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 3 Episode Guide
8 Episodes 2013 - 2016
Episode 1
Rock Farm
59 mins
Caroline meets with Alex and her partner Martin who have purchased Rock Farm, which was once a perfectly proportioned Georgian house but is now a crumbling shell, cracked and contorted out of symmetry.
Episode 2
Little Naish
58 mins
Little Naish sits in the corner of a six-acre Victorian walled garden and looks like a gothic tower directly from the pages of a fairy tale, but it's currently heading towards a tragic ending. Peter and Anne Hills have deiced to sink their life savings into trying to save it.
Episode 3
Pitkennedy School
58 mins
Charlotte and Helen have purchased Pitkennedy School in Angus which was once the cornerstone of a community until it closed in 2006. They hope to create a beautiful home from a neglected old Victorian school.
Episode 4
Nebo Chapel
58 mins
Hayley and Alan are not your typical restoration heroes. Struggling to find a decent sized family home, they decided to put in a bid for a Victorian chapel in the Welsh valleys. It was derelict and in need of a saviour - they bought the lot for just £25,000. With only £20,000 of their own money left to restore it, they begin a struggle of almost impossible scale.
Episode 5
Cassillis House
59 mins
Six centuries of history drew Kate Armstrong to Cassillis House in Ayrshire. Originally from Australia, Kate has always had the dream of owning a castle and she picked one that was in a desperate condition. A four-year struggle began to restore 110 rooms - but not only was Kate attempting to save the fabric of the building, but she also took on the responsibility of preserving its history.
Episode 6
Coltman Street
59 mins
Simon Kelsey had known and loved one particular house on Coltman Street in Hull since he was ten years old. The once grand Victorian townhouse was already in decline but now it's in critical condition - ignored for years, carved up by modern conversions and on one of the most deprived streets in the town.
Episode 7
St. Peter's Barn
59 mins
A last, remnant of a once grand and wealthy estate, St Peter's Barn had been overlooked for generations and carved up by modern farming practices. The moment Graham and Nicola walked into it, they knew it was the family home they had been searching for.
Episode 8
Barnhill
59 mins
Geri and her husband Kevin bought the 18th-century property in Devon after falling for its gothic arches, quirky architectural features, and a glass lantern-like cupola, but discovered it was in a critical condition. The expected budget for repairs quickly doubles and Geri has to take over management of the build herself.
