There's two-and-a-half tonne per pallet
0:23:53 > 0:23:55and we've got 20 pallets.
0:23:55 > 0:23:58So you put that weight onto this roof,
0:23:58 > 0:24:00again, it will just collapse.
0:24:00 > 0:24:04It's meant completely throwing out the planned schedule of works.
0:24:04 > 0:24:07Instead of tiling, he's decided the best way forward
0:24:07 > 0:24:09is to create a load-bearing wall
0:24:09 > 0:24:12that can support and stabilise the whole roof structure.
0:24:14 > 0:24:17It's the knock-on effect. We've got the roof problems,
0:24:17 > 0:24:20but that, in type, brings in the brickwork problems,
0:24:20 > 0:24:22as well as the walls.
0:24:22 > 0:24:25If I'd be honest, that is the stress part of it.
0:24:25 > 0:24:27Trying to make everything run
0:24:27 > 0:24:30and everything to run in situ with each other.
0:24:35 > 0:24:37With the enormous roof looming above him,
0:24:37 > 0:24:42Graham's struggling to visualise it ever being finished.
0:24:42 > 0:24:44This section has become extremely hard.
0:24:44 > 0:24:47More than I could possibly have imagined.
0:24:48 > 0:24:50I nearly gave up at one stage.
0:24:57 > 0:25:00So far, Kate's established that in the late 1600s,
0:25:00 > 0:25:05Charles II's surveyor general owned the land where the barn stands.
0:25:05 > 0:25:08But the deeds of sale from 1663
0:25:08 > 0:25:11don't say whether the barn already existed then.
0:25:13 > 0:25:17Finding an accurate date is critical to our investigation.
0:25:17 > 0:25:21Kieran's research so far has suggested the late 1600s also,
0:25:21 > 0:25:25but one source puts it into the 1700s.
0:25:26 > 0:25:28Without conclusive evidence in the archives,
0:25:28 > 0:25:31Kieran's enlisted the help of an expert
0:25:31 > 0:25:34to try and date the building by its construction.
0:25:34 > 0:25:38He's called in historic buildings officer, Stephen Haywood.
0:25:40 > 0:25:43What is it that draws your eye in terms of trying to date the building?
0:25:43 > 0:25:47Well, I will always look to the roof structure,
0:25:47 > 0:25:50because that's where the clues are.
0:25:50 > 0:25:56Now, this roof, we can see, has two sets of purlins.
0:25:56 > 0:25:58The purlins being the horizontal timbers.
0:25:58 > 0:25:59Yes, that's right.
0:25:59 > 0:26:04And the way the purlin is jointed to the principle rafter,
0:26:04 > 0:26:07- it's a good indication of date. - Right.
0:26:07 > 0:26:11So what they developed was to have a single mortise,
0:26:11 > 0:26:15which was shared by the tenons of both purlins.
0:26:15 > 0:26:18And they're tapered slightly, so one goes on top of the other.
0:26:18 > 0:26:23- And you can see that the pegs are in diagonal positions.- Yeah.
0:26:23 > 0:26:26So from this mortise and tenon joint,
0:26:26 > 0:26:30what kind of conclusions can you make about the date?
0:26:30 > 0:26:33Well, I think it belongs to the second half of the 18th century.
0:26:36 > 0:26:39That's when that detail is found on most of the buildings I've looked at.
0:26:40 > 0:26:44The barn was built much later than we thought.
0:26:44 > 0:26:47Stephen's expertise has given our first solid clue
0:26:47 > 0:26:51to the history of this long-forgotten building.
0:26:51 > 0:26:52That's so exciting for us,
0:26:52 > 0:26:55because that's put this building a century later
0:26:55 > 0:26:58than most of the history books have put it so far.
0:26:58 > 0:27:00Yes, it does.
0:27:00 > 0:27:03And you're willing to stake your professional reputation?
0:27:03 > 0:27:05I'm perfectly happy with that.
0:27:05 > 0:27:08St Peter's Barn is 100 years younger
0:27:08 > 0:27:11than I thought it was when I first came here.
0:27:11 > 0:27:13And for me, this is a major revelation.
0:27:13 > 0:27:15Just by looking at this roof structure,
0:27:15 > 0:27:18we've established that the building is of the late 18th century.
0:27:18 > 0:27:22That rewrites the history books. And for me, that's fascinating
0:27:22 > 0:27:24because it puts the building in a whole new context
0:27:24 > 0:27:25in the development of Norfolk
0:27:25 > 0:27:28and the development of this estate and of architecture in Britain.
0:27:29 > 0:27:33It's a big step forward to have an accurate date for the barn.
0:27:34 > 0:27:37Now Kieran and Kate can really focus on their mission
0:27:37 > 0:27:41to discover who built the barn and why it's so grand.
0:27:51 > 0:27:53The worst of the wet weather has passed
0:27:53 > 0:27:56and Graham's passion for the project has returned.
0:28:00 > 0:28:03Living on site has enabled him to indulge it.
0:28:05 > 0:28:08This is very addictive. I don't want to leave here some nights.
0:28:08 > 0:28:10One night, I think, I didn't realise,
0:28:10 > 0:28:12it was about 12.00, I was still working.
0:28:12 > 0:28:16I think Nic's become... I think she's single now!
0:28:18 > 0:28:20The internal wall is now high enough
0:28:20 > 0:28:24to support the roof beam that was resting on rotten wood.
0:28:24 > 0:28:29Today, Graham hopes he can finally make the roof structurally sound.
0:28:31 > 0:28:33Graham has called in his friend Brad to help
0:28:33 > 0:28:35and he's going to need every ounce of it,
0:28:35 > 0:28:39because today's task requires hair's breadth accuracy.
0:28:41 > 0:28:42Lovely.
0:28:42 > 0:28:43Done.
0:28:43 > 0:28:48The jack lifts the beam just enough to get at the rotten timber below.
0:28:48 > 0:28:51Plan for today is now we've picked the beam up,
0:28:51 > 0:28:53cut away this old soleplate,
0:28:53 > 0:28:56take that away and replace that with a new one.
0:28:56 > 0:28:58So if we cut this out the way...
0:28:58 > 0:29:00Much of the work is done from outside.
0:29:00 > 0:29:02It's Graham's chance to show Nicola
0:29:02 > 0:29:05the rot that so nearly caused disaster in the storm.
0:29:06 > 0:29:09- You've not seen this yet, have you? - No. Let's have a look.
0:29:09 > 0:29:12- That whole thing was sitting on that, which is...- Rotten.
0:29:12 > 0:29:15- Yeah. And that little bit of timber under there.- Oh, no! No wonder!
0:29:15 > 0:29:18- Which was sitting on the wall, which was crumbling.- Eurgh!
0:29:18 > 0:29:22- OK, what happens now, then? - The hard bit!
0:29:24 > 0:29:26Suddenly, today is perhaps the most critical
0:29:26 > 0:29:29in the recent history of the barn.
0:29:29 > 0:29:33Its whole future rests on replacing the rotten beam with new hardwood.
0:29:34 > 0:29:36Whoa!
0:29:36 > 0:29:39Need to come round more of an angle, as well, don't we?
0:29:39 > 0:29:43Graham and Brad are manoeuvring over half a tonne of timber
0:29:43 > 0:29:47into a tight space, ten metres up a scaffold.
0:29:49 > 0:29:53I think that deserves a coffee, don't you? Spot-on!
0:29:54 > 0:29:58The biggest structural problem is under control at last.
0:29:58 > 0:30:01- Lovely.- Brilliant.
0:30:01 > 0:30:03I'm well happy.
0:30:04 > 0:30:08Getting to this stage has been a gargantuan task.
0:30:08 > 0:30:10We had 200 plasterboards,
0:30:10 > 0:30:12200 sheets of Celotex,
0:30:12 > 0:30:1552 rolls of insulation and roofing felt,
0:30:15 > 0:30:1780 bundles of baton,
0:30:17 > 0:30:21about 10,000 screws and about 2,000 nails.
0:30:22 > 0:30:26That's a lot of nails. A lot of poor screwdrivers have had it.
0:30:26 > 0:30:28They've had enough.
0:30:30 > 0:30:34By July, the build is running a month behind.
0:30:34 > 0:30:36It's bad news because each extra month
0:30:36 > 0:30:38means more rent spent on the cottage
0:30:38 > 0:30:43and Graham not bringing in an income by building for other people.
0:30:43 > 0:30:46But he refuses to be hidebound by financial details.
0:30:48 > 0:30:51I was looking at what we'd put in the budget for this
0:30:51 > 0:30:53and what we'd put in the budget for that, and I was, like,
0:30:53 > 0:30:55"That's three times what we put in the budget."
0:30:55 > 0:30:56And in the end, he just said,
0:30:56 > 0:30:59"I don't want to know about the spreadsheet any more.
0:30:59 > 0:31:01"Delete the spreadsheet, I'm not interested."
0:31:05 > 0:31:08Over the following weeks, there's significant progress
0:31:08 > 0:31:12as Graham begins to lay the 9,000 pantiles.
0:31:12 > 0:31:15They're modern tiles, but the same style
0:31:15 > 0:31:17as the original creator would have chosen.
0:31:21 > 0:31:23I love sitting up here.
0:31:24 > 0:31:26Got the farmers working in the fields,
0:31:26 > 0:31:28horses in the fields over there.
0:31:29 > 0:31:33This has probably been like this since this barn was built.
0:31:33 > 0:31:34When they were building this,
0:31:34 > 0:31:36they were seeing what we're looking at here.
0:31:36 > 0:31:39Obviously, this is going to outsee us.
0:31:40 > 0:31:43Hundreds of years of being pulled about and it's still standing.
0:31:44 > 0:31:48And I want it to look what it looked like when it was first built.
0:31:50 > 0:31:52It's absolutely fantastic.
0:32:01 > 0:32:04Having thought the barn dated from the late 1600s,
0:32:04 > 0:32:07Kate discovered that the land St Peter's Barn sits on
0:32:07 > 0:32:09was owned by Sir Charles Harbord.
0:32:11 > 0:32:14With the revelation that it was built in the 1700s,
0:32:14 > 0:32:15Kate has expanded her search
0:32:15 > 0:32:18into his descendants in the following century.
0:32:21 > 0:32:24Even from the mid 18th century, records can be pretty sparse,
0:32:24 > 0:32:25so I'm so lucky to have found this,
0:32:25 > 0:32:28which is a book all about the pedigree
0:32:28 > 0:32:30of the families of Stanninghall.
0:32:30 > 0:32:32There's a lot of information, names, dates.
0:32:32 > 0:32:35And the way to make sense of it and try and find out
0:32:35 > 0:32:38who was there in the 1750s is to draw a family tree.
0:32:38 > 0:32:41So our family tree starts with Sir Charles Harbord,
0:32:41 > 0:32:44the surveyor general to the king.
0:32:44 > 0:32:46And he has quite a lot of children.
0:32:46 > 0:32:49First of all, we'll look at his sons.
0:32:49 > 0:32:52We've got Philip, William, Sir Charles
0:32:52 > 0:32:54and his fourth one is John.
0:32:54 > 0:32:58By 1692, Sir Charles's three eldest sons have died
0:32:58 > 0:33:00without any sons themselves.
0:33:00 > 0:33:02And so the entire Stanninghall Estate
0:33:02 > 0:33:04goes to John, the youngest son.
0:33:05 > 0:33:09John now owns both the Gunton and Stanninghall estates.
0:33:09 > 0:33:12But when he dies, he has no direct male heir,
0:33:12 > 0:33:14so the estates pass to his nephew.
0:33:14 > 0:33:19When the nephew dies, they pass to his nephew, Sir William Morden.
0:33:19 > 0:33:22He changes his name to Sir William Harbord
0:33:22 > 0:33:23as a condition of inheriting.
0:33:29 > 0:33:31He could be the man we're looking for.
0:33:31 > 0:33:37Because this young man inherits the entire estate in 1742.
0:33:37 > 0:33:39And this is the time that our barn is being built.
0:33:41 > 0:33:44It's an impressive inheritance of land.
0:33:44 > 0:33:46And it seems Sir William Harbord
0:33:46 > 0:33:49has plans to build a grand hall at his Gunton Estate, too.
0:33:51 > 0:33:53And this is particularly interesting.
0:33:53 > 0:33:57It says, "Sir William Harbord, who inherited the estate in 1742,
0:33:57 > 0:34:00"commissioned Matthew Brettingham to build the hall."
0:34:00 > 0:34:04So this is a name of an architect in 1742 who is there on the estate.
0:34:06 > 0:34:08This is a real breakthrough.
0:34:08 > 0:34:10Kate's found out that Brettingham,
0:34:10 > 0:34:12a distinguished architect of the day,
0:34:12 > 0:34:16was working on the estate where St Peter's Barn stands
0:34:16 > 0:34:18at around the time it was built.
0:34:18 > 0:34:21Next, she and Kieran will need to work out
0:34:21 > 0:34:23whether he might have had some influence
0:34:23 > 0:34:25on the building of the barn.
0:34:31 > 0:34:34By November, the barn is totally watertight
0:34:34 > 0:34:37and a lot of other remedial work is complete.
0:34:41 > 0:34:44Today, there's a big crew on site,
0:34:44 > 0:34:48preparing to pour 166 tonnes of concrete for the floor.
0:34:50 > 0:34:52Once the floor goes in,
0:34:52 > 0:34:55we have really reached a turning point in the build now.
0:34:55 > 0:34:58Shouldn't be coming across any problems any more.
0:34:58 > 0:34:59Fingers crossed.
0:34:59 > 0:35:01- Right, ready?- Yeah, right, let's go.
0:35:05 > 0:35:07Up to the red line.
0:35:16 > 0:35:19Right, that's well deep where you are, so wait there.
0:35:19 > 0:35:23We have floors at last! Finally in!
0:35:25 > 0:35:28Next week, we'll actually have rooms.
0:35:30 > 0:35:31Usually, I'm working on my own,
0:35:31 > 0:35:35but when you've got a bunch of guys, it changes the site in every way.
0:35:35 > 0:35:37You're having a laugh, talking to people.
0:35:37 > 0:35:38Wahey!
0:35:38 > 0:35:42It's brilliant! THEY LAUGH
0:35:42 > 0:35:45When you look through the hallway and through to the lounge,
0:35:45 > 0:35:47it looks really awesome.
0:35:49 > 0:35:50That is massive!
0:35:50 > 0:35:52NICOLA LAUGHS
0:35:53 > 0:35:56Hey, you're dirty! Get off!
0:35:58 > 0:36:01Nicola and Graham are thrilled to have tangible progress,
0:36:01 > 0:36:04but I'm keen to know how they've coped
0:36:04 > 0:36:07tackling such an enormous project with almost no help.
0:36:07 > 0:36:09It's time to pay them a visit.
0:36:10 > 0:36:13Hello, Nic. I feel like I haven't seen you for absolutely ages!
0:36:13 > 0:36:17- I know!- It's great to see you. Where's the husband? Where's Graham?
0:36:17 > 0:36:20He is working very hard in the barn putting steels up.
0:36:20 > 0:36:23Most nights, he doesn't get in before 10.00 at night.
0:36:23 > 0:36:26- Are you serious?- Yeah, completely.
0:36:26 > 0:36:28- Where is he?- He's in here.
0:36:28 > 0:36:29Hello, Graham.
0:36:29 > 0:36:31- Hiya.- How are you?
0:36:31 > 0:36:34Yeah, I'm good. Let me come down.
0:36:34 > 0:36:37I haven't seen you for such a long time!
0:36:37 > 0:36:40- And you've been so busy, haven't you?- Yeah.
0:36:40 > 0:36:42It's looking fantastic!
0:36:42 > 0:36:44It's starting to look like a house now.
0:36:44 > 0:36:46Graham, you've done... I mean, since I last saw you,
0:36:46 > 0:36:49I can't believe you're still standing!
0:36:49 > 0:36:51Is there ever a day when you think, "I don't want to get out of bed"?
0:36:51 > 0:36:54The roof. We went through a stage on that
0:36:54 > 0:36:57because every day, it just hammered down with rain.
0:36:57 > 0:36:59- Has it held up your schedule, do you think?- The roof has.
0:36:59 > 0:37:03I reckon I'm the best part of, probably, six months behind.
0:37:03 > 0:37:06We will claw it back with the internal works.
0:37:06 > 0:37:10As long as we get the inside done, we move in, the outside can wait.
0:37:11 > 0:37:13This is the fabulous kitchen.
0:37:13 > 0:37:16Yes. We've going to have the AGA in the corner,
0:37:16 > 0:37:20- units come all the way round to this side here.- Very good.
0:37:20 > 0:37:22A fridge, and then we're going to have a big central island,
0:37:22 > 0:37:24big kitchen window going there
0:37:24 > 0:37:26and then an arched window in the hallway above.
0:37:26 > 0:37:28Lovely light space, as well, isn't it, for you?
0:37:28 > 0:37:32When I first met you, you were struggling to visualise it.
0:37:32 > 0:37:34Is it coming together for you now?
0:37:34 > 0:37:37Yeah, definitely. Especially the kitchen.
0:37:37 > 0:37:39When I came into the kitchen, when he built the walls,
0:37:39 > 0:37:41I was, like, you can see the kitchen now,
0:37:41 > 0:37:44and I can visualise the children's bedrooms, as well.
0:37:47 > 0:37:49It's bigger than a church hall!
0:37:49 > 0:37:52Oh, your lovely big fireplace!
0:37:52 > 0:37:55Beautiful! Beautiful, isn't it?
0:37:55 > 0:37:56- Yeah.- Really lovely!
0:37:56 > 0:37:59But suddenly, this space, sort of, has come alive, hasn't it?
0:37:59 > 0:38:01It's going to be a fantastic party room.
0:38:01 > 0:38:05We're going to get big chunky sofas, but push them back, and what a great party!
0:38:05 > 0:38:08You won't need to push any sofas back to party!
0:38:08 > 0:38:10Leave the sofas where they are!
0:38:13 > 0:38:16The effort that's gone into this project so far
0:38:16 > 0:38:18is truly extraordinary.
0:38:18 > 0:38:22Graham's carried 9,000 tiles by hand up to the roof,
0:38:22 > 0:38:2412 at a time.
0:38:24 > 0:38:27- I'm really proud of it now. - You're pleased with it?- Yeah.
0:38:27 > 0:38:30It's lovely. You could easily believe it's been there
0:38:30 > 0:38:32- for years and years, couldn't you? - Yeah.
0:38:32 > 0:38:38By doing the roof himself, Graham saved over £50,000, but at a cost.
0:38:38 > 0:38:42I went through a stage where the rains would come in,
0:38:42 > 0:38:45the winds would come in, everything was hitting us.
0:38:45 > 0:38:48- I think it was something like 70mph winds, we had.- Oh, God, Graham.
0:38:48 > 0:38:50I didn't want to go up there. I'd had enough.
0:38:50 > 0:38:53- It must have been awful. - It was horrible. It really was.
0:38:53 > 0:38:56It got to the stage where, at one point, I wanted to sell the place.
0:38:56 > 0:38:57That's how bad we got.
0:38:57 > 0:39:00I didn't want to get out of bed in the mornings. It was horrible.
0:39:00 > 0:39:04I'm guessing Nicola's played a crucial role.
0:39:04 > 0:39:07- But just mentally having her there. - Mentally. Yeah, exactly.
0:39:07 > 0:39:10We have a laugh, we talk, you know, we sing. Anything.
0:39:10 > 0:39:12It's probably made Nic and I even stronger
0:39:12 > 0:39:16because we're working together and we're just having a great laugh.
0:39:19 > 0:39:21Before I go, I just want to find out
0:39:21 > 0:39:23how hard this roofing lark really is.
0:39:26 > 0:39:28- Are you all right with four? - Yeah, four's OK.
0:39:30 > 0:39:31Bung another one on.
0:39:33 > 0:39:35It's starting to get really heavy.
0:39:35 > 0:39:37Oh, all right, put another one on.
0:39:38 > 0:39:41Is that 12? Up you go.
0:39:41 > 0:39:43It just looks like you're getting shorter.
0:39:43 > 0:39:45THEY LAUGH
0:39:45 > 0:39:48- Do you want me to take them from you? - Don't make me laugh!
0:39:49 > 0:39:51With the roof finally watertight,
0:39:51 > 0:39:55the next critical phase will be putting in the windows.
0:39:55 > 0:39:57Creating them is one of the very few parts of this restoration
0:39:57 > 0:40:00that Graham cannot do himself.
0:40:00 > 0:40:03Craftsman Nick Hunt has the tricky task
0:40:03 > 0:40:05of ensuring these new additions
0:40:05 > 0:40:07match the beauty of the original barn.
0:40:09 > 0:40:12What makes these windows so complex is,
0:40:12 > 0:40:14not only because it's curved,
0:40:14 > 0:40:16but because of the size of the curve,
0:40:16 > 0:40:19the window has to be built up in sections.
0:40:19 > 0:40:22We've got another bit to be cut in the middle here
0:40:22 > 0:40:25and that can go together, glued, cleaned up.
0:40:25 > 0:40:30And then after that, the mouldings will be put on to finish it off.
0:40:30 > 0:40:32It's important to get the aesthetics correct
0:40:32 > 0:40:36so that everything looks like it was meant to be there.
0:40:37 > 0:40:39It will look really, really nice when it's finished.
0:40:44 > 0:40:47Kate's established Sir William Harbord,
0:40:47 > 0:40:50the owner of the estate where St Peter's Barn stands,
0:40:50 > 0:40:55hired architect Matthew Brettingham to build Gunton Hall in 1742,
0:40:55 > 0:40:58around the same period the barn was built.
0:41:00 > 0:41:03Sadly, Gunton Hall no longer exists,
0:41:03 > 0:41:06but Kieran's come to the Royal Institute of British Architects
0:41:06 > 0:41:09at the Victoria and Albert Museum
0:41:09 > 0:41:11to discover more about Brettingham.
0:41:11 > 0:41:15Matthew Brettingham's most famous engagement, really, is Holkham Hall.
0:41:15 > 0:41:18It was designed by the architect William Kent.
0:41:18 > 0:41:21Brettingham took on a job in 1734
0:41:21 > 0:41:23as clerk of works, looking after the constructions.
0:41:23 > 0:41:26We've found this wonderful book,
0:41:26 > 0:41:29which is Brettingham's drawings of Holkham Hall.
0:41:30 > 0:41:34Each one signed by M Brettingham, architect.
0:41:34 > 0:41:37Now, this book was, in a way, very controversial,
0:41:37 > 0:41:38because through it, some said
0:41:38 > 0:41:41that he was trying to claim the design of Holkham Hall,
0:41:41 > 0:41:43which, of course, wasn't his.
0:41:43 > 0:41:45Misleading or not,
0:41:45 > 0:41:48these drawings show Brettingham's deep understanding
0:41:48 > 0:41:51of proportion in the classical style.
0:41:51 > 0:41:54His work on Holkham gained him future commissions.
0:41:54 > 0:41:57The most complete of which being Langley Hall,
0:41:57 > 0:42:00just a stone's throw from our barn.
0:42:01 > 0:42:04Built in 1740, it may have been the showpiece
0:42:04 > 0:42:07that led Sir William Harbord to commission Brettingham
0:42:07 > 0:42:11to design Gunton Hall just two years later.
0:42:11 > 0:42:15Kieran wants to take a closer look at its architecture.
0:42:15 > 0:42:17What you can see from a facade like this
0:42:17 > 0:42:21is that it's very carefully ordered, in terms of proportion.
0:42:21 > 0:42:24It's all about, you know, giving order and civilisation
0:42:24 > 0:42:26in a landscape of romantic beauty.
0:42:28 > 0:42:32Wow! This is where you get the full effect of this elegance and symmetry.
0:42:32 > 0:42:33It's beautiful.
0:42:35 > 0:42:39Kieran was expecting to find similarities between Langley
0:42:39 > 0:42:41and what little we know of Gunton Hall.
0:42:41 > 0:42:45But what really strikes him is much more unexpected.
0:42:50 > 0:42:55This amazing, kind of, paired pilaster composition here,
0:42:55 > 0:42:57is just so evocative to me, of St Peter's Barn.
0:42:59 > 0:43:01You know, that entrance of the barn
0:43:01 > 0:43:04has that, kind of rough, almost rustic classicism.
0:43:04 > 0:43:07Here, it's done with much more fineness,
0:43:07 > 0:43:09but, you know, it's almost the same thing.
0:43:10 > 0:43:13At the top here, how the brick is just carved
0:43:13 > 0:43:16and moulded into being almost like a classical column.
0:43:18 > 0:43:20It's really striking similarity.
0:43:23 > 0:43:27St Peter's Barn is almost like a crumbly, farmy version of this.
0:43:30 > 0:43:32And when you see the comparison here
0:43:32 > 0:43:34between this brick classicism at Langley
0:43:34 > 0:43:36and the pilasters at the barn,
0:43:36 > 0:43:38you know, it is tempting to say,
0:43:38 > 0:43:41could it have been Brettingham who designed the barn?
0:43:42 > 0:43:44With Kieran's leads all exhausted,
0:43:44 > 0:43:47it's unlikely we will ever be able to be sure
0:43:47 > 0:43:50if Brettingham was involved with the barn,
0:43:50 > 0:43:52but finally, Graham seems to have turned a corner
0:43:52 > 0:43:54in attempting to save it.
0:43:56 > 0:43:58Oh, it's gorgeous! I love the sun!
0:43:59 > 0:44:01He's working on the central archway
0:44:01 > 0:44:04that will become the barn's main entrance.
0:44:04 > 0:44:05The poor quality flint work here
0:44:05 > 0:44:09is a later addition, and he can't wait to remove it.
0:44:09 > 0:44:11That's what I've always wanted,
0:44:11 > 0:44:14to return everything back to what it should be.
0:44:14 > 0:44:16And this flint work shouldn't be here.
0:44:21 > 0:44:24Once this comes back out, it's back to the way it was built.
0:44:26 > 0:44:28There'd have been a big set of doors
0:44:28 > 0:44:30and you can imagine a horse and cart going through it.
0:44:30 > 0:44:33The arch is more defined and the pillars either side.
0:44:33 > 0:44:35It's starting to bring back some of its charm
0:44:35 > 0:44:37that's been taken away from it, isn't it?
0:44:41 > 0:44:42At Norfolk Record Office,
0:44:42 > 0:44:45Kate's working on the final piece of the puzzle.
0:44:45 > 0:44:50The reason why St Peter's Barn is so grand and elaborate.
0:44:50 > 0:44:52Landowner Sir William Harbord
0:44:52 > 0:44:54would have been a wealthy man,
0:44:54 > 0:44:57but the barn wasn't just about him displaying his own wealth.
0:44:58 > 0:45:00We know that Matthew Brettingham
0:45:00 > 0:45:03was involved with Sir William Harbord at Gunton Manor,
0:45:03 > 0:45:05but if he was the one designing St Peter's Barn,
0:45:05 > 0:45:08it's not just about beauty and showing off.
0:45:08 > 0:45:12In the 1750s, gentlemen estate owners were trying to make money
0:45:12 > 0:45:14by attracting the best type of tenant farmer.
0:45:14 > 0:45:17And they make the most money out of the land,
0:45:17 > 0:45:20and that way to get them was by creating the best type of farm
0:45:20 > 0:45:22with big, grand buildings.
0:45:22 > 0:45:24And that's exactly what St Peter's Barn is.
0:45:27 > 0:45:29Sir William Harbord would have received rent
0:45:29 > 0:45:32from many tenant farmers on his estate.
0:45:32 > 0:45:34And Kate's able to trace one of them.
0:45:35 > 0:45:37Well, this is really fascinating.
0:45:37 > 0:45:40This is a lease between Sir William Harbord of Gunton
0:45:40 > 0:45:43and his tenant farmer, William Gouge.
0:45:43 > 0:45:46A gentleman tenant farmer, of course, who can sign his own name,
0:45:46 > 0:45:47pretty significant at the time.
0:45:47 > 0:45:50This man is out there farming on the Stanninghall Estate
0:45:50 > 0:45:53and making lots of money for Sir William Harbord.
0:45:55 > 0:45:57William Gouge is typical of the tenant farmers
0:45:57 > 0:46:01who would have been attracted by the grandeur of St Peter's Barn,
0:46:01 > 0:46:03and whose knowledge of new farming methods
0:46:03 > 0:46:07helped make the Stanninghall Estate even more productive.
0:46:08 > 0:46:10So even though, perhaps at the time
0:46:10 > 0:46:14St Peter's Barn seemed rather excessive, rather extravagant,
0:46:14 > 0:46:16it was worth its weight in gold.
0:46:17 > 0:46:20Stanninghall became this incredibly successful estate,
0:46:20 > 0:46:22so wealthy, so rich.
0:46:22 > 0:46:25And an awful lot of that was due to our St Peter's Barn.
0:46:34 > 0:46:35At the barn,
0:46:35 > 0:46:39the schedule has now slipped behind by eight months.
0:46:39 > 0:46:42The steel structure and three floors are in place,
0:46:42 > 0:46:46so Graham's able to work on the internal partitions.
0:46:47 > 0:46:48This side's the bedroom.
0:46:48 > 0:46:52And we come in through the doorway into the dressing room.
0:46:53 > 0:46:56But it's a relief just to have got to this stage.
0:46:56 > 0:46:58Sub-zero temperatures in March
0:46:58 > 0:47:01slowed down vital repairs to the brickwork arches,
0:47:01 > 0:47:04where the new windows are due to go in.
0:47:04 > 0:47:07And the bitter cold affected Graham, too.
0:47:07 > 0:47:11When it's minus two in here, working on your own,
0:47:11 > 0:47:13it's not a nice place to be.
0:47:13 > 0:47:16Your fingers are frozen, your toes are frozen, everything.
0:47:17 > 0:47:19I've aged by 50 years.
0:47:21 > 0:47:24Despite everything, the building is progressing.
0:47:24 > 0:47:28As it does, Nicola's more able to help out.
0:47:28 > 0:47:31Anything that isn't heavy, then he teaches me to do.
0:47:31 > 0:47:34So I've been strapping the bricks together,
0:47:34 > 0:47:37bolting all the wood up in the loft.
0:47:37 > 0:47:40Everything I do is one less thing that he has to do.
0:47:40 > 0:47:43And we're both over here and we're both together.
0:47:44 > 0:47:47By the end of April, the couple have reached a crucial phase,
0:47:47 > 0:47:50fitting the windows into the classical arches
0:47:50 > 0:47:53that will transform the barn.
0:47:53 > 0:47:57Once the windows are in, you can imagine moving in there.
0:47:57 > 0:47:59The rebuilt brickwork arches
0:47:59 > 0:48:02have been temporarily supported with a wood structure.
0:48:03 > 0:48:05Today, the first one will be removed
0:48:05 > 0:48:07and replaced by the window frame.
0:48:08 > 0:48:11This is probably my first ever arch I've built.
0:48:11 > 0:48:13And there's a lot of bricks and a lot of weight in there.
0:48:13 > 0:48:17Worst case scenario, it could fall down. Just stand back.
0:48:20 > 0:48:23Excited, actually, to see the window go in.
0:48:23 > 0:48:25Yay!
0:48:26 > 0:48:30The arch stays solid without the supporting structure.
0:48:30 > 0:48:31It's a great start.
0:48:31 > 0:48:34It's come out, probably a bit better than I thought it would.
0:48:36 > 0:48:38The next hurdle is slotting in the frame
0:48:38 > 0:48:40which was made off-site into Graham's arch.
0:48:41 > 0:48:45- All we've got to hope for now is it fits.- It fits!
0:48:48 > 0:48:51It's another one of those milestones, isn't it?
0:48:51 > 0:48:53We've been through the wind, we've been through the rain,
0:48:53 > 0:48:55the hail, the snow.
0:48:55 > 0:48:57The weather hasn't beaten us.
0:48:57 > 0:49:01It's obviously slowed us a lot, but it hasn't beaten us.
0:49:03 > 0:49:06I've been waiting for, like, 18 months to get the windows in.
0:49:06 > 0:49:08So, yeah, it's fantastic.
0:49:11 > 0:49:13It does feel like we're on the home straight now, definitely.
0:49:16 > 0:49:19That does look really good. It's so exciting!
0:49:21 > 0:49:23It looks good. I'm pleased with that.
0:49:29 > 0:49:32I've returned to St Peter's Barn for the last time
0:49:32 > 0:49:34to find out how they're getting on.
0:49:34 > 0:49:37But before I do, we're going to tell Graham and Nicola
0:49:37 > 0:49:41everything we've found out about this extraordinary building.
0:49:41 > 0:49:45We bought in an expert. He looked at these joints and he said,
0:49:45 > 0:49:49that's a joint that's undoubtedly from the late 18th century,
0:49:49 > 0:49:52a hundred years later than all of the literature says about your barn.
0:49:52 > 0:49:56- It's much younger than we thought. - To me, the date was irrelevant
0:49:56 > 0:50:00because the beauty of the barn, that was more interesting.
0:50:00 > 0:50:03Brettingham, one of the major architects of the late 18th century.
0:50:03 > 0:50:05Most importantly, Langley House.
0:50:05 > 0:50:07We did start to feel like
0:50:07 > 0:50:09there are some very strong resonances in your barn.
0:50:09 > 0:50:12Yeah, you can see that. They're just so similar.
0:50:12 > 0:50:15Tantalisingly, we have no definite proof,
0:50:15 > 0:50:19but maybe even Brettingham had a hand in St Peter's Barn.
0:50:19 > 0:50:21During the time of our man Sir William Harbord,
0:50:21 > 0:50:23the way in which he turned land to profit
0:50:23 > 0:50:26was by encouraging the best tenant farmers.
0:50:26 > 0:50:30So you gave them the best possible farm properties.
0:50:30 > 0:50:32To know it's an architectural building,
0:50:32 > 0:50:35- that alone just adds that little bit more, yes.- What we wanted to hear.
0:50:35 > 0:50:38Just knowing exactly what that barn was about, why it was built
0:50:38 > 0:50:41and, you know, it's just the icing on the cake.
0:50:47 > 0:50:50Over the past century, the once-mighty St Peter's Barn
0:50:50 > 0:50:55had been reduced to nothing more than a crumbling, empty shell.
0:50:55 > 0:50:58Carved up by the needs of modern farming practices,
0:50:58 > 0:51:01the true quality of this barn was long forgotten.
0:51:03 > 0:51:06Graham has battled with the elements and the building
0:51:06 > 0:51:11every waking hour, seven days a week for 16 months.
0:51:12 > 0:51:15They had hoped to move in by Christmas 2012,
0:51:15 > 0:51:19but that date came and went and they revised their plans.
0:51:19 > 0:51:21Hello!
0:51:21 > 0:51:23It's now July 2013,
0:51:23 > 0:51:28and I've come back to get the latest on this gruelling restoration.
0:51:28 > 0:51:30Nice to see you. Hello, darling. How are you?
0:51:30 > 0:51:33Lovely to see you! It's looking fantastic!
0:51:33 > 0:51:37It's got windows and doors, which is absolutely awesome!
0:51:38 > 0:51:40The weather was very, very unkind to you.
0:51:40 > 0:51:43- We'd have been in there by now. - It was tough, wasn't it?
0:51:43 > 0:51:44I mean, it was a very difficult...
0:51:44 > 0:51:46But it's made the journey, hasn't it?
0:51:46 > 0:51:49I think it makes you appreciate it more, as well.
0:51:49 > 0:51:51Because of what you've gone through,
0:51:51 > 0:51:53now to what's happening, it's evolving.
0:51:53 > 0:51:56You're not living here yet, it's not finished.
0:51:56 > 0:51:58But there must be stuff you want to show me inside.
0:51:58 > 0:52:00- There is.- Yeah! Come on.
0:52:03 > 0:52:06Tormented by bad luck and endless delays,
0:52:06 > 0:52:09Graham and Nicola have given all they have.
0:52:11 > 0:52:13And it's paid off.
0:52:15 > 0:52:20At the heart of their new home is a bright and spacious kitchen diner.
0:52:21 > 0:52:24This is an awesome kitchen!
0:52:24 > 0:52:28This incredible space heralds the dawn of a new era
0:52:28 > 0:52:30in this barn's history.
0:52:30 > 0:52:33Not as a farm building, but as a home.
0:52:33 > 0:52:36The last time I saw this room, it was a dirt floor, it was wet,
0:52:36 > 0:52:38it was incredibly dark, actually.
0:52:38 > 0:52:40How do you feel looking around it now?
0:52:40 > 0:52:42You can't imagine it's the same place.
0:52:42 > 0:52:45- It's a lovely light in here, isn't it?- It's beautiful.
0:52:45 > 0:52:46And given that the house isn't finished,
0:52:46 > 0:52:49can I assume that the quality throughout the rest of the build
0:52:49 > 0:52:52is going to be up to the standard of this room?
0:52:52 > 0:52:55- Yes.- Oh, definitely. I won't allow it not to be.
0:52:58 > 0:53:00Throughout the build, their greatest challenge
0:53:00 > 0:53:01was dividing up this cavernous barn
0:53:01 > 0:53:04into a series of liveable rooms.
0:53:04 > 0:53:06And they've done it.
0:53:12 > 0:53:15Makeshift doorways have gone.
0:53:15 > 0:53:19Rooms are now lit by carefully positioned bespoke windows
0:53:19 > 0:53:23which no longer mask the unique character of the building.
0:53:24 > 0:53:27This is a lovely room!
0:53:27 > 0:53:29This is beautiful!
0:53:29 > 0:53:31Oh, I couldn't be happier.
0:53:31 > 0:53:34And to rebuild just this column and this arch
0:53:34 > 0:53:36took us just over a thousand bricks.
0:53:36 > 0:53:41Graham, it's an extraordinary piece of work that you've done here.
0:53:41 > 0:53:44Yeah. Again, like you say, you look at it
0:53:44 > 0:53:47and it drives you that bit more. You want to do that next bit.
0:53:47 > 0:53:50You want to see that next bit. You want to move on and progress.
0:53:50 > 0:53:54How soon is it going to be before this looks like a proper bedroom?
0:53:54 > 0:53:57- By the end of next week, this'll be a bedroom finished.- Yeah.
0:53:59 > 0:54:01And just below the colossal roof
0:54:01 > 0:54:03that he worked so tirelessly to restore
0:54:03 > 0:54:05is the master bedroom.
0:54:06 > 0:54:08This is an incredible space.
0:54:08 > 0:54:11It's absolutely beautiful.
0:54:11 > 0:54:14There's just something about this roof area.
0:54:14 > 0:54:15I love this roof area.
0:54:15 > 0:54:18When this is done, it's going to be what I'm most proud of.
0:54:18 > 0:54:22Graham, all of this stuff has been carried up here by you.
0:54:23 > 0:54:26At any point, did you think this is too much for one man?
0:54:28 > 0:54:31No. I just do it. There's no...
0:54:31 > 0:54:34I don't think about it any more.
0:54:34 > 0:54:38You know it's got to be done, so you just do it.
0:54:38 > 0:54:42If it hadn't been a one-man job, would you be living here now?
0:54:42 > 0:54:45Definitely. We'd have been in months and months and months ago.
0:54:45 > 0:54:48But it's given me more passion for the building.
0:54:48 > 0:54:51If a team of guys had been in here, it'd have just been another build.
0:54:54 > 0:54:59Downstairs, the 35-metre-long barn has been partitioned...
0:55:01 > 0:55:06..to create the most incredible double-height sitting room.
0:55:06 > 0:55:08It's magnificent, isn't it?
0:55:08 > 0:55:10- Yeah.- It's absolutely magnificent!
0:55:13 > 0:55:17The fact that you didn't move in yesterday,
0:55:17 > 0:55:20how does Graham feel about that?
0:55:20 > 0:55:21I think he's really disappointed
0:55:21 > 0:55:24because everything's been about today.
0:55:24 > 0:55:27We wanted to be in, I wanted more of the garden done,
0:55:27 > 0:55:31but just for one person to physically do everything he's done,
0:55:31 > 0:55:34I mean, he's working from 7 o'clock in the morning
0:55:34 > 0:55:37till 10 or 11 o'clock at night. He can't do any more than that.
0:55:39 > 0:55:4216 months of dogged determination
0:55:42 > 0:55:45and Graham is well on his way to creating six bedrooms,
0:55:45 > 0:55:49four bathrooms and a breathtaking sitting room.
0:55:51 > 0:55:55You're not finished, but I'm feeling very positive
0:55:55 > 0:55:57that over the next few months,
0:55:57 > 0:56:00this house will just come together and flourish.
0:56:00 > 0:56:02- Do you feel that way?- Definitely.
0:56:02 > 0:56:05Two weeks ago, this room was just breeze block walls, and now look.
0:56:05 > 0:56:09And then we're going to work our way round doing that to each room.
0:56:09 > 0:56:12And then bring the family in, and then its purpose...
0:56:12 > 0:56:15That's the reason you've done it, is it, Graham?
0:56:15 > 0:56:18It's the only reason, really, other than the love of the building.
0:56:18 > 0:56:20That is it, it's for them.
0:56:20 > 0:56:24You know, I'd be happy in me caravan, out in the thing.
0:56:24 > 0:56:26But there's that difference for family,
0:56:26 > 0:56:28it's a completely different feeling to doing it every day
0:56:28 > 0:56:30for somebody that you don't know.
0:56:30 > 0:56:33What is the extra ingredient, do you think,
0:56:33 > 0:56:36- that you put in when you're doing it for family?- My heart.
0:56:36 > 0:56:40This house, I've broken bones doing this,
0:56:40 > 0:56:43- I've drilled bones doing this. - He has!
0:56:43 > 0:56:47Yeah, everything. Everything's been put into this.
0:56:47 > 0:56:49Because you...
0:56:49 > 0:56:54Because I adore the building... and I love my family.
0:56:54 > 0:56:57THEY LAUGH
0:57:07 > 0:57:109,000 screws.
0:57:10 > 0:57:1220,000 nails.
0:57:12 > 0:57:15Seven miles of underfloor heating.
0:57:15 > 0:57:19That is just part of what Graham has had to put into St Peter's Barn
0:57:19 > 0:57:24to get it to the stage it's at now in this mammoth restoration.
0:57:24 > 0:57:26It took Graham and Nicola
0:57:26 > 0:57:29to recognise what a special building this is.
0:57:29 > 0:57:33It had been ignored for generations and its future was bleak.
0:57:33 > 0:57:35But our research linked St Peter's Barn
0:57:35 > 0:57:38to a series of extraordinary characters
0:57:38 > 0:57:41in a story that may have been lost forever.
0:57:42 > 0:57:47Today, thanks to one man, it's been saved.
0:57:58 > 0:58:01On the next Restoration Home -
0:58:01 > 0:58:05an extraordinary house encrusted with ecclesiastical decoration.
0:58:05 > 0:58:07It's just a bit insane, this house.
0:58:07 > 0:58:10And an intriguing pedigree.
0:58:10 > 0:58:13That name immediately sets bells ringing.
0:58:13 > 0:58:15Now a new owner battles years of neglect.
0:58:15 > 0:58:19I hadn't quite realised that the tower is about to collapse.
0:58:19 > 0:58:21And pays a high price.
0:58:21 > 0:58:24What on earth was I thinking?
0:58:28 > 0:58:30Subtitles by Red Bee Media Ltd