0:00:11 > 0:00:15If you turn your back on the town, take the village track,
0:00:15 > 0:00:19follow the unmade road, you'll find something absolutely extraordinary -
0:00:19 > 0:00:21the hidden houses of Wales.
0:00:21 > 0:00:25In this series, I'll be turning back the clock.
0:00:25 > 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 > 0:00:39Bricks and mortar? They're never going to be the same again.
0:00:42 > 0:00:45In this episode, we'll be visiting a house
0:00:45 > 0:00:50that symbolises the rags-to-riches story of a local Welsh boy done good.
0:00:50 > 0:00:54It's somewhere where you go, and your family are around you. It's a sanctuary, isn't it?
0:00:54 > 0:00:57'A house that's been put back together in the wrong way...'
0:00:57 > 0:01:03200 years ago, when you come back from the supermarket, that's what would have faced you.
0:01:03 > 0:01:07'..and is now a haven after a storm of adversity.'
0:01:07 > 0:01:09I believe that I helped him through
0:01:09 > 0:01:12because he knew that I was there for him, and that he wasn't alone.
0:01:26 > 0:01:28- GEARS CRUNCH - Argh!
0:01:32 > 0:01:34So, here I am back in the Morris Minor
0:01:34 > 0:01:39and travelling round a part of Wales I actually don't know well at all.
0:01:39 > 0:01:43Flintshire is the border country between North Wales and England.
0:01:43 > 0:01:47And in fact, you look around now
0:01:47 > 0:01:51and it's home to more than a handful of perma-tanned Premier League footballers.
0:01:51 > 0:01:54But, go back 200, 300 years...
0:01:54 > 0:01:59and this place was very much THE place to be.
0:02:00 > 0:02:02Shall I risk third?
0:02:02 > 0:02:04Third. Yes!
0:02:15 > 0:02:17Soughton House dates from the 18th century,
0:02:17 > 0:02:20and is magnificently placed on the hills
0:02:20 > 0:02:24overlooking the Dee Estuary, about five Welsh miles away from Chester.
0:02:26 > 0:02:29Dramatically structurally refurbished ten years ago,
0:02:29 > 0:02:33Soughton House is now the home of David McLean and his second wife, Ruth.
0:02:33 > 0:02:38David McLean's is a household name as he used to own and run
0:02:38 > 0:02:41one of the biggest construction companies in Wales.
0:02:45 > 0:02:49Gosh. Little bit Southfork, dare I say it.
0:02:49 > 0:02:54There's something a bit flat and a bit American to that entrance.
0:02:54 > 0:02:57But it's difficult in this day and age, I think.
0:02:57 > 0:03:01200 years ago, you'd have had a football team of under gardeners
0:03:01 > 0:03:03who could rake the gravel and lick the grass.
0:03:10 > 0:03:12Ooh, look at that! Blimey!
0:03:12 > 0:03:18Now, I am actually momentarily blinded by the car rather than the house,
0:03:18 > 0:03:23because the house is something of a patchwork.
0:03:33 > 0:03:37Look at me, arriving not in a blaze of glory but a blaze of gravel!
0:03:37 > 0:03:39- I know, we could hear you coming!- I bet you could!
0:03:39 > 0:03:45I'm very, very pleased to find I've actually managed to stop in front of your incredibly beautiful car.
0:03:45 > 0:03:47Don't fancy doing a swap, do you? Like for like.
0:03:47 > 0:03:52- It is quite nice, but...- Almost identical.- Almost! I don't think so.
0:03:52 > 0:03:54But it is... I mean, that's such a stunner
0:03:54 > 0:03:57you forget to look at the house, but the house is extremely interesting.
0:03:57 > 0:04:00But it's not giving much away, is it?
0:04:00 > 0:04:04So there's a sense that the house is sort of holding its cards very closely.
0:04:04 > 0:04:10- What about inside? Is that where the history starts to unfold?- I think that's where you'll understand it.
0:04:23 > 0:04:27It is absolutely fascinating! So, how old is the...
0:04:27 > 0:04:31Oh, does that explain it, 1685? Are we looking at 1685?
0:04:31 > 0:04:33Do you know, we're curious, we don't know.
0:04:33 > 0:04:36- It was here when we came. - It was here when we came.
0:04:36 > 0:04:40But this is a very interesting space. It doesn't feel terribly old.
0:04:40 > 0:04:43We've traced the house back to the 17th century,
0:04:43 > 0:04:47and we thought, "Well, this fireplace perhaps didn't belong to this house
0:04:47 > 0:04:50"and that's come later or somebody's put it in."
0:04:50 > 0:04:55It would be nice to know more about it, and you're here, so you must know more about it!
0:04:55 > 0:04:59I'm here. Definitely, I want to start getting under the skin of it,
0:04:59 > 0:05:04cos I think the other thing, as well, is it's a house that has obviously continued to be in use,
0:05:04 > 0:05:08and every person in it has done something different to it.
0:05:08 > 0:05:12- I mean, things like the staircase. Was the staircase always there?- No.
0:05:12 > 0:05:14It wasn't?
0:05:14 > 0:05:20The staircase has been cut. You can see the markers where there have been rails. We suspect it's smaller.
0:05:20 > 0:05:26Yeah. Meanwhile, of course, the current lord of the manor is there enshrined.
0:05:26 > 0:05:28I assume that's you? It's not YOU!
0:05:28 > 0:05:31If it is you, I'd sue.
0:05:31 > 0:05:35- It doesn't look anything like you. - It was bought.
0:05:35 > 0:05:39- For my birthday. - A special birthday. And he wore his favourite shirt.
0:05:39 > 0:05:42That shirt, I still have it, and it's gotta be 20 years old!
0:05:42 > 0:05:48What is really nice is the fact that it's a historical thing to do,
0:05:48 > 0:05:50but it's not, cos it's actually...
0:05:50 > 0:05:53You look very modern, you look very welcoming,
0:05:53 > 0:05:55you're looking straight at the door and kind of saying,
0:05:55 > 0:05:58"Welcome and come in," and that's the sense I get from this house -
0:05:58 > 0:06:03that it's got a lot of very, very fascinating history that we need to unpick.
0:06:07 > 0:06:12Soughton House is David's reward for years of hard work.
0:06:14 > 0:06:16Brought up by his grandmother
0:06:16 > 0:06:18in a village just two miles down the road,
0:06:18 > 0:06:23his is a success story of a local boy done good.
0:06:28 > 0:06:32It was Jane, my eldest daughter, who said, "Have you had a look at this?"
0:06:32 > 0:06:37And I said, "No, not really," and she said, "Time you moved on from where you are," and...
0:06:37 > 0:06:39So one day I was driving back from work
0:06:39 > 0:06:43and I just decided to pull in, and it was one of those places.
0:06:43 > 0:06:45You must have seen it...
0:06:45 > 0:06:48I've seen it many times, where you go somewhere
0:06:48 > 0:06:53and you have a feeling for a place. It just feels like home.
0:06:57 > 0:07:01Because your story is quite romantic in a way - it almost reads a bit like a Victorian novel.
0:07:01 > 0:07:05You start with very little, you work very hard as a bricklayer.
0:07:05 > 0:07:08You build a big company and you buy somewhere like this.
0:07:08 > 0:07:11It's a very rags-to-riches story.
0:07:11 > 0:07:17Yes, something very satisfying about actually building something.
0:07:17 > 0:07:19Because it's there, for ever.
0:07:19 > 0:07:22One thing I'm wondering is
0:07:22 > 0:07:27whether you ever felt that you were saving this place.
0:07:27 > 0:07:29Well, saved it, maybe that is the right word.
0:07:29 > 0:07:33I've never looked at it as being saving it.
0:07:33 > 0:07:37I think for anybody else to have done it at the time,
0:07:37 > 0:07:39maybe the cost would have been prohibitive.
0:07:39 > 0:07:45The thrill is finding something that has been undisturbed and then almost bringing it back to life.
0:07:45 > 0:07:48It's almost that Sleeping Beauty moment.
0:07:48 > 0:07:52Are you the Prince Charming that kissed the Sleeping Beauty awake again?
0:07:52 > 0:07:54It is a fantastic house. It's a lovely house to live in.
0:07:54 > 0:07:56At the end of the day,
0:07:56 > 0:08:00if you look at what it was and what it's turned out to be,
0:08:00 > 0:08:02I think I've done a nice job on it,
0:08:02 > 0:08:05within the very...kind of budget that I have.
0:08:20 > 0:08:25Today, Soughton House sits in 70 acres of lush pasture,
0:08:25 > 0:08:30but its exact origins are difficult to determine.
0:08:30 > 0:08:36The date 1695 has been found on a stone in the wall of one of the out buildings.
0:08:36 > 0:08:41The sacred heart hinting at a Roman Catholic past.
0:08:41 > 0:08:43But after David's huge renovation,
0:08:43 > 0:08:46it's difficult to know what's original and what's not.
0:08:46 > 0:08:49It's an historical conundrum.
0:08:50 > 0:08:54OK. So what's so intriguing up here?
0:08:54 > 0:08:57I mean, it's only when we stripped the roof that we found...
0:08:57 > 0:09:00- Ah! Look at that! - This is where we found this coving.
0:09:00 > 0:09:04Obviously, we've taken it off cos we had to take the roof off totally.
0:09:04 > 0:09:06Now, that is amazing.
0:09:06 > 0:09:09There's actually a cornice, a dentil cornice,
0:09:09 > 0:09:12so it's a cornice with little blocks on it that look like teeth.
0:09:12 > 0:09:17And then, this triangular shape with the panelling in it.
0:09:17 > 0:09:21The whole thing would have curved very elegantly up to an apex.
0:09:21 > 0:09:25- Did the staircase actually come up here?- I think it did.
0:09:25 > 0:09:30This is the first time I feel I've met the original house completely,
0:09:30 > 0:09:34because everything else has been behind so many different layers,
0:09:34 > 0:09:37but you've even got the original paintwork colour there.
0:09:37 > 0:09:43That's absolutely typical for the 18th century. How incredibly fascinating.
0:09:43 > 0:09:48- Right, let's go.- I feel terribly excited by this!- Do you want to go down first?- What's at the bottom?
0:09:48 > 0:09:50- Nothing.- Shall I take the first bullet?
0:09:52 > 0:09:58So, this house was originally built in the Georgian era, probably around 1720.
0:09:59 > 0:10:04But we do know Welsh families had been living here way before then,
0:10:04 > 0:10:07because this was medieval prime real estate,
0:10:07 > 0:10:10close to a major shipping port
0:10:10 > 0:10:13and situated a few miles away from Chester.
0:10:13 > 0:10:16Very sought-after, very peaceful.
0:10:17 > 0:10:21But, all of that was about to change,
0:10:21 > 0:10:23because in 1277,
0:10:23 > 0:10:27Edward I invaded and conquered Wales.
0:10:27 > 0:10:31Which meant, of course, suddenly Wales was under English control,
0:10:31 > 0:10:35but it also meant, suddenly the floodgates were open
0:10:35 > 0:10:38and virile, young English blades
0:10:38 > 0:10:43could take a crack at those wealthy Welsh heiresses.
0:10:44 > 0:10:47First across the border were the Conwys,
0:10:47 > 0:10:50Englishmen descended from Sir William Coniers,
0:10:50 > 0:10:52the high constable of England.
0:10:54 > 0:10:59The Conwys wanted to get seriously integrated with Welsh polite society
0:10:59 > 0:11:05and what better way than by luring some seriously loaded heiresses up the aisle?
0:11:05 > 0:11:07Good plan!
0:11:07 > 0:11:11So, the Conwy stallions galloped all over North Wales,
0:11:11 > 0:11:14with one of them ending up here at Soughton.
0:11:15 > 0:11:17And his name? James Conwy.
0:11:18 > 0:11:22And so began the Conwys' reign at Soughton House,
0:11:22 > 0:11:24which would last for over three centuries.
0:11:24 > 0:11:28James Conwy had married its sole heiress.
0:11:28 > 0:11:30Guess what? The lad did rather well.
0:11:32 > 0:11:36There's probably always been a grand house here,
0:11:36 > 0:11:38but by the time David and Ruth arrived,
0:11:38 > 0:11:42the current house built in the splendour of the Georgian period
0:11:42 > 0:11:44had fallen on hard times.
0:11:45 > 0:11:49This wasn't so much a renovation as a total rebuild.
0:11:49 > 0:11:53David had to start almost from scratch.
0:11:53 > 0:11:57His only guide was the house's original foundations.
0:12:02 > 0:12:07I can imagine that this is the one and only time in this house's history
0:12:07 > 0:12:09it's ever had a yoga room!
0:12:09 > 0:12:13Yeah, but I think the house has got a feeling to it
0:12:13 > 0:12:17and this room is quite spiritual, I think.
0:12:17 > 0:12:18Does David do this?
0:12:18 > 0:12:22No. I have actually persuaded him to try meditation,
0:12:22 > 0:12:25and he has meditated, which is a miracle!
0:12:25 > 0:12:27How did you two meet?
0:12:27 > 0:12:31I ended up going to work in David's business, and that's how we met.
0:12:31 > 0:12:36- And that was how long ago?- Oh, gosh, we've been together for 13 years.
0:12:36 > 0:12:41- Cos what's the age difference between you?- 21 years.
0:12:41 > 0:12:46- So that's quite...- My daughters, or step-daughters, are my age.
0:12:46 > 0:12:48- That's cool, though.- Yeah!
0:12:48 > 0:12:52- That means you can kind of swap clothes.- I'm the trendy grandma.
0:12:52 > 0:12:55Wow! That's cool, being a trendy grandma.
0:12:55 > 0:13:00One of the things which I think is extraordinary about David's story and your story here
0:13:00 > 0:13:02is the fact that he has physically built so much of this.
0:13:02 > 0:13:09He's driven, he's proud of what he does, and the house is our home,
0:13:09 > 0:13:13and I think because he's put so much into it personally, that...
0:13:13 > 0:13:17it would make it difficult for us to move on, anyway!
0:13:17 > 0:13:21Quietly every now and again, he does admit to the fact that you are very important -
0:13:21 > 0:13:26actually, I'm beginning to suspect - quite dominant in certain areas of the way the house feels.
0:13:26 > 0:13:32Yeah. I mean, that is one thing that he's always said that, you know,
0:13:32 > 0:13:34I've made our house a home.
0:13:34 > 0:13:38So, how come your portrait's not in the hall?
0:13:38 > 0:13:41My portrait is hidden somewhere else!
0:13:41 > 0:13:44Oh, I see, so it's your portrait getting old?
0:13:44 > 0:13:48- Up in the attic?- It's not quite a portrait!- Oh, I see!
0:13:48 > 0:13:54Well, the only candidates are this or, I suppose, this.
0:13:54 > 0:13:58I feel slightly indecent loafing around their art collection trying to figure it out,
0:13:58 > 0:14:01so back to architecture.
0:14:02 > 0:14:07We've already established that this house has been changed beyond recognition,
0:14:07 > 0:14:12but I'm intrigued and want to work out what's new and what's old.
0:14:16 > 0:14:21- But that wall there is what happens to the wall up in the attic with the panelling.- Yes.
0:14:21 > 0:14:23That comes down there,
0:14:23 > 0:14:29so that wall will have had some kind of panelling to match what's up there.
0:14:31 > 0:14:35Originally, there would have been four of these, completely open.
0:14:35 > 0:14:39And they would have looked down in to... Down on to the staircase.
0:14:39 > 0:14:41It would've been very grand.
0:14:41 > 0:14:44And that wasn't there. We found that in the attic.
0:14:44 > 0:14:47So that was up in the attic, I think, on the wall.
0:14:47 > 0:14:50It fits almost perfectly.
0:14:50 > 0:14:53Because it's a hallway, there'd be a series of symbols
0:14:53 > 0:14:57that will actually be welcoming people to your home,
0:14:57 > 0:15:01but in a very clever, Roman, Greek neo-classical language
0:15:01 > 0:15:06to show off how cultivated and how civilised and how intellectual you were.
0:15:06 > 0:15:11Let me find a piece of paper. I want to show you what I mean, cos I think it's fascinating.
0:15:11 > 0:15:15So, since I have an idea of how the house might have looked,
0:15:15 > 0:15:19I felt an artist's impression coming on.
0:15:20 > 0:15:21Ah!
0:15:21 > 0:15:26This is what I reckon
0:15:26 > 0:15:29that that little bedroom at the bottom of the stairs
0:15:29 > 0:15:32where we came down from the attic would look like.
0:15:32 > 0:15:36What I've done here is show what the arcade would look like open.
0:15:36 > 0:15:40Up here you've got a plaque showing a classical goddess
0:15:40 > 0:15:45that's particularly associated with one of the pursuits the family did a lot.
0:15:45 > 0:15:47If they hunted a lot it would be Diana.
0:15:47 > 0:15:52If they drank a lot... it might be Bacchus.
0:15:52 > 0:15:54- That, Lady Ruth...- Wow!
0:15:54 > 0:15:59When you come back from the supermarket with a boot full of provisions,
0:15:59 > 0:16:02200 years ago, that's what would have faced you.
0:16:02 > 0:16:05You should not have drawn it.
0:16:05 > 0:16:08I can see David knocking down and starting again!
0:16:08 > 0:16:10No, no, no, no, definitely not!
0:16:10 > 0:16:14I have a horrible feeling I may have started something!
0:16:17 > 0:16:21So this really was a spectacular house.
0:16:21 > 0:16:24Back then, it was all about having a jaw-dropping entrance.
0:16:24 > 0:16:26Today, convenience is queen of the castle
0:16:26 > 0:16:30and most female visitors to Soughton wouldn't give the columns a second glance,
0:16:30 > 0:16:33but check out this walk-in wardrobe.
0:16:36 > 0:16:41- Ooh! Look at this! The inner sanctum!- Yes, this is the inner sanctum indeed!
0:16:41 > 0:16:44So if you're not in the yoga room, you're in here being Carrie Bradshaw?!
0:16:44 > 0:16:47Yeah, I do get told off for spending a lot of time in here.
0:16:47 > 0:16:52- You are well-organised, though. - Yes, I like to display them, because I love them!
0:16:52 > 0:16:56When you travel, does David take his evening bag collection with him?
0:16:56 > 0:17:00Not allowed, no, we travel with one little suitcase each,
0:17:00 > 0:17:04and I'm not allowed to bring back an extra bag.
0:17:04 > 0:17:07I love the idea of me trying to dictate to Mrs Llewelyn-Bowen
0:17:07 > 0:17:09she could only bring one suitcase
0:17:09 > 0:17:13when she's normally got 12 steamer trunks and we're just staying the night!
0:17:13 > 0:17:15- Well, I do send things home. - Very good!
0:17:15 > 0:17:17What was this space originally?
0:17:17 > 0:17:18I think this was a dressing room,
0:17:18 > 0:17:22because there was a door there, there was a fireplace here,
0:17:22 > 0:17:26and its proximity to the master bedroom.
0:17:26 > 0:17:30What you've done here is you've revived the way
0:17:30 > 0:17:34that this little corner of the house was used in 1810, 1820.
0:17:34 > 0:17:37It would have been quite glamour puss, I think!
0:17:37 > 0:17:41What I am slightly intrigued about is, where is the famous T-shirt?
0:17:41 > 0:17:43- Which famous T-shirt? Oh! - From the portrait!
0:17:43 > 0:17:45Oh, it's not here, this is shirt shirts.
0:17:45 > 0:17:49- This dressing room is my dressing room.- What's this, then?!
0:17:49 > 0:17:54- David is allowed...that bit.- That. You're spoiling that man!- I am!
0:17:54 > 0:17:58- We'll never be able to release him into the wild! - He's not self-sufficient!- No!
0:17:58 > 0:18:01Enough about the shoes and the clothes.
0:18:01 > 0:18:03Back to the history.
0:18:03 > 0:18:06By 1720, the latest Conwy, Edward,
0:18:06 > 0:18:10was a high-flying legal eagle in London.
0:18:10 > 0:18:16Basically, Soughton is his country pile and back then, big was most decidedly beautiful.
0:18:16 > 0:18:22Whether it was your country pile or your carriage or your wig, you wanted it enormous.
0:18:22 > 0:18:24And Edward wants to increase what he's got.
0:18:25 > 0:18:31So, he decides to buy back his grandmother's estate next door,
0:18:31 > 0:18:33which had been mortgaged to a wealthy neighbour.
0:18:33 > 0:18:38Just one problem - the neighbour doesn't want to sell it back.
0:18:38 > 0:18:43So, Edward decides to take him to court.
0:18:43 > 0:18:48Edward is the legal brain. What could possibly go wrong for Edward?
0:18:49 > 0:18:54What's he actually risking - is he risking money or is he risking prestige?
0:18:54 > 0:18:57He's risking prestige through risking his estate.
0:18:57 > 0:18:59The key thing here is that
0:18:59 > 0:19:02money is important, but the basis of wealth is land.
0:19:02 > 0:19:05Would it have been a real local war?
0:19:05 > 0:19:09Are we looking at something that was quite aggressive and violent,
0:19:09 > 0:19:12or did they have to get on with life? Was this a common thing to happen?
0:19:12 > 0:19:17This was a common thing to happen and there were really two great popular strategies
0:19:17 > 0:19:20in the early 18th century for extending your estate.
0:19:20 > 0:19:23There was strategic alliance and there was aggressive litigation,
0:19:23 > 0:19:27so you could take a wealthy heiress to church or you could take her father to court.
0:19:31 > 0:19:36After ten years of expensive High Court wrangling, Edward lost the case
0:19:36 > 0:19:40and, in order to cover the costs, was forced to sell most of his estate,
0:19:40 > 0:19:45but he just about managed to hang onto Soughton House.
0:19:48 > 0:19:51Nearly 300 years later, history was to repeat itself.
0:19:51 > 0:19:55The Flintshire-based house builder David McLean Holdings
0:19:55 > 0:19:58could have debts reaching around £100 million.
0:19:58 > 0:20:00In October 2008,
0:20:00 > 0:20:04David's massively successful business went to the wall
0:20:04 > 0:20:08and over 200 people lost their jobs.
0:20:08 > 0:20:11Overnight, house sales just dried up.
0:20:11 > 0:20:16The banks took fright and refused to lend any more money.
0:20:17 > 0:20:23The now infamous credit crunch had claimed one of its biggest victims in Wales.
0:20:23 > 0:20:26History is around us. History is always around us.
0:20:26 > 0:20:32How did that feel, that point when all of that suddenly evaporated?
0:20:32 > 0:20:35It's one you can't really explain - how do you feel?
0:20:35 > 0:20:37I think your mind is in turmoil to start with.
0:20:37 > 0:20:43Nobody tells you. You've got people who work for you who, all of a sudden, are working for the bank.
0:20:43 > 0:20:46And they don't know what to say to you,
0:20:46 > 0:20:49you don't know what to say to them,
0:20:49 > 0:20:52and then after a small period of time someone just said,
0:20:52 > 0:20:54"Well, you might as well go home."
0:20:54 > 0:20:56Going back to the fateful night,
0:20:56 > 0:21:02you're the only one that can really help him - what on Earth do you say?
0:21:02 > 0:21:05Yeah. Well, I think, it was a very difficult year
0:21:05 > 0:21:09and in the midst of it, we actually got married at the end of July.
0:21:09 > 0:21:15So that, for us, was like a reinforcement of our relationship.
0:21:15 > 0:21:17But when it actually happened, I was just there
0:21:17 > 0:21:21and I believe that I helped him through,
0:21:21 > 0:21:25because he knew I was there for him and that he wasn't alone.
0:21:25 > 0:21:32And, uh, he had so many letters and phone calls.
0:21:32 > 0:21:34People were thinking of him
0:21:34 > 0:21:37and not just thinking that he had,
0:21:37 > 0:21:41you know, taken his business down on purpose
0:21:41 > 0:21:43and taken his money and run away with it.
0:21:47 > 0:21:54Surely, at that point, you suddenly realise how important it is that at least you've still got this place.
0:21:54 > 0:21:58Did you look at the house and think, "At least I've got this. This is a safe haven"?
0:21:58 > 0:22:04Yes, I was glad I'd paid my mortgage off, as people do.
0:22:04 > 0:22:08It's somewhere where you go, and your family are around you,
0:22:08 > 0:22:11you know, it's a sanctuary, isn't it?
0:22:11 > 0:22:12You see front doors.
0:22:12 > 0:22:16I mean, that door's been there for a long, long time.
0:22:16 > 0:22:22It leaks, but not a lot, but it's stood the test of time.
0:22:22 > 0:22:25Well, if only history could say the same about us -
0:22:25 > 0:22:27we've stood the test of time, we leak,
0:22:27 > 0:22:31- but, you know, we deserve to be there.- You've got it! You've got it!
0:22:33 > 0:22:35- It's like an assault course!- Yes.
0:22:35 > 0:22:39'They do say that out of adversity comes opportunity.
0:22:39 > 0:22:41'The credit crunch may have claimed David's business,
0:22:41 > 0:22:45'but it's also driven him to think creatively
0:22:45 > 0:22:47'about how he runs Soughton House.'
0:22:48 > 0:22:51And then this is the walled garden.
0:22:52 > 0:22:56What's nice, of course, is you obviously keep a large gardening staff.
0:22:56 > 0:23:00Look at this! You've got half a dozen gardeners at your beck and call!
0:23:00 > 0:23:03We've talked about what happened to my business,
0:23:03 > 0:23:07and obviously we used to have some part-time gardeners, and things change.
0:23:07 > 0:23:09We've always had a full-time gardener.
0:23:09 > 0:23:11And then I saw this article in the paper,
0:23:11 > 0:23:14"Desperate shortage of allotments."
0:23:14 > 0:23:16So we turned it into allotments.
0:23:21 > 0:23:26To actually encourage the community into it is a very, very good idea,
0:23:26 > 0:23:30- cos otherwise this would turn ruinous. Absolutely ruinous. - Very quickly, as well.- Yeah.
0:23:34 > 0:23:37I was just saying what a pretty allotment you've got!
0:23:37 > 0:23:39- Very lucky, aren't we? - You are very, very lucky.
0:23:39 > 0:23:44We'll forgive you your Wellingtons. You know you're the wrong side of the border here?!
0:23:44 > 0:23:48- I know, but you've got to support them, haven't you?- Yes, poor...
0:23:48 > 0:23:52Let's support the poor old English, bless them, they can't help it!
0:23:57 > 0:24:00By 1780, the Conwys' lack of a male heir
0:24:00 > 0:24:05meant that this prime piece of real estate was ripe for a new owner.
0:24:06 > 0:24:11This time the owner came from a rather unlikely background.
0:24:11 > 0:24:17Just like David McLean, the Howards had risen from next to nothing.
0:24:17 > 0:24:19They'd started off life as innkeepers,
0:24:19 > 0:24:24but had made so much money they were able to buy their way into the Soughton dynasty,
0:24:24 > 0:24:29which might go some way to explain the errant fireplace.
0:24:29 > 0:24:33This over mantle was never here. This was brought in.
0:24:33 > 0:24:39As far as the Howards are concerned, it's another way of making them feel basically a little bit posher,
0:24:39 > 0:24:42cos they've got no... They've got no history, have they?
0:24:42 > 0:24:46They start off in trade, they accumulate capital, then they buy land.
0:24:46 > 0:24:50The end of the 18th century is what we now call the Industrial Revolution.
0:24:50 > 0:24:53We have to presume that they're speculating,
0:24:53 > 0:24:56putting money into ventures that produce more money.
0:24:56 > 0:25:01That immediately goes into land and then they're trying to buy the kind of heritage,
0:25:01 > 0:25:04the prestige that something like this would say to the world.
0:25:04 > 0:25:07It's really all about buying dead men's shoes, isn't it?
0:25:07 > 0:25:09- Dead men's over mantles!- Yes!
0:25:12 > 0:25:15The Howards sell up in 1916,
0:25:15 > 0:25:20a date that signals the sad demise of this once-great house.
0:25:20 > 0:25:25By 1999, it's a mere shadow of its former self.
0:25:27 > 0:25:30- Come down! - Look at this! This is very lux!
0:25:30 > 0:25:33Had it not been for David and Ruth,
0:25:33 > 0:25:38it probably would have gone to rack and ruin, but just look at it now.
0:25:38 > 0:25:42It's very, very grand and spoiling!
0:25:42 > 0:25:45- Is this your own work?- If only!
0:25:45 > 0:25:47Why A Midsummer Night's Dream?
0:25:47 > 0:25:50We just wanted something totally different.
0:25:50 > 0:25:54And it just is lovely to have a flowing story, I think.
0:25:54 > 0:25:56Kind of a narrative.
0:25:56 > 0:26:00You've built all this, but this is actually to replace...
0:26:00 > 0:26:03- The existing house.- Because there was a bit this big...
0:26:03 > 0:26:07The house... Those walls are exactly where the foundations are,
0:26:07 > 0:26:11because I built from the existing foundations back up again.
0:26:11 > 0:26:16We literally drew it as we were going and that's how... This is how it's turned out.
0:26:16 > 0:26:19You feel like you're outside even though it's an indoor pool.
0:26:19 > 0:26:22Again, there's another portrait of you!
0:26:22 > 0:26:25- I'm standing here and looking behind...- And there you are!
0:26:25 > 0:26:29- Do you swim?- Unfortunately, I haven't brought my kecks with me.
0:26:29 > 0:26:32- You don't want to swim?- Well, we have got a steam room.- No.
0:26:32 > 0:26:35I'm not doing skinny dipping either, that's for sure!
0:26:50 > 0:26:54Having got to know this house, I think it has a very strong character to it.
0:26:54 > 0:26:57It's almost like another member of the family.
0:26:57 > 0:26:59Do you feel proud of what you've done?
0:26:59 > 0:27:01We are custodians of the house, really,
0:27:01 > 0:27:06and to have come and spent time here and lived here and left our mark,
0:27:06 > 0:27:08I think that's quite important.
0:27:08 > 0:27:10Are you going to be here in five years?
0:27:10 > 0:27:13I mean, is it time for you two to make a change?
0:27:13 > 0:27:16We will ultimately move on.
0:27:16 > 0:27:20It's a home for a family, really.
0:27:20 > 0:27:26Do you think you'll want to then come back, once someone else has been tinkering around with it?
0:27:26 > 0:27:30- We have to leave the portrait! - You could have that portrait. - Shall we leave it?
0:27:30 > 0:27:33That portrait is not moving, it so sits here!
0:27:47 > 0:27:49In the long history of Soughton House,
0:27:49 > 0:27:52in the first decade of the 21st century, I reckon
0:27:52 > 0:27:55it's going to be known as the house that Dave built,
0:27:55 > 0:27:57or at least the house that Dave saved,
0:27:57 > 0:28:02that Dave restored, that Dave revivified with his own hands.
0:28:02 > 0:28:07And his portrait, albeit in that particularly jaunty striped T-shirt,
0:28:07 > 0:28:13will be part of the picture gallery of personalities that have built Soughton House.
0:28:13 > 0:28:16All of them creating their own fortunes,
0:28:16 > 0:28:19whether it's by business,
0:28:19 > 0:28:23by land, by marriage or, in David's case, by brick.
0:28:23 > 0:28:29But the critical thing is that all of them have seen that place as home.
0:28:29 > 0:28:34Which makes me think that in many ways, this is kind of a shrine
0:28:34 > 0:28:39to that energy that drives someone to become a self-made man.
0:28:49 > 0:28:52Subtitles by Red Bee Media Ltd
0:28:52 > 0:28:56E-mail subtitling@bbc.co.uk