Victorian Properties Escape to the Country

Today I'm in a part of the country transformed by one woman's choice to escape here nearly 160 years ago.

Now, I hasten to add that she was not a buyer on our show,

but she did commission this stunning property behind me.

I'm in the Isle of Wight,

THAT is Osborne House, and the lady behind its conception,

well, let's just say this,

when it came to the pressures of of the city, she was not amused.

Today we're delving into the archive to bring you

some of the finest Victorian properties from previous shows.

We get top marks for a converted Victorian schoolhouse...

-Ooh!

-I don't believe this. I'll never get him out of this room.

-No, you won't!

..and stun our buyers with a house full of Victoriana...

-Wow. Ah, this is nice.

-It's a big room.

-It's got real character, hasn't it?

Plus, I'm being shown around Osborne House to find out

what life was like at this very royal escape to the country.

Welcome to the Isle of Wight and a very special Escape To The Country.

Today we are reconsidering some of our finest examples of Victorian properties,

and where better to introduce a show on Victorian houses

than here at Osborne House?

Somewhere that Queen Victoria herself arranged to be built

with only one thing in mind - to escape to the country.

The Victorian era spanned from 1837 to 1901,

a period that saw the rural landscape of Britain change forever.

Whole new communities were built around the huge mills and factories.

The Victorian homes built within this 60-year period

cover many architectural styles,

each with their own distinctive features.

From the gothic revival to the arts and crafts movement,

the Victorian home comes in many forms.

The most enduring testament to the Victorians' solid building development

is that today, over 100 years later,

most of us will at some time live in a Victorian property.

We've featured some really fantastic Victorian properties over the years,

so it hasn't been that easy to choose some of our favourites,

but for our first property,

we've got a really stunning Victorian school conversion for you.

Now, Martin and Gail, they had about £600,000 to spend

and were looking to move to Somerset.

For that they wanted the usual, a big kitchen diner,

large family room, lots of land and all in Somerset.

For this mystery house,

Jules took Martin and Gail to the heart of the Somerset countryside

to the award-winning village of Long Sutton.

This highly sought-after conservation village

has a 15th century Grade I listed church, a Post Office, and a pub,

which all sit around the village green,

and the village green is where we find them now.

It's mystery house time.

-Are we all excited?

-We are.

-Very, yeah.

-I know you've got a thing about having a pub close at hand.

-Mmm.

-There's a pub.

-That's close to us now.

A mystery house is always something a bit different, but look around.

They're all quite pretty. Which one do you fancy?

-That one there looks best.

-Yeah, that looks good.

-What? That old school?

-That old school.

-Is it?

-That is the mystery house, the old schoolhouse.

-Right.

Built around about 1872 on land donated by the Duke of Devonshire,

hence the pub, the Devonshire Arms,

but that was converted around 2001 to the most extraordinary degree.

Come on.

The entrance is around the side of the building across the front garden,

which was originally a playground for over 80 children.

Now, then...

Wow!

Wow, that is...

-What do you think of this?

-That is really nice.

There's an awful lot to this house which is - as you would expect in a conversion -

-perhaps not the expected, but we're used to that now, aren't we?

-We are.

-We're enjoying the unexpected.

-Definitely!

Gail, I have been waiting to show you this room.

I can't wait!

-Oh, my!

-Oh, dear! Oh, I don't believe that.

-Yeah.

-You don't believe it?

-No!

Here you've got this hand-made pine kitchen.

Could you be happy in here?

-Yes, more than happy.

-More than happy?

-Yeah!

-You'd better get your chequebook out, mate.

-More than happy.

I'll know where to find you!

-It's fantastic, Jules.

-Yeah?

-It's really nice.

Come and explore this area

because this is where the fact this was an old school really comes out, I think.

-Fantastic.

-Amazing.

-I think you're a bit lost for words.

I am, actually, because I'm now thinking,

right, there's more to this house.

There's an awful lot more!

And to start with, making the most of the high vaulted ceiling in the sitting room is the first bedroom.

This is great fun.

Oh, right, yes.

-Now, this is the only bedroom that isn't en suite.

-Right.

You'll probably get a sense of why because it's technically a mezzanine,

-so it's open, this side...

-Yes.

..and of course all that overlooks the main part of the kitchen area.

Uh-huh.

-Let's see if we can find you a room, shall we?

-OK.

Let's go downstairs and find another bedroom.

'Well, I think they were a bit overwhelmed by the dimensions of this property,

'so it's good to see Martin and Gail deciding how THEY would utilise the space on offer here.

'Across the capacious sitting room is a possible master bedroom.'

Now, go in there and tell me what you think of that one.

Oh, yes, yes.

Oh, this could be ours!

And this is en suite, Jules?

Yeah. Tucked away in there.

Open the door, Martin. Have a look in there.

Put the light on.

-Yeah.

-Have a look.

-That's really nice.

-Big enough?

-Yes.

Oh, yeah, plenty big enough.

Nice to have it, given that it's upstairs on its own little landing

so you haven't got to go up and down to use all that.

We prefer to be above the kids than the other way around.

Good idea. Good thinking!

'Well, heading downstairs, I think the girls would be happy

'with the size of the two light and spacious bedrooms on offer,

'especially as they both have quite roomy en suites.

'The second bedroom is located off a bright and airy extension

'which leads to the room I've been saving for last.'

Now, Martin,

-I've got you a little surprise.

-You have, have you?

-Well, as if this house wasn't impressive enough...

-Yeah.

-..open that door.

-Open that door.

Oh, my word!

-I don't believe this.

-Ooh-wee!

-Oh, yes.

-Do you like that?

That is just amazing. That's breathtaking.

You've got a multi-fuel burner there as well,

one of the original fireplaces in the school, which is terrific.

And then up here you've got your own little library.

Oh, wow! Yes. Mind your head.

-Mind my head?

-Yeah.

Now, this is nice. Sit here. Look out there.

You'll be able to keep an eye on me coming out the pub and playing snooker!

How about it?

And he's got a lot of books.

-Well, you know, it's a perfect kind of gent's reading room, this, isn't it?

-Yeah.

-You know?

-You do like reading.

He'd sit and read all day.

I'm not sure you'll be allowed in here, you know.

Well, you know,

I love the fact you're enjoying this property because it really is fun.

Yeah. It's so different.

That's the mystery house!

'This property has clearly grabbed them, but time to see just how much,

'when they see the outside.'

Come out here, because this is...kind of it.

-Oh, right.

-Apart from the old playground at the front,

this is your garden.

Now, what can I tell you about it?

The up side is that it's easy to keep.

-Yes.

-The downside is that it's not an acre!

-No.

Your £600,000 has to go quite a long way in this county, as we have seen.

I feel this is going to be over-budget, Jules,

so I would say about 635.

-Yeah, I think it's over-budget as well.

-Go on, then.

-625.

-625.

It's on the market for 50 quid short of £670,000.

Now, the reason I've shown to it you

isn't to tease you with something unobtainable.

The people that own this are desperate to move.

They will take some very, very serious offers on that figure.

It depends how much you want this property.

Go on. Go and have a good old look around again.

There's a few more bits and pieces you haven't fully explored.

See what you get and how much you want it.

'I think the mystery house offers Martin and Gail a whole new style of living.'

Everything works for this property inside.

Three en suite bedrooms is almost unheard of.

I like these hand-made kitchen cupboards.

Having seen this, it's brought an extra house into the equation.

Well, here we are at Osborne House,

the jewel in Queen Victoria's property crown.

Osborne House is just one mile outside Cowes on the Isle of Wight.

It commands a spectacular view of the Solent

and was Queen Victoria's and Prince Albert's favourite royal residence.

The Queen made this her home for three months of the year,

and I'm here to meet curator Michael Hunter

to find out what life was like in this very royal escape to the country.

-Hello, Michael.

-Hello, Denise. Welcome to Osborne.

Thank you very much. Fabulous day for it.

We've got the dry weather and amazing views! And wow!

She has built the ultimate escape to the country, really, hasn't she?

Exactly. The Queen and the Prince wanted to have somewhere quiet

where they could escape from the pressures of state life and so on,

and it was their favourite home.

It looks very grand from the outside, but I really want to look

at the detail inside because I'm guessing we're talking opulence,

Victorian grandeur.

-Very much so.

-Yeah?

-Let's go.

-Can we have a look?

Let's go look, yes.

In the late 19th century, Osborne's estate totalled over 2,000 acres,

quite a large chunk of a small island.

However, it is inside where this purpose-built Victorian palace

tells a much more personal story.

Wow! This is what I call...

-Spectacular, isn't it?

-Yes!

Look at this. Look at the detail. Is that marble all the way around?

It's actually painted marble, very well done, looks very convincing.

-They certainly were trendsetters.

-Yes.

-Absolutely beautiful.

Very stunning, a nice start to the home. What else have we got to see?

Let's go into the billiards room and look in there.

-Ah-ha! This is the billiards room, then?

-Yes, is it, yes.

So did the Queen actually play?

She did, yes, yes.

Apparently she played with her ladies in the afternoon.

Hard to imagine her with her crinoline, and the sort of 4'10" Queen Victoria playing billiards.

Whether she was good or not, I don't know!

This ceiling, the cornicing and coving...

I live in a converted Victorian house,

-and those sort of details you still see.

-Exactly.

This kind of very elaborate plaster work did filter down

to the middle class and ordinary homes.

Victoria and Albert's love story

is one that really comes alive inside this stately home,

but in 1861, just ten years after the house had been completed,

Albert died of typhoid, leaving Victoria in mourning

for the next 40 years.

The 1890s also saw the completion

of one of the house's most palatial rooms.

-Here we are, Denise, in the Durbar Room.

-Wow!

An extraordinary change of scale, you'll agree!

-It really is! To be honest, this is more what I was expecting, very palatial.

-Yes, yes.

With a distinctly Indian feel.

Very much so, yes, indeed.

This was the last part of the house to be built,

decorated to reflect Queen Victoria's status as Empress of India.

It is so intricately done.

Just about every inch has been covered with this detail. Absolutely beautiful.

An Indian craftsman, Bhai Ram Singh, was brought to Osborne, and he designed the room

along with Lockwood Kipling, Rudyard Kipling's father.

It's an amazing room.

I can't wait to see some more. Shall we keep going?

Yes, let's move on.

From the opulence of the Durbar Room,

Michael takes me upstairs to the Queen's private apartments.

-We're in the Queen's dressing room.

-Really?

After the opulence of downstairs, I've got to say,

this is relatively understated.

The only difference is the view.

Yeah, if only we all had a view like that! It would be really nice.

It's fascinating to see that the Queen lived like this.

Yeah.

-Well, here, Denise, we're in Queen Victoria's bedroom.

-Wow!

It was here that she died on the 22nd of January, 1901.

She enjoyed her last Christmas here, so it's quite fitting

that she died in Osborne, one of her favourite residences.

I felt a bit more endeared to Queen Victoria now, I've got to say.

There's very much an image of her as the stern, austere Queen.

I have a new spin on what the Victorian era is all about!

-Thank you.

-You're welcome.

From one very fine example of Victorian splendour to another,

and for our second property, we're off to Pembrokeshire in South Wales.

Now, our buyers, Janet and Andrew, were really keen

to introduce their nine-year-old son, Josh, to country living,

and thought that Pembrokeshire would do the trick.

So prepare yourself as Jules takes us again

on a tour back in time and opens the door to a very Victorian home.

We took Janet, Andrew and their £450,000 budget to Lower Freystrop,

a few miles south of Haverfordwest.

The village is in a quiet rural setting

with a number of 19th century properties,

one of which Jules is about to reveal.

Chanced my luck a bit and gone for something a bit more historic,

lots more character, lots more charm,

and it's green.

It looks strange from the outside

cos you don't see really what it's got to offer from the outside.

You don't. It's a bit of a TARDIS, to be perfectly honest,

-so let's have a little look inside and see if it moves you.

-OK.

-Come on.

This is certainly a property with bags of character,

and it has the reception rooms Janet and Andrew are after.

But are they ready to step back in time

and see the potential on offer here?

Now, come on in here.

A little kind of lobby-stroke-boot room, cloakroom, as it were.

You come through here, bearing in mind this was an old farmhouse,

so it's got really lovely Victorian proportions, a nice Victorian banister rail

-and two great big reception rooms. Go in there. Have a little look.

-Wow!

-This is nice.

-It's a big room.

-It is.

And the furniture we've got in our current house is more old-style,

so it would fit better into a house like this.

-The high ceilings are really great.

-So, one reception room.

Come through here. Have a little look.

Reception room number two - another reproduction fireplace.

I'm quite surprised.

From outside, I expected this house to be very dark inside.

They've made good use of the windows.

It makes it quite bright and airy.

I mean, it's a bit Sherlock Holmes, all this, I think.

There's so much memorabilia in this house,

it's like walking through a museum, to be frank.

Again, it would be quite nice. You've got the two separate rooms,

one for us to have as a sort of quiet sitting room

and then another sort of family, DVD, sort of room.

I get the feeling they're struggling to see through the Victoriana,

but at least the kitchen's a bit more contemporary.

I didn't expect this big a kitchen, really. I expected it to be smaller.

Through there you've got a little utility as well.

I don't know if I'd cope with the table in the middle of the room,

whether we'd turn one of the other rooms into a dining room

You could, because there is space for a separate dining room on top of your two reception rooms.

-Right.

-And the good news is it's just through the hall.

-OK.

-Have a look at this.

Now, how about this for a separate dining room?

This was the dairy in the old farmhouse.

-Right.

-That's now obviously been turned into this.

Great, and I like the stone. It's great, isn't it?

Yeah, a really nice texture to it.

-It is nice.

-I like this as a room.

As we head upstairs,

the bathroom is certainly one of the more unusual ones I've seen.

Weird!

You think you're walking into a bedroom and it's a bath...

I thought this would be a bedroom. That's a strange en suite thing in the corner!

-What about it?

-This is what you call a bathroom.

-This is known in the trade as a family bathroom.

-Well, it's huge! Huge.

-Taken aback by it all.

-OK, well before you are completely lost for words,

let's move on and see what else we can find around here.

The first of the bedrooms, a good-sized single,

is also on this level.

To reach three more, you have to head up another flight of stairs.

It's a good-sized room, again, it's about taking all the stuff out

and thinking how our stuff would work in this.

There's a veranda out there through those double doors

and that, which is terrific, which is the real thing.

There's a lot of features like that in the house that I like,

but then you've got the new sort of look of the veranda.

It's a bit of a contradiction, isn't it?

I wouldn't say it's a totally negative thing.

I like the period features, but the whole house seems to be,

like, totally stepping back in time.

As I say, this is a house you're either going to love or hate,

but I'm not going to give up just yet.

The other two bedrooms on this floor are slightly smaller.

Then it's up a narrow staircase to find the final bedroom.

It's very steep. It's a bit challenging.

I mean, I'm not that small. You're taller.

-It is quite a challenge.

-Walking around like this!

This is technically the master bedroom.

-You're joking?

-I'm not! This is technically the master bedroom.

I wouldn't want to come all the way up here to go to bed.

You'd need to go to bed when you got up here, is the point!

I thought maybe a kids' room, top of the house, out of the way...

It would have to be, because this just doesn't feel that big.

Although you've got a lot of light coming in,

it just feels quite dark and small, doesn't it?

Josh would probably love it up here.

Yeah, this is a kids' space, isn't it?

Surrounding the house, an enclosed garden area for Josh,

a decked area for the adults,

a pond and a patch of lawn for Max, but has it won over my buyers?

-I think there's a lot of work to create something that we would find acceptable.

-Uh-huh.

There's no garage.

There's not much in the way of space for a double garage,

and because the house is where it is, it's right in the middle of the plot,

not giving you much space either side.

I knew you were up for a project, I wasn't quite sure how much of a project you'd be up for,

which is why this has been a bit of a risk, to be honest,

in showing you this house, from my point of view.

I can kind of see where it's going.

But I am going to ask you, you know, how much, just out of interest,

you think this place would be worth?

It's difficult. It's got lots of period features. I wouldn't like to say, really. 400?

It's probably... No, I wouldn't think it was that much. Maybe 350?

For the right person, they would probably snap this up and love this house, but it's not for me.

So £350,000.

Suppose I told you that this was on the market for £475,000.

-You are joking!

-I'm amazed at that!

That is far more. I thought 400 was being generous.

That is far more than I thought.

Yep. It has been on the market for quite a long time,

and I suspect that may be an optimistic figure.

Go and have a little look and see what you're going to walk away from,

and I'll catch up with you.

Certain aspects of the house, some of the kitchen, the big rooms,

the fireplaces, high ceilings, I liked.

It ticks a lot of the boxes. And it's a big house.

It's got some period features that we like,

but it needs a lot of work to make it the house that we'd want it to be.

I would describe it as going into a Victorian museum for the afternoon

cos that's what it felt like.

For our final property we're heading back to the village of Lodsworth in West Sussex,

and Mark and Rachel had a budget of about £600,000,

and they wanted to escape from Surbiton.

I was about to show them a mystery house

that would challenge all of their requirements,

but would they go for it? Well, let's find out.

Lodsworth is 25 miles from Mark's work in Horsham.

It's a popular village with a traditional Sussex pub on the village green

and the local church, St Peters, was built in the 13th century.

Lodsworth is not without its artistic connections.

EH Shepard, the illustrator of Winnie the Pooh,

lived here, and no doubt was inspired by its whimsical charm.

You two have a very fixed idea about what you think

your life in the countryside will be like,

and "rural" is a word you said quite a bit.

But we thought it might be interesting to show you a different vision,

so the mystery house is here in the village of Lodsworth,

which is very popular, highly sought-after,

and we're in the heart of it, an area of outstanding natural beauty.

And listen...

Quieter than most of the rural spots we've seen.

-Absolutely!

-And this is the property.

-Wow, it's a gorgeous house.

-Lovely, really attractive.

Victorian by the looks of it.

-That's exactly it.

-Pretty windows.

That's good! A great Victorian property,

we're in the heart of a village, and I can't wait to show you inside.

This way.

-Very nice.

-Mmm, nice big entrance.

-Very well presented.

-It's a great entrance.

-Lovely, isn't it?

-It is a great entrance.

I said we're in the heart of the village,

but this was the old reading room.

They've tried to retain a bit of that with these bookshelves.

-Lovely. I like that.

-Really nice.

I like it. Just want to see more!

Oh, you want to see more? Let's show you the living room.

-Lovely room.

-In you come.

-Fab room.

-Oh, wow! This is really nice - huge!

Yeah, lovely fireplace.

-No doubt about it, I love the room.

-You love it? Great!

Even though there's a road outside, it's not busy.

No, nowhere near. Just a little country road.

BUT...it's not putting me off the house at the moment.

I think you might like what I'm going to show you next.

Ah-hah!

Wow, very nice!

-Is it what you expected?

-Yes, it is, in terms of style.

I thought it would be like this, very country.

They've got great features.

You've got the big range-style cooker there,

so plenty of cooking action you've got in here and big work surfaces.

-Yeah, a real family space, this.

-Is it enough space for you?

No, there's not enough space to bring friends in or for us all,

actually, to dine in that space on a regular basis,

so I'm hoping that there's more space somewhere else in the house to dine.

Would I want to disappoint you, Mark? I don't think so!

Let me show you through here.

-Just look that way.

-Wow!

-Now that...OK!

Ah-hah! Come on in.

-That's fab, fantastic.

-Lovely.

-This is gorgeous!

-Wow, that's good.

-This is the best room.

-Look at the windows all around, it's fabulous.

Bearing all that in mind, I want to show you some more.

Lead the way back through the kitchen, and turn right.

This is a three-bedroom property, but the third bedroom is on the ground floor.

It's the perfect size for a child's bedroom,

and next to it is a compact bathroom.

Both Mark and Rachel seem really excited about this property.

Let's hope that carries through as we head upstairs.

Now, what about this for a master bedroom?

Lovely, really nice. Look at the built-in wardrobes.

Nice high ceiling, very light and airy. Love it.

So now we've seen a bit of the upstairs.

How are you feeling about this property? You were surprised when we were downstairs.

It's beautifully presented. It really is stunning. I really like this house.

-Reservations?

-There are some.

I've noticed that there are just two bedrooms upstairs,

and I think that is a bit of a negative.

Let's have a look at that other bedroom, and what other benefits this house might have,

before you finally make your mind up.

-Do you want to lead the way, Rachel?

-Yes.

-In you go.

-Oh, wow!

-Oh, wow, look at that!

-Out you go!

Fantastic.

-Surprised?

-Yeah, very surprised.

-Yeah, it's lovely.

That's super, and what views as well.

-Isn't that nice?

-Mmm.

-Have a look out there.

-Wow!

-Amazing.

-What a view.

-It's great, isn't it?

The house has the thumbs-up. Will the garden be the decider?

Here we are in the garden,

-and look, not going to make any bones about it. It is small.

-It is.

That's a shame.

And if you were still interested in the house and the garden is small,

there is the option of an allotment. So you can still tend to your vegetables.

How much do you think it's worth?

I think 575.

I think it's probably, seeing as it's such a pretty village,

a great house and it's so well kept inside, I think a little bit more.

I think it's probably nearer the 590 mark.

How about this - it's actually on the market for £550,000.

That surprises me.

-A good surprise?

-Yeah.

It's good. It is a good surprise.

Obviously, I still have reservations, though.

-We do, yeah.

-OK. Still some reservations, but put those to the back of your mind

go back inside and have another look, OK? See you later.

The house is stunning. I love Victorian properties, high ceilings, big rooms.

It really is a wonderful property.

This is actually one of my favourite rooms.

-Yeah, you could just relax in here, couldn't you?

-Triple aspects.

Only problem is, two bedrooms upstairs, one downstairs,

I'm not sure how that would work with our family.

I got quite excited when I first walked in,

but the more we went around, the more I realised it wasn't for us.

We're not going to get every single thing we want.

We're going to have to make some compromise.

Otherwise, we're going to have to up that budget quite a bit.

I don't think the downstairs bedroom or the small garden

were really working for Mark and Rachel's lifestyle,

but still, it did offer some great Victorian qualities.

That's all we've got time for with the Victorian properties on today's show.

I hope you enjoyed it and I hope I see you next time.

Right now I need to find a ride home!

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