Restoration Home
Amazing old buildings from across the United Kingdom are beginning to get a new life under new ownership. Individuals, couples and families attempt to restore or remodel them, mostly into homes. Buildings range from mansions and manor houses to decrepit pumping stations, churches and schools. Most of the building have been abandoned for a while and the challenges the renovators face can be quite significant. Research into the architecture of the house is done and put into context alongside a genealogy of its occupants and benefactors. the research gives context to the style and renovations while also giving the buildings a more human element. Caroline Quentin narrates and visits the sites, interviewing the families and commenting on the status of the projects. Historian Dr Kate Williams researches the people associated with the building while Architectural Expert Kieran Long put style, materials and process into historical context. Not all projects are even remotely complete by the end of the episode. Occasionally projects are re-visited later.
- 2011-2016
- 3 seasons
- Reality
Amazing old buildings from across the United Kingdom are beginning to get a new life under new ownership. Individuals, couples and families attempt to restore or remodel them, mostly into homes. Buildings range from mansions and manor houses to decrepit pumping stations, churches and schools. Most of the building have been abandoned for a while and the challenges the renovators face can be quite significant. Research into the architecture of the house is done and put into context alongside a genealogy of its occupants and benefactors. the research gives context to the style and renovations while also giving the buildings a more human element. Caroline Quentin narrates and visits the sites, interviewing the families and commenting on the status of the projects. Historian Dr Kate Williams researches the people associated with the building while Architectural Expert Kieran Long put style, materials and process into historical context. Not all projects are even remotely complete by the end of the episode. Occasionally projects are re-visited later.
Season 2 Episode Guide
9 Episodes 2012
Episode 1
Coldbrook Farm
59 mins
Coldbrook Farm is a run-down 17th-century Welsh farmhouse, but its lavishly carved Tudor timberwork hints at a rich history. As owners Bill and Kim grapple with the challenges of mixing old and modern, Kieran and Kate dig deep into the archives, uncovering Coldbrook's possible links with one of the most powerful lords in Britain.
Episode 2
Sandford House
59 mins
Following the restoration of Sandford House in Scotland, designed by Baillie Scott.
Episode 3
The Elms
58 mins
The Elms, an imposing, three-storey Georgian house, is in a dreadful condition. Enter three generations of the same family who live just 200 metres away and had been thinking about the Elms for years. It emerges that one of the most influential past owners of the house turned accepted convention on its head and sent shock waves through the society of the day.
Episode 4
Old Manor
59 mins
Tackling a 16th Century Norfolk Home presents special challenges.
Episode 5
Abbey Lane
59 mins
Abbey Lane in Warwickshire is a classic Tudor gem. Sally and Stuart, who had been searching for their ideal family home, saw past the decay and are working to improve the condition of the timber skeleton, which is frail and needs rebuilding. Unusually, the frame is made of elm rather than oak, and other architectural features indicate that this property was more than a family house.
Episode 6
Coulton Mill
59 mins
A couple are attempting to restore Coulton Mill, a 13th-century, 10-acre site in Yorkshire.
Episode 7
One Year On: Stoke Hall and Nutbourne Pumping Station
59 mins
In the first special episode, the team catches up with the renovations at Stoke Hall and Nutbourne Pumping Station.
Episode 8
One Year On: St. Thomas a Becket Church and Stanwick Hall
59 mins
In the second special episode, the team checks in on the renovations at St. Thomas a Becket Church and Stanwick Hall.
Episode 9
Big House and Calverton Manor
59 mins
In the final special, find out if the restorations of Calverton Manor and Big House have been successful.