Kieran Long revisits Sandford House and Abbey Lane for an update on their ongoing restoration and to reveal new stories that have come to light since the programmes were first broadcast. He meets the talented craftspeople who helped save them and explores the art of craft, how skills passed down from generation to generation make it possible for these properties to be authentically restored. Ralph and Evelyn sunk every penny they had into trying to save Sandford House near Dundee, a rare arts and crafts home built in 1902. One of the key features of the house was the dramatic sunken hall and its enormous bay window containing more than seven hundred individual panes of glass, most of which needed repairing by expert glass restorer Liz Rowley. Kieran returns to witness first-hand the meticulous work that Liz and her fellow conservators have carried out. Meanwhile, Ralph and Evelyn receive a very special visitor, the granddaughter of Sandford House's original creator, but what will she make of the 21st-century restoration? The successful completion of Abbey Lane in Southam, Warwickshire, owes as much to the determination of Sally and Stuart as it does to carpenter Brendan White. He managed to restore the shockingly frail 16th-century timber skeleton but hasn't returned since the house was complete. After the hundreds of hours he dedicated to saving it, how will Brendan react now that it's finally a home? And, after all they went through, is it everything Sally and Stuart dreamt it would be?
Kieran Long revisits The Elms and Coulton Mill for an update on their ongoing restoration and to reveal new stories that have come to light since the programmes were first broadcast. He meets the talented craftspeople who helped save them and explores the art of craft, how skills passed down from generation to generation make it possible for these properties to be authentically restored. Gavin and Anne worked for a solid year on The Elms, a three-storey Georgian mansion in Derbyshire, but when we left them in 2012 they had run out of money. A year later, Gavin hasn't let go of his ambitious dream to make the home the heart of his family. He has painstakingly reinstated the original staircase, but with so much intricate restoration still to do, will it ever be finished? In North Yorkshire, Heather and Nick are closer than ever to bringing Coulton Mill back to life. There is evidence of a mill on the site from the 13th century and the recent extensive, meticulous restoration of the ancient farm buildings has reinvigorated crafts and skills that were close to being lost forever. Just like in days gone past, the success of the mill now relies on people being drawn to the buildings - today as an attraction rather than simply a mill, but as Heather anxiously welcomes her first coach party what will they make of it?
Kieran Long revisits Coldbrook Farm and Old Manor for an update on their ongoing restoration and to reveal new stories that have come to light since the programmes were first broadcast. He meets the talented craftspeople who helped save them and explores the art of craft - how skills passed down from generation to generation make it possible for these properties to be authentically restored. Bill and Kim turned a crumbling holiday home into a dream one when they started an ambitious architectural transformation of their 16th-century farmhouse in Monmouthshire. Mixing modern features with the Tudor interior would never be easy - especially for Sam Thomas, the joiner who had made thousands of staircases in his life, but never one this complicated. Revisiting him in the workshop a year later, it is still on his mind. Bill and Kim were restoration novices but do they feel they did the ancient home justice? Or have they started making changes already? It took a pair as brave as Polly and Eric to attempt to rescue Old Manor in Saham Toney in Norfolk. They spent a year trying to save the fragile old house but by the end had run out of money, been broken into and had nothing more to show than a crumbling timber skeleton. Kieran returns to discover what has happened since and how Polly feels about the old building she sank her life savings into. Meanwhile, new evidence comes to light which may solve the mystery of how a piece of medieval stained glass found its way into the house - and even the name of the person responsible 150 years ago.