Essex Escape to the Country

This Norman castle is a relative new-build here in the oldest recorded settlement in Britain.

Find out where I am, and which county we're visiting, in just a moment.

On today's show, I'm seeking a rural property for a pair of interior design specialists,

who want to find an impressive country house with a real wow factor.

The compliments flow at our first two properties...

-Wow!

-Beautiful.

You can't not say "Wow!" when you come through that gate there.

But they have to put their professional hats on for our mystery house.

I am trusting the two of you will be able to whisk up something magical inside.

We're going to try.

Today we're in Essex, and this is Colchester or Camulodunum,

as it was known 2,000 years ago when it was the first Roman capital of Britain.

It also lays claim to being the first British settlement to be mentioned in writing,

thanks to Pliny the Elder, who wrote about it in 77AD.

Surviving Saxon invasions, European plague and earthquake,

Colchester still flourishes, which is more than we can say for Pliny the Elder,

who died in the eruption of Mount Vesuvius in Pompeii.

But there is still much to write home about from Essex.

Rooted in the Old English name for the East Saxons,

Essex stretches from the North Sea to the borders of London.

Neighbouring counties

include Suffolk, Cambridgeshire

and Hertfordshire.

And there are over 1,200 square miles to explore,

or 800 Essex miles, if you prefer.

For it's here that the phrase "country mile" originates.

When an amateur cartographer tried to measure the county in 1651,

he miscalibrated his equipment,

meaning his miles were actually closer to a mile and a half.

By his calculation, that would throw the village of Finchingfield over into Suffolk

and with its gorgeous architecture, this is certainly a village you'd be loath to lose.

In the 15th century, it was an official stop for horse-drawn coaches

journeying from Norwich to London.

But its main claim to fame these days

is as the most photographed village in England.

You can imagine it - close links to London,

plus beautiful countryside...

It equals very expensive property here in Essex.

The average price for a detached house here is £299,000.

That's £43,000 above the national figure.

And that's particularly true of the pretty villages around Chelmsford.

But if you go beyond Colchester to places like Brightlingsea,

Burnham or Maldon,

then you can knock 30% off that price tag.

And wherever you go in Essex, there are some beautiful architectural styles to choose from.

The historic wool trade has left its mark on the north of the county,

by the Suffolk border, where many villages display a stunning mix

of black and white timber-framed houses.

But they usually come with a high price tag.

This three-bedroom 15th-century property in the village of Stebbing

is Grade II listed

and on the market for just under £500,000.

The timber-framed buildings from Essex's medieval past

include a number of barns.

Although many have now been converted for residential use,

they serve as a reminder of the county's agricultural wealth

and their price can reflect that.

This late-14th-century four-bed property in the village of Bocking

is on the market for £620,000.

Although three-bed conversions can also be found

for close to the £300,000 mark.

Essex building materials and Essex architectural styles

make for a great variety of different properties.

But are any of them going to be good enough for our buyers today? Let's meet them.

Eastender Peter and his South-African-born wife Jackie

have been together for the past 11 years,

living in the busy London suburb of Hornchurch,

where they share a four-bedroom semi-detached house

with their daughter and pet dog.

But they've been thinking of a move to the country for the past few years.

Well, Hornchurch today must have nearly 30 restaurants and bars.

It's quite a hub of the local area.

It's a little too lively for us nowadays,

and we're really ready now to make that move

to somewhere more rural, where we can be a part of the community.

With their daughter at a pivotal age,

giving her the same sort of outdoor upbringing that Jackie had is an important consideration.

It's only a year or so until she goes up into secondary school.

It's exactly the right time for us now, isn't it?

It's quite nice to be looking at the countryside now,

so we'll have the space.

Jackie and Peter both work in interior design.

Peter is co-founder of a decoration and conservation company

that works on historic buildings

and was invited to help with the restoration of Windsor Castle

after the serious fire there in 1992.

And from that point on, we were granted the Royal Warrant,

as decorators and gilders to Her Majesty the Queen.

It's a tremendous honour to be a part of the nation's heritage

and to restore or reinstate beautiful houses.

It can be quite spiritual, quite uplifting.

And it's certainly incredibly rewarding.

So, while they're not looking for a palace,

their future house has a great deal to live up to,

inside and out.

Clearly, the properties and the clientele that I work with,

we can't emulate that sort of standard.

Very interested in seeing a wreck,

um, something that was a project.

We're not afraid to do it.

They've chosen the area of north Essex, because it's not far from where Peter's eldest daughter lives,

as well as being an hour from London for work.

Besides exploring the beautiful architecture and countryside,

there are plenty of other pastimes they want to factor in.

One of my great hobbies is cooking.

I love to cook any kind of...

various different styles of cooking.

I do a little bit of jewellery-making.

Not silver work,

but it started with beading.

I'd like to get into the silver, you know,

proper jewellery-making.

I also write poetry

and I'm a drummer.

With their house on the market, they have a ballpark figure for what they want to spend.

Our budget for the house is £700,000.

We're confining our search to northern Essex,

in locations that give Peter an hour's journey time by train

into London for work.

I'm meeting up with them to find out more details of what they want in their new rural home.

Welcome to Essex - a slightly more rural bit of Essex.

-Yes, this is really very beautiful, isn't it?

-I know. The weather's holding off for us, so that's good.

So I'd like you to tell me a little bit about the spec you're looking for in the property.

We're looking for four bedrooms,

um...

We would like to have some land around.

You know, living in suburbia for some time,

so, you know, to have an acre or so of land, if possible.

Really like some outbuildings.

We would like a nice-sized kitchen, if possible.

Um, we spend a lot of time in the kitchen,

cooking, entertaining, you know, having friends over.

Now, I know you're in the restoration business, so are you prepared to do a bit of work

-if there was some work necessary on the house? Would that be a possibility?

-Absolutely.

We're not frightened of getting our hands dirty.

We've found three that I think are going to be really interesting for you.

But the flexible hat must be on, and maybe the compromise hat as well.

-And the renovation hat?

-And the renovation hat too.

Yes, the hard hat!

We'll look forward to all of that.

Yeah, well, let's go and see them. No time like the present.

For their budget of £700,000,

Peter and Jackie are hoping to find an impressive character home,

with a large kitchen,

a home office for Peter,

four bedrooms,

outbuildings,

and preferably with around an acre of land.

With their experience of working on the country's finest buildings,

we've had our work cut out finding three suitably magnificent homes to show them.

But we've done it,

and after each tour, we'll be playing guess the price.

One, of course, is our mystery house,

which could prove something of a busman's holiday for our buyers.

We're a bit worried, of course, that you've got rather palatial ambitions.

Are you able to be realistic about what you can afford?

I think you have to be realistic.

It's also a huge job to maintain those palatial properties,

and a large expense.

What about you, Peter? Are you looking for something as a sort of antidote to all those grand houses?

I wouldn't say an antidote,

although, at the same time, I wouldn't be looking to gild all of our ceilings.

Um...

After all those frescoes,

just dying for a bit of matt emulsion?

No, I'd love a fresco or two.

We're not quite expecting that in Essex, although we may be painting one!

Our property shopping starts close to Felsted,

a historic village on the north bank of the River Chelmer.

Peter's commute would involve a 15-minute drive to Braintree

for the direct train journey of around an hour to London.

The community is well catered for by a few restaurants and the local pub,

as well as a village shop with post office, a bakery, a deli and a tea room.

Our first house is around six miles outside Felsted

in the hamlet of Willows Green

and was originally a timber-framed farmhouse,

built in the 17th century.

It was extended in the Georgian period

when a peg-tile roof was added.

Sweeping round the drive...

-Wow!

-House number one.

-Wow!

-Beautiful.

It looks really, really nice.

It's a gorgeous facade, isn't it?

What are your thoughts?

-Wow! It's beautifully kept as well, isn't it?

-Lovely, grand entrance

and gravel drive.

A stunning brick-built house. It's really beautiful.

And it's a listed building,

-but I'm sure you're used to that.

-Yes.

-What grade is it?

-II.

-That's OK.

That's absolutely fine.

We're really excited about it, so...

See, most couples quail slightly at that.

But you're probably the best qualified to have a listed building.

We're also interested in preserving the history, so...

and preserving the house as it is.

-Well, we'd better go and see inside.

-Lovely.

We seem to have struck gold with the period grandeur,

and with their vast experience with historic properties,

that's a result.

Although this house has an impressive Georgian front door,

the entrance is at the back.

We'll go straight into the Georgian front room.

-Mind the rug there.

-Wow!

This is beautiful.

-Yeah.

-Magnificent.

Lovely open fireplace there.

So it's a massive inglenook.

Not really a Georgian feature, typically,

but this was the Georgian extension, because that was the outside wall

of the 1700s farmhouse cottage.

Yeah.

-Fabulous huge floorboards.

-Yeah.

And, of course, the quaint old front door,

which obviously isn't used any more.

I mean, the fireplace is a wow factor for me.

No, I think wow factor can mean so many things,

and just walking into this house

and walking from the outside, it does have wow factor.

When you go through here, you've got a formal dining room, which you can explore a bit later,

but there's a lovely fireplace there.

So the next key room is the kitchen.

With the sitting rooms delivering on the wows,

I'm hoping they'll also fall in love with the kitchen/breakfast room,

which is at the rear of this property.

-Wow!

-Wow! Very nice.

Is it what you're looking for?

Yes, I think so.

It's the right amount of space.

It has got quite a lot going for it, I think.

We do have a very, very posh and voluminous utility room.

It's the poshest utility room I've ever seen, with a downstairs loo.

-So your white goods are sort of out there.

-Yes.

-It's lovely.

-Sweet outlook.

In the summer, open the doors... I can see, you know...

I could change quite a lot of things

if one needed to or one wanted to.

It's beautiful as it is.

I'm very pleased with what we've seen so far.

As this property is Grade II listed,

our buyers will be well aware that they could make minor internal alterations

with the correct permissions.

The next room is this property's newest addition -

an extension, off the snug.

-So come through here.

-Oh, my goodness!

This is the newest part of the house.

-Put in by the present owners.

-Wow!

It's a lovely wooden-framed conservatory,

with a brick base.

What a lovely, sunny room.

Very pretty.

And a great little sitting area as well.

-You could almost use this as an office as well.

-Absolutely.

A very nice office.

But there's this lovely transition between inside and outside.

Of an evening, it'll be beautiful,

with the garden, and you're almost outside at the same time.

So far, I'm very impressed with it.

Me too.

-What about the upstairs? Now, you wanted four bedrooms.

-Yes.

Let's see if we've delivered.

The ground floor has really impressed them.

Let's see if the upstairs can continue that positivity.

There are three generously sized bedrooms on the first floor.

-My goodness!

-This is the one they use as their master.

-Beautiful.

-Lovely-sized bedroom, isn't it?

Nice low ceiling.

-Yeah.

-That's lovely.

And I love the window with the view of the garden.

And, actually, the three rooms here are... The one on the other side is pretty much the same size.

The one at the back, they're using as a guest room.

What we can't offer you here is an en suite.

-There is a nice, good-sized family bathroom on this landing, though.

-OK.

-OK.

What do you think about that? Is that a compromise you're willing to make? I know you'd like an en suite.

It is possibly a compromise.

So, I'll let you explore that later, but let's look outside.

If they needed a bit more space, and a small renovation project,

they could possibly remodel the second floor,

which currently offers the basics of a guest room with an en suite.

But we're heading outside, where the gardens are intricately planted

and beautifully landscaped.

The plot amounts to almost three-quarters of an acre,

and includes a garage

and an adjoining outbuilding with plenty of potential for conversion.

It really is a magnificent garden.

I see quite a lot of gardens on this show, but I think this gets big gold stars.

It's beautiful.

So, I think it's a great property,

but is it a property you can afford?

Is it in your budget?

How much do you think it's on the market for?

685?

I would have said maybe 675.

Well, this property is on the market

for 735.

-OK.

-So this is what I'm talking about in terms of

your budget is really under pressure to get what you want...

-Yeah.

-..this close to London.

The price doesn't frighten me.

Have a wander around and see whether you think this is your dream house.

-I'd love to.

-Wonderful. Thank you.

-Go back inside.

Priced at £735,000, this period property is over budget.

But a sensible offer could bring it within reach.

It has everything they asked for, including a large kitchen/diner,

enough reception rooms to turn one into Peter's office,

four potential bedrooms,

an outbuilding ripe for conversion,

all set in almost three-quarters of an acre of landscaped gardens.

I think, on arriving at this house, it really did conjure up

the attraction that we've been looking for -

a country building, quite an interesting driveway,

a secluded house,

fields opposite...

The location just seems perfect.

When I first walked up to the house,

I was very impressed with the garden

and the front of the house.

The Georgian-style windows, sash windows.

The kitchen's absolutely beautiful as it is,

but there is potential to change maybe the tops

to suit us.

There's some serious gardening here,

especially if you haven't got very green fingers.

How green-fingered are you two?

Quite green-fingered.

You'll need to be very green-fingered

if you take on board this garden!

-We're willing to start practising, so that'll be great fun.

-Good.

-Are you done inside?

-I think so.

-Lovely, thank you.

So let's head off to property two.

Although Essex is predominantly a rural landscape,

a number of towns and villages serve as a reminder

that, historically, local industry

was not solely based on farming practices.

A prime example lies towards the Suffolk border

in the parish of Bulmer,

whose location close to the Thames estuary

has provided a rich source for local building materials.

The historic Bulmer Brickyard

has been in operation since the 1840s

and is now a thriving family business.

Owner Peter Minter took over the works from his father

and now operates it with his two sons

and two grandsons,

along with a workforce of 17 local people.

As Peter and Jackie have experience of renovating historic properties,

we arranged for them to take a closer look at the type of bricks

made here for modern-day restorations.

Why is the factory actually right here?

Well, any brick-maker relies on his clay, his raw material, and the clay here is particularly good quality.

And a seam which was from the 1450s was available to people.

They could get into this clay.

So it is the clay seam, and we are on the northern end of the Thames Estuary 40 million years ago.

Once the clay has been dug out of the quarry and prepared,

it's ready to be formed into bricks.

They can be made in a range of sizes,

depending on the building project.

And an experienced brick-maker can produce up to 1,000 of these a day.

Peter and Jackie are going to learn more about the process from Josh Rippingale.

Right, first start by getting enough clay.

You put it on the board, like that.

Roll it forwards...

backwards, and bring the sides round.

So it makes that kind of shape.

Pick it up...

and drop it into the mould.

Get some sand.

Put it on your board.

Get your strike.

Take the top off, like so.

Take your excess back on the board.

Get some more clay.

And roll your next one.

Then you pick this one up,

diagonal,

bring it across...

..onto your boards.

Give it a little shake.

And lift off.

Then you put that in there.

Sand all the way round.

And back on, like so.

-Do you want to have a go?

-OK.

The clay that's used has been put through a machine called a pugmill,

where water is added to turn it into a dough-like consistency.

Each lump of clay is known as a walp

and sand is used in the process as a non-sticking agent,

helping to release the clay from the mould.

After being left to dry,

the bricks are then placed in one of seven fire boxes in a down-draught kiln.

They're fired at temperatures of around 1,000 degrees for three days

before being left to cool for a further three days.

The resulting red bricks are being used to restore the likes of Hampton Court Palace.

My father built this kiln in 1938.

And it was then quite a modern design,

in this area particularly.

It was one of the reasons we survived the war,

because this could be blacked out and you couldn't see it from the air.

The whole process takes two weeks, from loading, firing, cooling and unloading.

And you've turned your brick from your brown-coloured piece of clay

to something like this,

which is the fired brick.

And will last for thousands of years.

Wonderful.

After some first-hand experience of Essex's building bedrock,

let's see if we can find some firm foundations for them,

as our property search continues.

Our second house takes us to the quiet village of Stambourne.

It would mean Peter has half an hour's drive to Braintree

and then a train journey into London of just over an hour.

With a population of just over 300 people,

this is a rural farming area.

The church dates back to Norman times

and the village hall was once a Victorian schoolhouse.

For their daughter, there are secondary schools within a ten-mile radius.

Our next offering comes in the form of a Victorian folly,

built for a miller in the style of a thatched cottage.

It dates back to 1850,

with an 1880s extension to the side.

And the thatch is made of straw rather than traditional Norfolk Reed.

Here it is! House number two.

-Look at this!

-Wow!

Look at this. Very bright.

-Thatch.

-I wouldn't have chosen thatch originally,

but it is always pretty.

But I would question the practicality of it.

-What about you, Peter? What do you feel about thatch?

-I'm absolutely fine with it. I've never had one,

but it's beautifully done.

You've certainly gained the wow here. You can't not say "Wow!" when you come through that gate, can you?

See if you say "Wow!" when you go through the front door.

This individual period property has certainly made a very strong first impression

on our country house connoisseurs.

I think they'll appreciate the historic features inside too.

Going straight in to the kitchen

at the back of the house.

And also the oldest part of the house.

-This is lovely.

-It is, isn't it?

It's really well laid-out.

This is from the 1850s, the original beams.

Have a look in here, because this was the original pantry or larder

for the Victorian kitchen. This is where they would have hung their...

..partridges and grouse and sides of meat.

And look at this amazing original fired-brick floor.

They are fantastic, aren't they?

All the indentations over the years.

-Worn away.

-Worn away.

-No, this is... And this really adds significantly to the kitchen, doesn't it?

-Quite.

The original doors and everything. Lovely.

-Yeah.

-So come back in here and we can continue.

Wow, that really is something!

What do you think, Jackie? This is your domain as well.

I love it. I love the pantry.

Everything could go in there and this could just be your cooking area.

It feels like a farmhouse, doesn't it?

Yeah. Exactly.

Exactly.

Very pleasing.

Good. Well, let's continue the tour.

To the other side of the kitchen is a utility room,

while along the front of the house, there are three reception areas -

a cosy sitting room which could be used as a study,

and a formal dining room with exposed timbers, both of which are in the older part of the house.

But we're going to take a look at the drawing room in the newer part.

Now, this would have been the miller's grand Victorian, or late Victorian, extension.

Oh, I say, this is very nice, isn't it?

Yeah, this is quite different from the rest of the building, isn't it?

Well, you could see why he wanted to add this extension.

-Yeah.

-Show off his new-found wealth.

Taller ceilings, nice cornice...

It's quite unusual to have, you know, windows on two sides as well.

So it's an unusual but historically interesting layout downstairs.

Upstairs, as you'd imagine, is also slightly complicated.

-Let's follow me up the stairs.

-OK.

The period feel downstairs seems to have hit the mark.

Upstairs, there are a total of four bedrooms.

Three of them are in the older part of the house.

Two are front-facing and generously sized,

with wooden floors and exposed timbers.

While at the back, there is a single room which adjoins a library-cum-study,

which could be a good self-contained area for their daughter.

There's also a characterful family bathroom.

But we're going to take a look at the largest bedroom, in the extension.

Ah, now, take a look at this room.

-This is lovely.

-Isn't it magical?

It certainly is, yeah.

So, you see, this is the analogue of the grand room downstairs.

They're using it as a dressing room,

and one of the smaller bedrooms as their sleeping quarters.

But I think this would be a fantastic master.

Lovely, with the views, especially.

And in here...

..a neat little shower room.

Very compact.

-Very sweet.

-And actually, in that room, in that little corner of the cabinet there,

that's a walk-in wardrobe, but you could actually plumb in a toilet,

so you'd have toilet and shower in here.

Yeah, it works well as a dressing room,

and it might be worth considering either, as you say, changing this into a bedroom

and another one into a dressing room, if you want.

OK, well, I'll let you explore upstairs a bit later,

-but let's go out into the rather amazing gardens.

-OK.

The well-maintained grounds really offset this spectacular house,

and are beautifully landscaped in contrasting sections.

There's just over half an acre in total,

with outbuildings, including a detached double garage

and a workshop, which could be useful for Jackie's decorating tools.

What's more, there's a charming summerhouse,

which sits alongside a pretty pond.

And the view over the surrounding countryside

is to die for.

So, as you can see, quite an extensive and elaborate garden.

Yes, absolutely.

So, how much do you think this lovely property and its lovely gardens

and its lovely setting costs?

Well...I think maybe 690?

And I'd hazard a guess about 710.

Actually, this property

is on the market for 650.

-Wow!

-Wow!

So...

it's actually under your budget.

Much cheaper than I thought.

Why don't you go inside, because there's a lot upstairs that we didn't have a chance to look at,

-and I'll meet you out the front.

-OK, that's lovely.

-OK.

-Thank you.

Comfortably under budget at £650,000,

this individual and well-maintained Victorian property

gives them a characterful kitchen,

three reception rooms, so ample scope for Peter's office,

four bedrooms,

and over half an acre of landscaped gardens,

complete with a workshop.

Well, it's a wonderful house from the outside, and from the inside.

Um...when I walked into the entrance hall,

first of all,

I thought it was a little bit small for an entrance hall,

and then you go down into the kitchen

and the kitchen also appears to be a little bit small,

but it has a separate pantry

and a separate scullery,

and there's potential, you know, to extend out the back.

The views are absolutely beautiful.

And the garden's lovely.

Wow! I mean, arriving at house two was quite...really quite special.

I mean, taken by complete surprise.

This timber-farmed cottage with this extension to the right-hand side.

Stunning.

OK, guys, time to wrap up for the day.

You must be exhausted - we've seen a lot of property.

-Time for a rest.

-It's great. Thank you very much.

My pleasure. Come with me.

As dusk falls over the magnificent Essex countryside,

it marks the end of a very encouraging day,

spent viewing two outstanding properties.

Peter and Jackie both work in interior design and building restoration,

with Peter's company having gained the Royal seal of approval.

They're looking to escape from the London suburb of Hornchurch

and settle in the Essex countryside.

So far, a well-preserved 17th-century farmhouse

and a renovated thatched Victorian property

have both impressed them.

But coming up, our mystery proposition

brings the restoration challenge to their front door.

-So, possibilities.

-Yes.

-Endless.

-Endless!

And I find out exactly what a medlar is at an Essex fruit farm.

I think we did extremely well yesterday.

Both those houses were pretty near perfect,

although I was struck by something Peter said,

and remember that Peter makes his living tearing out interiors, restoring them, redecorating.

And he said, "The finish on this house is so perfect, I'd feel bad about changing it."

And also remember that they were both very keen on having an en suite,

and they really wanted bigger kitchens.

So, for the mystery house, we're giving them a historical, beautiful period property,

but one that gives them much more scope for tearing it up and starting again.

For our mystery property, we're crossing over the Essex border

into east Hertfordshire,

close to the village of Widford,

where Peter could catch the train into London from nearby Harlow.

The village hall is maintained by volunteers and used for community events

and it has a family-friendly pub.

While there is a primary school in the village,

secondary schools are located around seven miles away.

Now, we've come over the border for a reason -

to challenge our restoration professionals

to take on a project for themselves.

Our mystery house dates back to the 1700s,

but was renovated in the Victorian era,

when all the Gothic arches and windows were added.

What are your first impressions of this?

-It's rather interesting.

-It's quite a prominent position.

It's sort of got the appearance

of an old schoolhouse or vicarage or something.

Well, this house, I have to warn you,

-is going to be a project. I need you to put on your project manager's hats.

-Right.

-That shouldn't be a problem.

-Are you good at visualising?

-Yes, I think so.

-And you are as well, I'm assuming?

-Absolutely.

-Yeah.

-So I'm trusting the two of you will be able to whisk up something magical inside.

-We're going to try.

-OK.

They're confident about the prospects so far.

Let's see if the interior of this Grade II listed property fires their imagination.

So come in here and we can talk about

what's happened, what needs to happen.

So, as you can see, this is not quite finished

-to the standard of the other houses.

-No.

Really, you've got to think of it as a blank canvas.

You can see that. The timber beams are exposed.

There's quite a lot of surface mounting

and sort of '60s improvements.

It'd almost certainly be our intention

to take it back to that Victorian feel, I'm sure.

Because the mirror room of this on the other side

is almost exactly the same size

and it has a sort of strange en suite built inside the room.

So it's a sort of L-shaped room around an en suite shower room.

-Yeah.

-But that's been built so it can be taken out quite easily and reinstated.

-Yeah.

But it is...

It requires quite a lot of vision.

-Mmm.

-Mmm.

Particularly so in the kitchen. Let's have a look there.

Well, they seem quietly thoughtful,

and the kitchen is probably the room most in need of their vision and skills.

Nice and sunny!

This is rather nice.

So again, historically, you've got a very typical Victorian kitchen, or scullery.

So it was where the servants were, tucked at the back.

-But it's quite unusual to see these nowadays that haven't been developed.

-True.

We would want to change the kitchen completely.

The kitchen is a bit small, so one would either

open it out into the front room...

Yeah, you'd certainly either want to introduce part of this into the first room

or just simply go side or rear.

-So, possibilities.

-Yeah.

-Endless.

-Endless!

That's what I like to hear. Let's have a look upstairs.

They're certainly not short of ideas for downstairs,

but now we're taking a look at what the upstairs has to offer

by way of space and potential.

Again, it's a sort of blank canvas,

really.

It gives you an idea of the scale of the upstairs.

That's a nice-sized bedroom, isn't it?

Yes, good size. So there's this one, which is the biggest on this floor,

and there are two on that side, but they're all divided by what seems to be stud walls,

so they can be moved around.

There's a family bathroom on this floor, and then upstairs

you've got two more sort of attic rooms.

-OK. Needs a fair bit of work.

-Yeah.

But you know, a huge amount of it is actually more cosmetic than...

than anything else.

I think it's probably easiest if I let you run around on your tod, with your thinking caps on.

-Let's go outside, because there's lots to see there.

-OK.

-OK.

I'm wondering whether they think renovating our mystery property

is worth their financial and emotional investment.

As we head out to the back, they have a chance to mull over that question.

So, if you come here, you can get... It is a bit of a higgledy-piggledy back.

Yes, you can see where alterations have been made over the years.

Um...you know, just to suit the owner at the time,

but I don't think it'd take too much to sort of knock it into shape

and create a house out of it.

-It does go out into a lovely garden, which continues... Let's go around, we can see.

-Yeah.

In the half-acre gardens,

there's a lawn and established vegetable patch,

as well as some fruit trees and a natural pond

with a summerhouse sitting alongside it.

OK, so...of course, you know what's coming.

The price tag.

-What do you think the price tag...?

-I didn't know that was coming at that moment!

Um...

I would have thought

590 to 600.

-Jackie?

-I think about 575.

Well, this is on the market for - brace yourselves -

650.

The same as the entirely finished one over near Suffolk.

-Mm-hm.

-So it's a kind of testament to how much location costs.

Well, why don't you have a wander around upstairs? We didn't go up to the very roof.

And have a pitch around the garden, and I'll see you out the front, see what your final thoughts are.

-OK, great.

-Thank you.

Priced at £650,000,

our mystery property is £50,000 under budget.

As it stands, it provides three reception rooms,

a kitchen which could be extended, subject to planning consent,

a total of five bedrooms,

and over half an acre of gardens,

in a rural location

which offers good access to London.

When we arrived inside, um...

it obviously doesn't have the wow factor, because it needs a lot of work,

you know, doing to it.

I think we saw a lot of potential

to do things to make it a home that we'd like to live in.

I mean, I love the frontage.

It's very, very pretty.

I think...

the programme and the cost, when weighed up with the value of the properties at the moment,

will probably push it out of our boundaries.

So that is all three houses you've seen now.

-Yeah.

-Just time to rest, regroup and think.

Lovely.

Essex is, for the most part, a rural county,

nearly three-quarters of which is farmed.

With its heavy clay soils, and one of the UK's sunnier climates,

it's ideally suited for cereal crops

and, most notably, fruit-growing,

as the cooling effect of the sea in spring

prevents premature appearance of fruit buds and blossom.

It's no surprise, then, that one company in the village of Tiptree

owns 850 acres of dedicated fruit-growing land,

which they've been farming for over 125 years.

Alongside the more common fruits, they also grow quinces,

mulberries

and medlars, which are showing a resurgence in popularity.

I went to meet farm director Chris Newenham

to find out more about the heritage fruit

used in their jams and jellies.

Tending your mulberry bush?

If I spotted it correctly.

Well, a little bit of a misnomer.

-Turning out mulberries, but, of course, a tree, not a bush.

-Oh, yes.

This is a mulberry orchard!

Yes, it is. Yes, it is.

We think the biggest mulberry orchard in the country.

It dates from the original planting of fruit on the estate,

which was 150 years ago,

so it's served us well over quite a long period of time,

and hopefully has several years left in it.

If we...

-..pull one off the tree...

-They're juicy, aren't they?

They are incredibly juicy. I've literally just touched that,

and you can see that I've got this red juice all over my hands.

So how do you...? Do you pluck them? How are they harvested?

They're hand-harvested,

as is everything that we do.

But the real drama begins when they get into the factory,

because this tiny stalk that you've got coming out,

every single berry has to be handled individually,

and we've got a team of very diligent ladies in the factory,

cutting them out with scissors.

Mulberry conserve has been made on this farm since the early 1900s,

and it's thought that this is the only commercial mulberry orchard in Britain.

This fruit variety became fashionable

in Britain in the 17th century.

King James I was trying to expand the silk industry

as the white mulberry leaf is the main diet of the silkworm.

But the fruits from the black mulberry have a much more intense flavour,

similar to that of the raspberry.

There was a hey-day, wasn't there? The Victorians.

I mean, they're not popular fruits, quince, medlar

and mulberry, are they?

-But they were Victorian fruits.

-No, you're quite right.

They... I mean, with the exception of mulberry,

but certainly the medlar

and the quince, we're dealing with what are culinary fruits.

And culinary fruits have gone out of fashion

and I think, really, come back into fashion again.

-There's a renaissance, isn't there?

-We're seeing a revival with quince,

with medlar, with things like rhubarb,

and, of course, Bramley apples

is another good example.

Well, I have to say that I think probably

the medlar is the most exotic of all of them.

I mean, most people don't have a medlar tree in their garden.

So I'm going to have a go with the medlar jelly.

Please do.

Originating in Asia Minor, the medlar is an apple-like fruit

with a pulpy flesh,

which gains an historic mention in both Chaucer's Canterbury Tales

and Shakespeare's Romeo And Juliet.

Mmm.

That's delicious.

I think the easiest thing to liken it to is cinnamony crab apple.

-Yes, there is a bit of cinnamon.

-A very delicate taste,

but fantastic and unique.

Hmm, might be quite some time before those are ready to eat.

And time is not what I have, because I have to find how Peter and Jackie

are thinking about our properties this week.

-This is an amazing spot, isn't it?

-Wonderful.

-Really beautiful.

-Sadly, we couldn't quite get

Cressing Temple into your price bracket.

That's very disappointing!

But these are the oldest timber-framed barns in the world.

-Who says that Essex doesn't have some amazing moments?

-Yeah.

Maybe we could go through the houses one by one, so we don't short-change any of them.

What about the first house in Felsted?

Perfect. Picture-perfect facade to the house

and inside was lovely as well.

Spatially, just arriving at the house was great.

-You loved that drive.

-I loved that drive.

And then there was that chocolate-box, beautiful-looking house.

It was just wonderful, wasn't it?

Were there any downsides to that property?

You know, the en suite, which we will look...

-to see if we really need.

-I didn't think it was a big problem.

-No.

How about house number two? This was a little bit further out, down towards Suffolk,

but another beautiful property.

Oh, it was really gorgeous, wasn't it?

Beautiful. Very pretty.

And quite unusual.

Very unusual layout inside.

Did that work for you, the layout of the rooms?

Oh, I think it's something you need to get used to if it's an old house.

It had had some changes.

Um, I certainly think we can adapt it... You know, adapt to living there.

What about the mystery house?

Well, it was certainly a mystery.

Um...and...

but also a lovely house.

You know, needed a substantial amount of work.

Great potential to do something with.

Yeah, it had a lot of potential.

You know, we could visualise

doing all sorts of things to it.

A bit nearer to London than the other two.

Um...and...I feel

we really want to escape to the country a bit more.

What are your concluding thoughts?

Would you proceed on one of them? Would you visit one again?

I think we'd probably visit the one in Felsted again.

Well, you'd better get your skates on.

And it would be wonderful if you move on that.

-And do let us know - keep us informed.

-We will do, thank you.

-Thank you very much.

What a lovely week, house-hunting in Essex.

And I have to say that, despite our apprehension,

Peter and Jackie were completely flexible about the price,

about the location - they weren't that fussed about a long commute to London -

and even about doing big renovations,

because they have that skill set.

In the end, it all came down to that old-fashioned truism about buying a house -

you walk down the drive, and you fall in love.

Or, in Peter's case, he fell in love with the drive he was walking down.

So I do hope they buy that house,

and I hope that you join us next time

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