Another 'Restoration' programme

[JoceAndChris]

I watched this week's on iPlayer last night. Well done to them for saving the ceilings, but oh dear, what a good example of the wrong attitude to LBC. I could not for the life of me understand why they objected to the CO specifying a stone for the floor appropriate to the geology of their region. My understanding was that they'd wanted the stone a lighter colour - well, move to Gloucestershire then! Absolutely ridiculous. Their taste too, oh dear, oh dear. That desk!!! People who buy Georgian mansions ought really to do a spot of reading before imposing their inappropriate modern notions. Everything they chose looked so out of keeping - it needs dark antique furniture, white mouldings, yellow ochres, grey-greens, pea-greens, Wedgewoody blues. Still, hopefully they can save the building for the next people to do something nice with.

 

[Penners]

Now, now, Joce... "De gustibus non est disputandum."

What they do to the house is matter of the greatest concern to us all. What they put in the house is entirely up to them*.






* And their ghastly taste. :wink:

 

[jocelyn plummer]

Now, now, Joce... "De gustibus non est disputandum."

What they do to the house is matter of the greatest concern to us all. What they put in the house is entirely up to them*.






* And their ghastly taste. :wink:

:lol: :lol: :lol:

 

[worms]

I watched this on i-player last night and (apart from wondering if all the walls really needed to have been stripped back so far by the previous developer, who presumably also spent a lot on the windows) I was struck by what looked to be an older portion to one of the wings. We saw a lot of the back of the house and the east wing, but the couple of glimpses we got of the other side were lovely. On the "de gustibus" front, a lot of the overly ornate Georgian interior does nothing for me, but the plain central section of that wing looked lovely! Possibly all from the same era, just the plainness of the non-public section of the house, and neither the historian or architect made any mention of earlier use of the site.

I was also interested in seeing 9 over 6 sashes on the ground floor on one of the elevations, which I think are relatively unusual.

 

[Penners]

I was also interested in seeing 9 over 6 sashes on the ground floor on one of the elevations, which I think are relatively unusual.

I didn't spot that. It does sound quite unusual, particularly given that - as I understand it - low ground floor windows were often used as a shortcut out to the garden, in such houses. This would imply a larger lower sash than upper.

 

[worms]

This would imply a larger lower sash than upper.

No, larger upper than lower! You can see it quite well from the outside in this clip.

It was confusing since you were never quite sure which elevation you were looking at, but I am pretty sure it is the ornate room with the plasterwork and fireplace. I've posted before about another building where the first floor is 6 over 3, which actually has some sense to it since it overcomes the fore-shortening effect when seen from below and makes the building look taller.

 

[Sue Wilkinson]

Penners - why don't you volunteer for the next Presenter Of A Property Programme job?
You'd be brilliant at it!
(Hands up all those who agree with me...)

Me, me, me. Couldn't think of anything more entertaining than Penners on TV. Kind of like Keith Floyd for restoration.

 

[Sue Wilkinson]

Restore.

1. to return (something, esp a work of art or building) to an original or former condition

I have yet to see any of these ''restoration'' programs actually restore anything.

You're right. Too often all they want to do is to make something old into a "21st Century living space". Why don't they just buy something new, or build from scratch?

Oh I am so enjoying this thread! Thank you all.

For a while (until I could stand it no more) I was a parish councillor for the village. Every planning application that came up for approval on an old property was met with the same statement by the vice chair "the house must be allowed to be made suitable for 21 century modern family life"!!!!! I wanted to kill him and bury him in one of his concrete floors. But then this was a man who bought a very old cottage, more than doubled it with extension and the whole of which now looks like it were built in the 1980's.

He bragged about sourcing Elizabethan reclaimed bricks for his fireplace renewal in the extension a few years ago. I happened to be there for something as the builder had just finished setting them into a completely inappropriate fireplace with wood burner, with that green tinged dark cement! Aargh. It looked awful and those bricks, soft, red and narrow, are now doomed.

So yes, I agree, little on TV is about restoration. Just like real life.

 

[Sue Wilkinson]

I have watched all 3 of these programmes now on iPlayer and have to say I've enjoyed them. Each one has had it's "oh no!" moments, the Georgian house the most for me, but they have been entertaining. And I think I need to marry the church man. I am far closer to his height than she is and I would really understand and appreciate his talent, enthusiasm and ability to finish a project, where all she did was criticise!

And it's given me some great distraction at a bad time. I slipped and broke my right arm 3 weeks ago and I am unable to do anything with it. To say I am finding this difficult and frustrating is understatement of the year so far!

Also loving the repartee of the forum. As ever, it's a tonic.

 

[JoceAndChris]

Poor you, get well soon! And please keep coming with your contributions while you have time. xxx

 

[Penners]

This would imply a larger lower sash than upper.

No, larger upper than lower! You can see it quite well from the outside in this clip.

I didn't explain myself well, worms. I meant that - in general - the use of a ground floor window as a garden shortcut would be easier with a larger lower sash.

 

[Penners]

Penners - why don't you volunteer for the next Presenter Of A Property Programme job?
You'd be brilliant at it!
(Hands up all those who agree with me...)

Me, me, me. Couldn't think of anything more entertaining than Penners on TV. Kind of like Keith Floyd for restoration.

Well, I can't think of anything more likely to prompt the return of charades, hide-and-seek and mah-jong as family pastimes. The sound of off-switches being pressed across the nation would be deafening.

Hmmm... maybe it's not such a bad idea after all.

 

[worms]

This would imply a larger lower sash than upper.

No, larger upper than lower! You can see it quite well from the outside in this clip.

I didn't explain myself well, worms. I meant that - in general - the use of a ground floor window as a garden shortcut would be easier with a larger lower sash.

Ah right, I see! I seem to remember them coming and going through the window in "A room with a view", when they were playing tennis in the garden. Probably ok for the decadent Edwardians but perhaps a bit anarchic for the Georgians?

 

[Penners]

I agree. Civilisation has never been the same since this practice started.

 

[FamilyWiggs]

But it has to be said that Window Entry developed into something culturally quite sophisticated:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hxD0PqVlt5Q

I certainly remember trying it as a kid...

 

[worms]

But it has to be said that Window Entry developed into something culturally quite sophisticated:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hxD0PqVlt5Q

I certainly remember trying it as a kid...

I guess coming from Georgia, Bo & Luke show that some Georgians were indeed anarchic!

 

[Penners]

Oh yeah! That there George The Third - he sure wuz a good ol' boy.

 

[Keithj]

I can sympathise with the Parish Councillor viewpoint. Luckily, this village has a parish council that takes preservation very seriously. We had total support for our plan to restore the house - indeed, encouragement for some of what we planned.

 

[Sue Wilkinson]

Wow! Calverton Manor. That was a beautiful restoration. I loved the way they did it, not rushing things and keeping it pretty simple. The end result was lovely. That's my kind of house.

 

[Penners]

Yes, for me the best so far. My only concern was the way that they excavated deep trenches all over the old servants' hall and then - apparently - just gave up and covered it all over again. But perhaps the programme failed to show the significance of whatever was discovered.

He was a delightful guy. She looked like a bulldog chewing a wasp, but I guess her heart was in the right place. They were obviously very committed to doing right by the building.