0:00:11 > 0:00:13If you turn your back on the town,
0:00:13 > 0:00:16take that village track, follow the unmade road,
0:00:16 > 0:00:19you'll find something absolutely extraordinary.
0:00:19 > 0:00:21The hidden houses of Wales.
0:00:23 > 0:00:26In this series, I'll be turning back the clock,
0:00:26 > 0:00:31I'll be stepping over the threshold of some incredible places,
0:00:31 > 0:00:35seeking out scandal-packed histories.
0:00:35 > 0:00:38Bricks and mortar? They're never seem the same again.
0:00:42 > 0:00:45In this episode, we'll be visiting the ancestral home
0:00:45 > 0:00:47of a dynasty that built exquisite coaches.
0:00:47 > 0:00:50When he died he was worth about 400 million quid.
0:00:50 > 0:00:52That's not bad.
0:00:52 > 0:00:54Yeah, I don't know where it's all gone!
0:00:55 > 0:00:58A home that was turned into a Polish hospital.
0:00:58 > 0:01:01They actually felt that this was their country.
0:01:01 > 0:01:03A house now in the hands of a young couple
0:01:03 > 0:01:08who've taken a massive financial risk so their ancestral home survives.
0:01:08 > 0:01:11There's absolutely no choice now,
0:01:11 > 0:01:14we've got to go on and make this work, whatever happens.
0:01:35 > 0:01:39I'm in beautiful border country, I am the jam in a sandwich between
0:01:39 > 0:01:44Shropshire and Flintshire, and at the moment it all looks like
0:01:44 > 0:01:48an exquisite Georgian landscape painting.
0:01:48 > 0:01:50It is terribly, terribly pretty round here,
0:01:50 > 0:01:54which is probably why Edward I gave it to his lovely Queen Eleanor.
0:01:54 > 0:01:57Just a bit of a gift you know, just because she was there.
0:01:57 > 0:02:01One wonders what she gave the great man in return.
0:02:05 > 0:02:09Nowadays, this side of Whitchurch is Wales
0:02:09 > 0:02:12but for a while, it was in English hands.
0:02:14 > 0:02:18But the English didn't get around to changing the names of the houses.
0:02:18 > 0:02:20This is Iscoyd Park which, translated, means
0:02:20 > 0:02:23"park beneath the trees".
0:02:29 > 0:02:30Wow!
0:02:30 > 0:02:33Just look at that.
0:02:34 > 0:02:37That's... um, textbook, isn't it?
0:02:40 > 0:02:42Weirdly it looks a little bit fake, dare I say,
0:02:42 > 0:02:45because it's almost as if someone's tried
0:02:45 > 0:02:49to put a tick in every single posh box.
0:02:49 > 0:02:55Columns, tick. Georgian splendour, tick. Symmetry, tick.
0:02:55 > 0:02:59But it's very gracious. Let's face it, I wouldn't say no.
0:03:05 > 0:03:09Over the past 200 years, seven generations of the same family,
0:03:09 > 0:03:12the Godsals, have called it home.
0:03:15 > 0:03:21Today, it's the turn of 30-somethings Philip and Susie Godsal and their young family.
0:03:21 > 0:03:26Four-year-old Poppy, two-year-old Philip Hector and new arrival Cecily.
0:03:33 > 0:03:34Right, that's it.
0:03:34 > 0:03:38I've got serious porch envy now, and actually serious knocker envy.
0:03:41 > 0:03:44- Laurence.- For goodness sake, I should be asking if your parents are in!
0:03:44 > 0:03:48You look far too young to be standing in such a grand doorway.
0:03:48 > 0:03:50- I've got serious house envy now. - Come in.
0:03:50 > 0:03:54So how come you two Sixth Formers have been left in charge
0:03:54 > 0:03:56of the big, grand house then?
0:03:56 > 0:04:00- Well...- Well? It's like this. - It's a long story.
0:04:00 > 0:04:04We've just recently moved here from London about a year and a half ago.
0:04:04 > 0:04:07Father and stepmother who moved out at the same time.
0:04:07 > 0:04:10So it's your family house, but you're a London girl.
0:04:10 > 0:04:13I'm a London girl at heart so it's been a big, big move.
0:04:13 > 0:04:15How are you dealing with the mud?
0:04:15 > 0:04:18I've got wellies now, my first pair of wellies I've ever possessed.
0:04:18 > 0:04:22Because the thing that really strikes me, first impressions and all that,
0:04:22 > 0:04:28but this is absolutely jaw-dropping. Beautiful, elegant, restrained...
0:04:28 > 0:04:31It's not a family home, surely? I mean, where's the toddler stuff?
0:04:31 > 0:04:36- You know, where are the potties? - We'll take you into our bit later. It's a different story there.
0:04:36 > 0:04:39Let's have a look around, I love the way you've done it.
0:04:39 > 0:04:41There's a lot of beautiful, beautiful things.
0:04:41 > 0:04:44Lovely paintings but...
0:04:58 > 0:05:05Iscoyd Park, sitting in 750 acres of beautiful Welsh countryside
0:05:05 > 0:05:08was originally built around 1730.
0:05:08 > 0:05:13For nearly 300 years, the estate was able to generate enough income from its land
0:05:13 > 0:05:16to pay for its own upkeep.
0:05:22 > 0:05:25More recently as farming became less profitable,
0:05:25 > 0:05:28the Godsals have found the going tougher and tougher.
0:05:30 > 0:05:33Phil's father, Philip Senior, was barely able to maintain Iscoyd Park
0:05:33 > 0:05:36and it was falling into disrepair.
0:05:36 > 0:05:40The future of the ancestral home was in doubt.
0:05:42 > 0:05:45Phil Junior and Susie were married in 2005.
0:05:47 > 0:05:51Two years ago, Phil was running his own art gallery in London and Susie
0:05:51 > 0:05:55had given up her busy career to start their family.
0:05:55 > 0:05:59The outdoorsy attractions of a country childhood for their children
0:05:59 > 0:06:02spurred them into action and they decided to sell up,
0:06:02 > 0:06:06move back to Wales and try and save the family pile.
0:06:07 > 0:06:11But they've taken a huge financial risk, borrowing £1 million
0:06:11 > 0:06:16and spending a year completing all of the renovation and rebuilding work.
0:06:16 > 0:06:21It looks fantastic but how on earth are they going to repay that massive loan?
0:06:26 > 0:06:31Of course, in a house this size, everything's multiplied.
0:06:31 > 0:06:35The light, the space and inevitably, the bills.
0:06:35 > 0:06:40To be able to run a house like this you'd need an extraordinary income,
0:06:40 > 0:06:44and to keep this place warm, dry, watertight and in the family,
0:06:44 > 0:06:47Susie and Phil have had to get a little bit creative.
0:06:47 > 0:06:51What they've done is give over the vast majority of the place
0:06:51 > 0:06:56to the public by turning it into an incredibly glam, very upmarket party venue.
0:06:56 > 0:06:59And with some input from some of their swanky designer friends,
0:06:59 > 0:07:02they've recreated that Georgian spirit,
0:07:02 > 0:07:07but given it a decidedly 21st century rock 'n' roll spin.
0:07:15 > 0:07:17With THAT loan hanging over them,
0:07:17 > 0:07:21they're also looking to host extravagant weddings.
0:07:21 > 0:07:24Anything to ensure this glorious example
0:07:24 > 0:07:27of Welsh Georgian architecture isn't lost forever.
0:07:29 > 0:07:30It is a huge achievement
0:07:30 > 0:07:34and it does look sensational, it's come out very, very well.
0:07:34 > 0:07:37Well, when we really panic about the whole business,
0:07:37 > 0:07:41we do look back at the old pictures and realise what we've done and achieved in the last year.
0:07:41 > 0:07:46Does it keep you awake though? Obviously the baby does but does the idea you're...
0:07:46 > 0:07:47You're living in a business,
0:07:47 > 0:07:51it's constantly there, you can't get away from it, around you the whole time.
0:07:51 > 0:07:55Are there moments where you burst into tears because it's too much for you?
0:07:55 > 0:07:58- Ummmmm, nnnnn...- "Nnnn-never!"
0:07:58 > 0:08:00There's been a few, there has been a few.
0:08:00 > 0:08:04I'll get you some in a minute if you play really nicely with Hector.
0:08:04 > 0:08:07Do you think he thinks about the fact that he'll be
0:08:07 > 0:08:09passing it on to his children?
0:08:09 > 0:08:12Yeah, that's a big part of it. That's why we're doing it.
0:08:12 > 0:08:16But the interesting thing is, is it going to Philip Hector or to Poppy?
0:08:16 > 0:08:17Do you know what?
0:08:17 > 0:08:18HE INHALES SHARPLY
0:08:18 > 0:08:22I think right now, we just have to try and hold on to it.
0:08:23 > 0:08:26But holding on to it may prove more difficult
0:08:26 > 0:08:28than the renovation itself.
0:08:28 > 0:08:31Iscoyd has never really had to work for a living.
0:08:31 > 0:08:35Indeed, for hundreds of years it was a squire's home,
0:08:35 > 0:08:40a glam country pad for the Welsh landed gentry.
0:08:40 > 0:08:44By the end of the Georgian era, however, it acquired a new type of owner.
0:09:00 > 0:09:051843 and the house is sold for the not inconsiderable sum
0:09:05 > 0:09:09of £12,500, which equates to about one and half million quid.
0:09:09 > 0:09:11If you're wondering why I'm driving around
0:09:11 > 0:09:15in a Victorian horse-drawn carriage, some days aren't Morris Minor days,
0:09:15 > 0:09:20but it's because the family who bought Iscoyd Park and indeed still own Iscoyd Park
0:09:20 > 0:09:24owe their fortune to the noble art of carriage building.
0:09:26 > 0:09:30Philip Godsal the First was the Porsche maker of his day.
0:09:30 > 0:09:35He created beautiful horse-drawn carriages for the super-rich
0:09:35 > 0:09:38and in doing so, he made his own fortune.
0:09:51 > 0:09:55A Philip Godsal carriage was the very latest in equine elegance.
0:09:55 > 0:09:59They were high-performance luxury sports carriages for handy dandies,
0:09:59 > 0:10:04at a time when everyone else on the continent was covering everything
0:10:04 > 0:10:08in unnecessary, undulating gilded cherubs and furbelows.
0:10:08 > 0:10:12Like Beau Brummell and clothes, Philip Godsal did an Armani
0:10:12 > 0:10:15and embraced glamorous understatement.
0:10:15 > 0:10:19What a way to travel - and I don't mean the Morris.
0:10:23 > 0:10:26At the height of his fame, Philip Godsal sold the business
0:10:26 > 0:10:30and the money he made enabled his family to acquire a country seat
0:10:30 > 0:10:34and buy a position in the ranks of the Welsh rural gentry.
0:10:34 > 0:10:37So started Iscoyd's Godsal dynasty.
0:10:41 > 0:10:45I feel as if I'm surrounded by Philips. Because Philip, Philip, Philip.
0:10:45 > 0:10:49- Philip is the name that goes right the way through? - Goes right the way through,
0:10:49 > 0:10:54I mean my grandson Philip Hector is number 14.
0:10:54 > 0:10:58I think what's so lovely is it goes back to the energy,
0:10:58 > 0:11:01drive and creativity of one man, the original Philip,
0:11:01 > 0:11:05who created these extraordinary carriages.
0:11:05 > 0:11:08They were the real status symbol of the day, weren't they?
0:11:08 > 0:11:13Absolutely, I mean they were sort of the Bentley, Rolls-Royce of the time I think.
0:11:13 > 0:11:16He was one of the three great carriage makers.
0:11:16 > 0:11:20It's extraordinary really that he sold his business in 1810,
0:11:20 > 0:11:26because he just did not want his son, Philip Blake, to remain in the trade.
0:11:26 > 0:11:30- He ended up being worth a pretty considerable sum of money.- Yes.
0:11:30 > 0:11:32How much was he actually valued at?
0:11:32 > 0:11:35They reckon when he died he was worth about 400 million quid.
0:11:35 > 0:11:36That's not bad.
0:11:36 > 0:11:39Yeah, I don't know where it's all gone!
0:11:39 > 0:11:43That's the shame about Georgian money like that, where is it now?
0:11:43 > 0:11:46But it must be lovely to know that under your stewardship,
0:11:46 > 0:11:50rather than this place degenerating and getting worse and worse and worse,
0:11:50 > 0:11:54actually it has been completely reincarnated.
0:11:54 > 0:11:57Yeah. We've been very lucky with our advisors or helpers,
0:11:57 > 0:12:00particularly our architect and the interior designer.
0:12:00 > 0:12:03We've actually had great fun working with them.
0:12:03 > 0:12:05- Hats off to interior designers! - Exactly.
0:12:05 > 0:12:07Look what a difference they make.
0:12:07 > 0:12:10Know a man by his curtains, that's what I say.
0:12:12 > 0:12:16It's one way of sorting the wheat from the chaff, let's face it.
0:12:16 > 0:12:19I must say they've done an amazing job restoring
0:12:19 > 0:12:22some of the glamour to Iscoyd.
0:12:25 > 0:12:32But interestingly the house didn't actually look like this in its heyday.
0:12:32 > 0:12:35And how do I know? I've got the original plans.
0:12:35 > 0:12:38Imagining ourselves as a couple of Georgian bucks,
0:12:38 > 0:12:40- which isn't that hard, is it? - No, not at all.
0:12:40 > 0:12:42We lack the powder and the hair!
0:12:42 > 0:12:45I'm trying to rationalise these plans, because when are these from?
0:12:45 > 0:12:48From 1746, aren't they?
0:12:48 > 0:12:51The first thing I can see instantly is this rather elegant looking
0:12:51 > 0:12:55- elliptical staircase just off there. - Yeah.
0:12:55 > 0:12:59Very, very beautiful, very elegantly done.
0:12:59 > 0:13:01It's like a treasure map.
0:13:02 > 0:13:04This is the drawing room.
0:13:04 > 0:13:08The interesting thing here, this has all been added...
0:13:08 > 0:13:11- You can even see it from the line on the floor.- Yeah.
0:13:13 > 0:13:15We've actually gone off the map here.
0:13:15 > 0:13:17Yeah, we go back through here.
0:13:17 > 0:13:21Back through here. Oh, look at this, this is all very swanky and modern.
0:13:21 > 0:13:24- Yeah, this has a very different feel about it.- Yeah.
0:13:24 > 0:13:28- Can I have a look at your extremely smart loos? - Yeah, quite proud of those.
0:13:28 > 0:13:32- Tell you what, I'll have a look in the ladies. - Yeah, the ladies is better.
0:13:34 > 0:13:38Look at that. So this is just carved out of servants' hall,
0:13:38 > 0:13:40- housekeepers' rooms...- Yeah.
0:13:40 > 0:13:43This is nice, the way you've done this here.
0:13:43 > 0:13:47The new loos aren't the only thing the old servants' quarters have been used for.
0:13:47 > 0:13:52Front of house luxury is reserved for those able to pay for it
0:13:52 > 0:13:56and master now is where servant once was.
0:13:56 > 0:13:59Phil, Susie and clan are demoted to five rooms
0:13:59 > 0:14:02in the old servants' quarters at the back of the house.
0:14:04 > 0:14:05Hey.
0:14:05 > 0:14:07This is the best part.
0:14:07 > 0:14:09This is actually where Phil lives.
0:14:09 > 0:14:12- Where everybody knows your name! - Absolutely.
0:14:12 > 0:14:14Are we open for business?
0:14:14 > 0:14:16We are open. We're always open for business.
0:14:16 > 0:14:18Oh, open all hours?
0:14:18 > 0:14:20This is amazing.
0:14:22 > 0:14:25Where we are now is probably the oldest bit of the house.
0:14:25 > 0:14:31This is the new edition, the parvenu, the bit that comes in a bit later.
0:14:31 > 0:14:35Seems odd that you've got these two independent living spaces,
0:14:35 > 0:14:37although it suits you perfectly.
0:14:37 > 0:14:42It's fantastic, couldn't have been designed better really, we're very lucky.
0:14:45 > 0:14:47- This is great fun.- Yeah.
0:14:47 > 0:14:51It is beautifully done, you have obviously spent
0:14:51 > 0:14:55- a lot of money and a lot of commitment and a lot of time on it. - Yeah.
0:14:55 > 0:14:57How well do you sleep?
0:14:57 > 0:15:01Not at all well any more, at all.
0:15:01 > 0:15:03Your debt, is it here?
0:15:03 > 0:15:06Errr... Yeah, I'd go...
0:15:06 > 0:15:10It feels more than that actually. I mean, it's quite scary
0:15:10 > 0:15:12when I stop to think.
0:15:12 > 0:15:17But the advantage of that is there is no going back,
0:15:17 > 0:15:20there's absolutely no choice now. We've got to go on
0:15:20 > 0:15:23and we've got to make this work, whatever happens.
0:15:23 > 0:15:28Did you have much choice anyway? I mean, something had to happen,
0:15:28 > 0:15:33- you couldn't just plod on.- No.
0:15:33 > 0:15:37I think just sort of changing the direction things were going was...
0:15:37 > 0:15:40Well, we had to do it, I mean, we couldn't have...
0:15:40 > 0:15:41I'm no farmer anyway.
0:15:41 > 0:15:46I couldn't have come back to farm and this house needs to be lived in,
0:15:46 > 0:15:51it's always been a good party house and now we're using those parties
0:15:51 > 0:15:54and that's what's going to keep the thing going.
0:15:56 > 0:16:00So Iscoyd's new incarnation depends on its past.
0:16:03 > 0:16:06The mixture of modern comfort with grand history
0:16:06 > 0:16:08may be its unique selling point.
0:16:13 > 0:16:17Having a bath in a bedroom is a bit of a boutique hotel cliche these days,
0:16:17 > 0:16:20but it's funny when you think about it,
0:16:20 > 0:16:24this is exactly how people bathed 200 years ago.
0:16:24 > 0:16:27The original Godsals would have called for the servants
0:16:27 > 0:16:29to bring them a tin bath and filled it full of water.
0:16:29 > 0:16:32The fact these days it's actually plumbed in
0:16:32 > 0:16:36and works efficiently, quickly and well is actually an added bonus.
0:16:43 > 0:16:48I think this is a very interesting masterclass in how to treat an antique.
0:16:48 > 0:16:50This is obviously the bridal bed
0:16:50 > 0:16:55but it's a bed for a bride who likes the contemporary.
0:16:55 > 0:16:58The bed itself is old, it's antique, it's beautiful,
0:16:58 > 0:17:00it's got a lot of history and tradition to it.
0:17:00 > 0:17:03But it's been treated with a lightness, a brightness
0:17:03 > 0:17:08and a modernity which makes the whole thing feel very now.
0:17:19 > 0:17:21You've married into the dynasty of Philips,
0:17:21 > 0:17:25which is like marrying into the dynasties of Rameses or Caesars.
0:17:25 > 0:17:28But from town, from London.
0:17:28 > 0:17:31- When did you first come here? - Um, we came here in...
0:17:31 > 0:17:33No, when did YOU first come here?
0:17:33 > 0:17:37Oh, I first came here? Gosh, must have been ten years ago now.
0:17:37 > 0:17:38And what did you think?
0:17:38 > 0:17:40- Terrified.- Really?- Yeah.
0:17:40 > 0:17:44Because obviously you knew he had a big gaff in the country?
0:17:44 > 0:17:46Yeah, but we never talked about it,
0:17:46 > 0:17:50I never imagined I'd be living here,
0:17:50 > 0:17:53but you don't know where life takes you, do you?
0:17:53 > 0:17:55And it's been an amazing experience.
0:17:55 > 0:17:59Looking at it completely professionally now, it does have
0:17:59 > 0:18:03that sort of urban spin on it, which I think is its complete success.
0:18:03 > 0:18:07- I definitely agree with that. - No shabby chic here, is there?
0:18:07 > 0:18:09No, no, none of that, that's out the window.
0:18:09 > 0:18:13Because we didn't want it like a hotel,
0:18:13 > 0:18:16we wanted it to be contemporary, a little bit different,
0:18:16 > 0:18:18but we also wanted a family feel.
0:18:18 > 0:18:23And this is our style, this is what Phil and I both like.
0:18:23 > 0:18:25- And no chintz in sight.- No.
0:18:31 > 0:18:34We looked at what we had, paintings and furniture
0:18:34 > 0:18:37and then we sort of built it from that.
0:18:37 > 0:18:41It's an old house with old furniture but a real breath of fresh, modern air.
0:18:41 > 0:18:46We just wanted to move forward rather than backwards, push the whole thing forward.
0:18:52 > 0:18:54The unthinkable is deeply unthinkable,
0:18:54 > 0:18:58because it's not just like you've bought this house. To lose this house, after...
0:18:58 > 0:19:00Yeah, it's massive.
0:19:00 > 0:19:03..After all those Philips, to be the Philip that lost it.
0:19:03 > 0:19:08That pressure's on our shoulders. We just have to keep going, be positive, looking to the future.
0:19:08 > 0:19:11- But you're using that pressure creatively?- Definitely.
0:19:11 > 0:19:13That's wind in your sails.
0:19:13 > 0:19:15It has to be channelled in the right direction.
0:19:15 > 0:19:18But yeah, it is pressure for all of us and we feel it,
0:19:18 > 0:19:21but that's just part of... Part of the whole set-up.
0:19:21 > 0:19:24- Stop, Poppy, Poppy.- Pops, come here.
0:19:24 > 0:19:28Do you ever have a moment where you escape from the children and just come and live in...
0:19:28 > 0:19:31I've sneaked in here a few nights!
0:19:31 > 0:19:34When the kids have been playing up I've said, I've had enough!
0:19:34 > 0:19:37We joke we can come on holiday in this side of the house.
0:19:37 > 0:19:39It's a staycation, it's absolutely perfect.
0:19:39 > 0:19:41It's great, we don't need to travel!
0:19:48 > 0:19:51The Godsals have gambled their future
0:19:51 > 0:19:54on making sure their house has one.
0:19:54 > 0:19:56But there was a time when Iscoyd
0:19:56 > 0:19:59was taken from the control of the Godsal family.
0:20:00 > 0:20:03Estates of this size were in high demand for the war effort.
0:20:03 > 0:20:08In 1942, the decision was made to convert Iscoyd into
0:20:08 > 0:20:10an American forces hospital to accommodate
0:20:10 > 0:20:14the thousands of anticipated casualties from D-Day.
0:20:16 > 0:20:22In fact, not a single injured American soldier actually arrived at Iscoyd.
0:20:22 > 0:20:25The hospital remained empty, but not for long.
0:20:26 > 0:20:311945 and the dark days of the war are over at last, hurray.
0:20:31 > 0:20:36But now it's time for Churchill to honour his debt made to
0:20:36 > 0:20:38the healthcare of our Polish allies.
0:20:38 > 0:20:42But where to put all of those war veterans?
0:20:42 > 0:20:45I know, what about a brand spanking new, 200-bed hospital?
0:20:45 > 0:20:47Iscoyd enters a new incarnation,
0:20:47 > 0:20:51as the evocatively named Polish Hospital Number Four.
0:20:56 > 0:21:00Polish Hospital Number Four started here
0:21:00 > 0:21:05and went back for quite a way, didn't it? There was a lot of building here.
0:21:05 > 0:21:10There was tarmac, it was roads, it was brick structures. How big was Number Four?
0:21:10 > 0:21:14It was a huge hospital in terms of the amount of people they had here.
0:21:14 > 0:21:18This hospital in particular was very important and different,
0:21:18 > 0:21:25because it was one of the few military hospitals built for the Polish resettlement.
0:21:25 > 0:21:27It was also special in that it dealt with soldiers
0:21:27 > 0:21:33with mental health problems, and that, of course, in 1946 was quite unique.
0:21:33 > 0:21:37The resettlement act for the Poles that provided so many hospitals for them
0:21:37 > 0:21:41actually gave the Polish community the equivalent of the NHS.
0:21:41 > 0:21:43What do you think the local reaction was?
0:21:43 > 0:21:47Was there a bit of romance going on? Polish soldiers hopping over the fences?
0:21:47 > 0:21:50The Welsh girls coming back the other way?
0:21:50 > 0:21:53I think there was quite a lot of interaction between the two.
0:21:53 > 0:21:56Depending, of course, on the level of their illness,
0:21:56 > 0:22:01they attended local festivals and they had local singing competitions,
0:22:01 > 0:22:07they actually felt that this was in a strange way their country.
0:22:09 > 0:22:14So, there were hundreds of Polish soldiers
0:22:14 > 0:22:16and hundreds of local girls.
0:22:16 > 0:22:20And as Vera Ostrowski can testify, there was, of course, romance.
0:22:26 > 0:22:30Now, Vera, I want to know all about what happened
0:22:30 > 0:22:34when you met a certain Polish gentleman.
0:22:34 > 0:22:38There you were, a lovely lady from Whitchurch
0:22:38 > 0:22:42and you see this incredible Polish hunk.
0:22:42 > 0:22:47Well, we first met at a dance, he'd come down to get the camp ready.
0:22:47 > 0:22:51- And was he wearing uniform?- Yes. - Was he frightfully handsome?- Yes.
0:22:51 > 0:22:54And then he wanted to see you again so how did he do that?
0:22:54 > 0:22:57- Well he took me home. - And then what did he say to you?
0:22:57 > 0:23:01Well it just bulldozed from there, we just carried on meeting when I came on leave.
0:23:01 > 0:23:05So when you come back here and see that it's now been restored,
0:23:05 > 0:23:09to me it has a real cloak of romance to it.
0:23:09 > 0:23:10Well, it has really when you think,
0:23:10 > 0:23:15there's such an awful lot of Poles and English girls that did get married,
0:23:15 > 0:23:18and I mean they've had a happy life.
0:23:23 > 0:23:27But, with all the hospital buildings demolished,
0:23:27 > 0:23:31the only physical remains of those memories are some carvings
0:23:31 > 0:23:32on a tree in the grounds.
0:23:32 > 0:23:35It's extraordinary because it's become
0:23:35 > 0:23:39part of the fabric of the tree, but what does it mean?
0:23:39 > 0:23:42If only we knew someone who spoke Polish?!
0:23:42 > 0:23:45Well, luckily we have Katrina, who works with us in Iscoyd,
0:23:45 > 0:23:46and she is Polish.
0:23:46 > 0:23:48There we are! Any ideas?
0:23:48 > 0:23:52Well, I think it looks like a Polish...
0:23:52 > 0:23:56It looks like it might mean, it's set to "Alan"
0:23:56 > 0:23:58- Polish proper name.- Right, OK.
0:23:58 > 0:24:04And I think the apostrophe might means she's from Polska. And er...
0:24:04 > 0:24:10- What does that one say? 1946? - Yeah. That's 1946. Definitely.
0:24:10 > 0:24:14But that must make you feel quite, you know. Quite romantic?
0:24:14 > 0:24:18Yeah, kind of proud that Polish people were here.
0:24:18 > 0:24:21- And they were so good at carving trees.- Yeah, exactly!
0:24:24 > 0:24:28In 1956, Polish Hospital Number Four was closed.
0:24:28 > 0:24:32A year later, the estate was given back to the Godsals.
0:24:34 > 0:24:36What was it like growing up here?
0:24:36 > 0:24:40Because there's your father, you know, maintaining it
0:24:40 > 0:24:43and that's kind of all you would've hoped for really,
0:24:43 > 0:24:45to maintain something like this?
0:24:45 > 0:24:50I mean I had my head buried firmly in the sand about this place
0:24:50 > 0:24:52for a long time.
0:24:52 > 0:24:55We've been very lucky that we've managed to do all the interiors
0:24:55 > 0:24:59and the things we could not have done had Dad not kept the roof on.
0:24:59 > 0:25:01Well, this is it.
0:25:01 > 0:25:07The transformation that has happened in the last two or three years is not slight at all.
0:25:07 > 0:25:12There is a responsibility, I think, when you have a house of this quality,
0:25:12 > 0:25:16you can't just go out and buy something cheap and cheerful and paper over the cracks.
0:25:16 > 0:25:19Susie and I decided that if we were going to come here,
0:25:19 > 0:25:23we were going to have to do it to a very high standard.
0:25:23 > 0:25:26We wanted to do something really special,
0:25:26 > 0:25:30so we ended up borrowing far more money than we set out to do.
0:25:30 > 0:25:34My father didn't think that we would be able to stay here.
0:25:34 > 0:25:38He had intended to sell the house, which is why I was
0:25:38 > 0:25:41so determined to keep it, having got here.
0:25:41 > 0:25:43Are you proud of it now?
0:25:43 > 0:25:47Yes, and I'm very proud of the fact that we are still here.
0:25:47 > 0:25:53You are actually really trying to rebuild the family stature in a way, aren't you?
0:25:53 > 0:25:58Yeah, I mean there is definitely that feeling that you have.
0:25:58 > 0:26:02I think every generation has to find a way that they can make
0:26:02 > 0:26:06the house work for themselves, they can't become a slave to the house.
0:26:09 > 0:26:14They may not be slaves to the house but they're certainly going to have to work for the house.
0:26:14 > 0:26:16So, this is your place then, is it?
0:26:16 > 0:26:18- Yeah.- It's very nice.
0:26:18 > 0:26:19It's not a hand-me-down.
0:26:19 > 0:26:22Yeah, it's a hand-me-down.
0:26:25 > 0:26:29So, Iscoyd Park enters another chapter in its long history.
0:26:29 > 0:26:30Thank you very much.
0:26:30 > 0:26:35'But the end of the refurb is just the end of the start
0:26:35 > 0:26:37'of Phil and Susie's journey.'
0:26:37 > 0:26:42You do have a strong sense of future about this place,
0:26:42 > 0:26:45and you're prepared to put yourselves a bit on the line for it
0:26:45 > 0:26:47and work very hard to get that.
0:26:47 > 0:26:51Is that something that you think comes from family or from family
0:26:51 > 0:26:54or do you think that's something from you as a couple?
0:26:54 > 0:26:57I think there's a bit of both probably.
0:26:58 > 0:27:01Obviously the history side of it is important,
0:27:01 > 0:27:04but what's more important is that it does work for us as a family.
0:27:04 > 0:27:08And we've been given this incredible opportunity.
0:27:08 > 0:27:13It's such an ongoing project and there are so many exciting sort of phases ahead,
0:27:13 > 0:27:16that I think it keeps us inspired and always looking ahead.
0:27:16 > 0:27:17Stressed but never bored!
0:27:17 > 0:27:21At the end of the day, it's an amazing challenge in life and I think we'll look back
0:27:21 > 0:27:24and think what an incredible experience it is.
0:27:24 > 0:27:26But you are just at the foothills,
0:27:26 > 0:27:29you haven't got to the summit yet, but jolly good luck with it.
0:27:29 > 0:27:31Thank you so much.
0:27:49 > 0:27:52Actually, I suppose on paper, when you look at it,
0:27:52 > 0:27:56the future of Iscoyd Park has never been more in jeopardy
0:27:56 > 0:28:00because of that eye watering loan Phil and Susie have taken out
0:28:00 > 0:28:02and that keeps them awake at night.
0:28:02 > 0:28:07But it's that loan, coupled with a lusty dose of Godsal energy
0:28:07 > 0:28:10and some quite slinky contemporary creativity,
0:28:10 > 0:28:13that has taken this place one step further.
0:28:13 > 0:28:17It's no longer part of a mere maintenance programme.
0:28:17 > 0:28:19It's no longer treading water.
0:28:19 > 0:28:24Phil, the latest in a long line of Philips, has taken his family home,
0:28:24 > 0:28:29taken his hidden house of Wales and, yes, taken a risk.
0:28:29 > 0:28:31But it's about reincarnating it,
0:28:31 > 0:28:36it's about breathing new life into it, it's about making it glamorous, it's about making it romantic,
0:28:36 > 0:28:41but more than anything it's about making it relevant to the 21st century.