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00:13West Yorkshire has always been a place of innovation, manufacturing of mills.
00:19This is Dean Clough Mills, a complex built in 1857 that made carpets that were sent all over the world.
00:26Of course, they've had to disrepair these buildings and it took great gutsy pioneers in the late 20th and 21st
00:34century to bring them back to life.
00:4225 years ago, Chris and Jill put that same spirit of innovation into the restoration of one of these forgotten
00:50buildings.
00:51They took an abandoned mill and turned it into a high-tech home and they did it in proper Yorkshire
00:59style.
01:00No nonsense, with grit.
01:04In 1999, Jill and Chris bought a derelict 19th century mill, sight unseen.
01:10What a dump!
01:12With a new motto to inspire them.
01:14Fail to prepare is to prepare to fail.
01:17The couple got to work.
01:19Let me have a go.
01:21They had high ambitions.
01:23The sort of squidgy things.
01:24For a radical hybrid home.
01:27What's it going to look like?
01:27Like a spaceship.
01:28But they didn't have much to work with.
01:30I mean, it's like a badge's backside.
01:33They were determined to control the project.
01:36I mean, how long do you think a project manager would have lasted with me and Jill?
01:39That was over a thousand quid, that show of truth.
01:42Two, three days.
01:44Amazingly, it's been a quarter of a century since I last saw Chris and Jill.
01:50That is a really long time.
01:52So long, in fact, that you have to ask, don't you?
01:55Have they changed?
01:57Is the building as radical as it looks then?
02:00And how well, most importantly, how well has that building over 25 years looked after them?
02:08But first, here's their story.
02:31The couple I'm meeting this week have chosen to build their dream here in the sleepy Yorkshire village of Netherton.
02:38Now, this isn't the most obvious location for a sharp-looking radical house.
02:44But you're not going to be able to see this modernist home from the outside,
02:48because they're going to hide it inside the shell of another much older building.
02:55That building is 200 years old and was originally a textile mill.
03:00It's also been used as a warehouse and workshop.
03:04It had been empty for four years when a local couple saw it and decided to make it their dream
03:10home.
03:17This building hasn't been used for years.
03:19It has a palpable air of abandonment.
03:23It's not very inviting.
03:24But I'm armed and I'm going in.
03:34What a dump.
03:38It is a shell.
03:40It's nothing much more than that.
03:42Nobody looks as though they've ever lived here.
03:46It's all just been left and trashed.
03:49Oh, my goodness.
03:58It's quite hard to imagine anybody having the vision to turn this into a home.
04:06But the couple I'm going to meet, Chris and Jill, seem to have that vision.
04:11The vision to build a high-tech modern interior inside of this old mill.
04:25Oh, hello.
04:27Hello.
04:27How are you?
04:28Fine.
04:30What a dump downstairs, isn't it?
04:32You got through it all.
04:34Honestly, it looks like it would be pulled down, let alone rebuilt.
04:38Is this going to be your kind of, um, your dream palace?
04:40Is this, you know?
04:41Absolutely.
04:42I would say, yeah.
04:43Dream home.
04:45Somebody told us it was up for sale.
04:46Really?
04:47Just passed.
04:48Liked it.
04:49Bought it.
04:50You said liked it, bought it.
04:51I mean, you just bought it on a whim.
04:52Yeah.
04:52We never even looked inside it.
04:54You're joking.
04:55Why go through all the rigors and the heartache of having to convert an old building?
04:59Because it, I think it would have been hard to find something that's got this sort of character.
05:04An old property, I think, always gives you more character than the new build.
05:09So, we're having the best of both worlds, because we like old properties.
05:13We're getting that old, nice old feel.
05:15And then on the inside, we've got a modern feel.
05:17So, and I don't think we would ever get that with a new build.
05:21You've got a motto, haven't you, for this build?
05:23Yeah, fail to prepare is to prepare to fail.
05:27And that is, because we've planned it for so long, and we've tried looking at every aspect,
05:34it's no good just saying, oh, yes, we'll do this, this, this, this, and this,
05:38because all you do is you just dig yourself a massive big hole.
05:41And the only way that you're going to fill that hole is just to chuck money, money, money at it.
05:45And then that's why all your budget runs out.
05:47So, we've prepared it, planned it, absolutely.
05:52Planning is everything.
05:53Yeah.
05:54They're bringing a 19th century derelict shell back to life,
05:59with an interior that reflects the best of modern design.
06:02The inside will get completely stripped out,
06:06to leave a huge open plan living, dining and cooking space downstairs.
06:11The core of the new internal structure will be a steel frame that'll be on view.
06:18It'll support the first floor and cradle the new sleek steel staircase.
06:23A rather odd and adventurous central feature will be a curved wall shower,
06:29visible from nearly everywhere in the building.
06:32Upstairs, the bedrooms are fairly standard,
06:35arranged around the large central full-height atrium.
06:38Above, the old roof will be pierced with glazed openings to fill the space with light.
06:48The mill and land cost £50,000,
06:51and the budget for the build is £150,000,
06:55making the total cost of their dream home £200,000.
06:59The whole project is being paid for from savings.
07:04It's February, and work begins on the basic structural repairs that are needed.
07:10This may be a high-tech build on the inside,
07:13but stage one is to restore the original shell to something of its former glory.
07:19That means rebuilding from scratch the wall facing the road.
07:23It's been declared unsafe, so it has to be taken down and put back up again.
07:28Chris and Jill seem passionate about sensitively repairing the bits of the mill they're going to keep.
07:34Each stone is cleaned and reused.
07:41The roof also needs to be completely rebuilt,
07:45so all the original slates are taken off,
07:47and they'll also be used again to ensure the entire shell of this building
07:51is restored using the original materials.
07:55What Chris and Jill are doing is quite unusual.
07:59There are hundreds of disused mills in Huddersfield,
08:03dating from its heyday 200 years ago
08:05as the centre of a thriving textile industry.
08:12They're now mostly used for offices and storage warehouses,
08:16and sometimes for flats.
08:21But small mills that can serve as one house are very rare.
08:27The completely derelict state of theirs
08:29gives them a fantastic opportunity.
08:32They can wipe the slate clean here on the inside
08:35and indulge their imagination.
08:40Go and drop it.
08:42Best bit at job is this.
08:44Whey!
08:46Brilliant.
08:49Let me have a go.
08:51See, I'm doing it for you, dear.
08:53Chris is not a hands-off employer.
08:57He and Jill are going to be working very closely with the builders.
09:00They have to.
09:02Dovetailing the modern into the old
09:04needs a very thoughtful approach,
09:06and I just don't know if they can carry it off.
09:12It's first thing in the morning.
09:14There's no-one here.
09:15It's absolutely deserted.
09:16And the house itself is completely stripped out.
09:20Chris and Jill have got that big, empty box they wanted,
09:22and at last they can start the real work of building their dream.
09:29Chris, Jill, what an amazing space.
09:32Isn't it fantastic?
09:34I think it looks small.
09:35I'm joking.
09:37Chris thinks it's small.
09:39So he's wondering whether now to put some big, more big extensions on to make it bigger.
09:44No, no, I just want to, it just doesn't look long enough.
09:47You're joking.
09:48I think it's absolutely massive.
09:51Also, I think, you know, because you've got these, um, these joists,
09:54it's all open at the moment, isn't it?
09:56Yeah.
09:56When you get the ceiling on, that'll make the space seem a lot wider.
10:00I know, and the floor goes up as well.
10:02Yeah, yeah.
10:03Now, I mean, it's huge.
10:05Must admit, it does look bigger, don't it?
10:07I mean, you think that most people's sitting rooms are, what,
10:10three metres, ten foot by four metres tops,
10:14and yours is 30 metres by 45.
10:18I suppose this is, isn't this the point at which you sort of turn a corner,
10:22having sort of stripped the place out,
10:26relayed the screen concrete floor, now you're kind of starting to build.
10:32Chris and Jill's new home will be a big change for them.
10:36At the moment, they live in a recently built trad Yorkshire cottage,
10:41which they've decorated in a simple country style.
10:44So I want to know how far away from this cosy look they're planning to go.
10:53They're taking me to the house that inspired them.
10:56It may not look much from the outside,
10:58but inside there's a surprisingly modernist interior.
11:03Here it is.
11:06This is the space.
11:07It's wonderful.
11:09Look.
11:11Very modern.
11:12And this is all in the hallway.
11:14Come on.
11:16Look at this.
11:19It's huge, isn't it?
11:21Yeah.
11:21Really open.
11:23And long.
11:25Don't you feel as though it's got an air about it?
11:28It's not at all hard, is it?
11:30It's not this kind of clinical minimalism.
11:32It's very, very soft.
11:34Very user-friendly.
11:35It's really, really comfortable.
11:37You've got everything you need.
11:38It's sort of squidgy things in it.
11:39Yeah.
11:40I said to Jill, just come and have a look at this house.
11:42And she walked in, it went, just unbelievable.
11:46So we immediately thought of this space as, God, we could use the mill, because we always said we didn't
11:51know what to use the mill for.
11:52Well, this is just so fitting.
11:54Perfect for it.
11:55Absolutely.
11:55So this whole place is a very direct piece of inspiration.
11:59Yeah.
11:59Definitely.
12:01Very central to it, isn't it?
12:08Actually, Chris and Jill are no strangers to contemporary design.
12:13They run a successful joinery company that specializes in fitting out hotels and bars.
12:20So they're both used to working to high standards of perfection, and both have a keen eye for detail.
12:27What about, have we got, we've got finish floor to finish floor, don't we?
12:31It's May, and four months into the build, the steel frame is due on site.
12:42The custom-made steel frame has been built off-site in pieces, and it's never been put together.
12:50Steel isn't a material that's easy to make adjustments to, so we're all hoping the key parts of this frame
12:57are millimetre perfect.
12:59Chris and Jill's architect has come down to supervise the fitting.
13:03He's been working closely with the pair and has got to know their quirks.
13:07What's he like as a client?
13:08Because he strikes me as being obsessive about quality, about detail.
13:14I mean, you know, he looks at this stuff and he says, you know, you just can't get decent workmanship
13:17anymore.
13:18He's quite dismissive of a lot of building practice.
13:21Well, I think because his work is very fine, and because it's shop fitting, it has to be very accurate.
13:28And a lot of the muck and bullets, as I call it, for the rest of the building work is
13:32quite rough and ready.
13:34And I think he finds it hard to accept, why can't it be down to the last millimetre?
13:42Nice and straight.
13:46I'll tell you what, the reel starts falling down, won't it?
13:49The columns are bolted to the ground.
13:52The plan now is to fit the horizontal steel beams on top of them.
13:56But there's a problem.
13:58The large, old timber beams are in the way.
14:01And it's those that are holding the building up.
14:11Jill and Chris are restoring an historic mill, but are now facing a major structural challenge.
14:17We're just making sure, without pulling these out, that the steels will sit across the top without interfering with these.
14:24But we want to keep these in, to stop any spread, if we're going to have any spread.
14:31You mean to stop the building from falling apart?
14:33Yes, it's an old building.
14:34So if we can at all possible, we want to sit the steels on top of here, weld them, bolt
14:40them together, and then chop these out.
14:46The horizontal steels that run alongside the old wooden beams are not a problem.
14:51They go in without a hitch.
14:53It's the other ones that are causing the head scratching.
14:59So this is the beautiful, elegant design for the steelwork for this house.
15:03Essentially, it's like a nought and crosswords frame.
15:06There's four big pieces of steel on four big pins, legs sticking out the floor.
15:12And that takes all of the weight of the first floor onto these four pins.
15:16At the same time, it gives you these great big light welds throughout the building.
15:20And the steelwork ties all the four walls together.
15:24Now, the problem is that so far they've only been able to put in two of the long beams.
15:29Because the big, long ones they can't put in.
15:31Because at the moment they would foul against the five or six big, old wooden beams that run across the
15:39building like this.
15:40They can't get them in now until they take these out.
15:45And when they take these out, the builder's rather concerned that the building will spread.
15:50I thought builder spread was something else.
15:52But in fact, it's this.
15:55And that does not form part of Chris's master plan.
16:00Chris and Jill spend a nail-biting hour double-checking the measurements.
16:05But there's nothing for it.
16:06They have to take the risk and remove the old wooden beams.
16:10It's a tense moment.
16:12They just have to hope that the 200-year-old walls don't fall apart.
16:42Well, of course, the mill didn't fall down.
16:45But it might as well have, because the whole palabra of the steelwork has really left Chris and Jill quite
16:51shaken.
16:52They love to be in control of all the details on this project.
16:56And they've got incredibly high standards.
16:58And Mr Millimeter Perfect isn't happy.
17:02So, here we are now.
17:04We've got the steel framing.
17:08And I'm not perfectly happy with it.
17:11I'm just a bit disappointed with the quality.
17:13Because all these steels, they've got to be all sprayed up and feel like glass.
17:20And as you can see on there, I mean, it's like a badger's backside.
17:25You know, it's rough as hell.
17:27You know, so they've now got to come back.
17:30They've got to sand it off.
17:32They've got to grind the welds off.
17:34And really, with a bit of dual care and attention, this could have been done in the workshop.
17:39And we won't be in this situation now.
17:42But I'm sure we'll get there at the end of the day.
17:44Put it this way, we won't accept anything else.
17:49It's late May.
17:51The steel frame has been in a week.
17:53And the shell of the building is now watertight.
17:55So, inside, the new build can really get going.
18:02This is an exciting moment.
18:04Not least because the work is back under Chris and Jill's control.
18:09They've brought in their own joiners to ensure all the details are perfect.
18:21And it's all run from Command HQ, just ten minutes away.
18:26This is Chris and Jill's workshop, from where they can monitor everything.
18:31What's that file, then?
18:32That's the master file.
18:33This one is?
18:34This one is the attention to detail file.
18:36OK, effectively, these files, together with the drawings, form the whole specification of the whole job.
18:42The whole job is on this table.
18:43That is the job.
18:44And Jill can go into any one of those and look at any number, take anything out, and she can
18:50say,
18:50I don't like that, or I like that, and we can redo it again.
18:54What are these lists?
18:55All these boxes are room by room.
18:57And just in case they can't remember, it's the little map as well.
19:02Does everyone have a little map?
19:03Yes.
19:03And then I've checked, and then I've had someone else check.
19:07What do you mean check?
19:08What, check the contents of each box?
19:10Make sure everything's right.
19:12And then I've got someone else to double-check me.
19:14So if somebody comes back and said, there's a socket missing for this room, I'll say, no, there isn't.
19:19Television, aerial, TV, single, isolated.
19:22So there's no chance of anything getting lost, is there really?
19:24It probably still will.
19:25But if it does, it's going off somebody else's bill and not mine.
19:28I'm not buying any more, put it that way.
19:31This is the 16-valve GTI gear turbocharged kitchen, is this?
19:38We've spent a hell of a lot of time on this.
19:40We have. A lot of time.
19:41A hell of a lot of time.
19:42It's really.
19:46Looks great from this side.
19:48Oh, yeah.
19:48Well done.
19:52This is all granite.
19:53Is it polished granite?
19:54Black, yeah?
19:56It's one of the best materials, isn't it, to build it?
19:58Because it's so hard, super hard, doesn't scratch.
20:02Julian won't accept anything less.
20:03Really?
20:04No.
20:05Would you?
20:05No.
20:06Nothing less than granite.
20:07And is this the, this is the boat?
20:08Yeah, this is the canoe with the ends chopped off.
20:10The canoe with the ends chopped off.
20:13There you go.
20:14That's nice.
20:15Whoa.
20:16What's it going to look like?
20:16It's going to look like a...
20:17I don't know, like a spaceship.
20:18I don't know.
20:20I'm amazed because most people would, of course, order the kitchen up and it would arrive in units or boxed
20:25up.
20:25And, you know, there would be no real opportunity to see it laid out.
20:29And you have this massive space.
20:36Both Chris and Jill visit the site every day, but I haven't seen it since the first floor went in.
20:42Now, I can really get a sense of the internal space they've designed and what a huge space it is.
20:50So downstairs is all one open space, isn't it?
20:51And this is going to be this huge light world.
20:55And this is going to be this huge light world.
20:55Yes, it looks vast.
20:56It looks huge, isn't it?
20:58It does, for some reason.
20:59Keep it nice and airy, though, won't it?
21:01Yeah, yeah.
21:01Then there are rooms here.
21:03Bathroom here with all this pipework.
21:05We've got the corner bedroom there.
21:07Yeah.
21:07One bedroom there.
21:08Right.
21:09And upstairs here, what's this space here?
21:12This is the upper living area now.
21:13Yeah.
21:14It looks stunning now.
21:16Now you've opened up these windows, it looks fantastic.
21:18So what is this big projection?
21:21This is a balcony.
21:23Just to look all the way down.
21:24It's got some balustry around, isn't it?
21:26Well, yes, we hope so.
21:28Yes.
21:28No, it's very exciting.
21:30And up here's another bedroom.
21:31Yeah.
21:31Yeah, this is, yeah.
21:32A private hideaway.
21:34And over there, does it carry on?
21:36It's so open now, right, the way up to the leaves, yeah.
21:39And these great beams, what's happening to those?
21:40You keep leaving them exposed?
21:42We're going to clad those.
21:43Are you?
21:43Yeah.
21:44You're not going to leave them as a little testament to what the middle had been was once, no?
21:49No.
21:50They're not nice enough.
21:50Not tentative, no?
21:51I mean, they're nice and chunky.
21:53No.
21:54But it's clean-lined, isn't it?
21:57But you're going to see some wood in the roof, aren't you?
21:59You're going to see that brace, these timber braces.
22:02No, no, those will all be boxed in.
22:03They're all going to be boxed in.
22:04So the whole thing's very sleek.
22:06Yeah.
22:06Yeah.
22:07Clean.
22:13Suddenly, Chris and Jill have heard their old house has been sold.
22:18That actually means that on top of the work of building a new home, they've got to move
22:23out of their old one, hacking up all those little knick-knacks, in fact, boxing up their
22:29old lifestyle and pretty much getting rid of the lot.
22:36It is extremely stressful building your own house, being your own client.
22:41It is doubly stressful when you're as particular about every detail as Chris and Jill are.
22:46And to make matters just a little bit worse, they've now sold their house and they're moving in, together with
22:51their two dogs, to live with Jill's mother.
22:55Now, of course, for Chris, that means eight weeks of living under the same roof as his mother-in-law.
23:22Now, of course, we're going to be able to go to the house, to live with Jill's mother-in-law.
23:29It's one of their boldest design ideas, and as you would expect, it was made in their workshop under their
23:35close supervision.
23:38Off we go.
23:40Don't push me off.
23:42See you there, huts.
23:47See you there, huts.
23:50You found it.
23:51Flat.
23:52There's a little bit of that one.
23:54Go on, next week.
23:57That's it.
24:14The restoration of the mill is nearly finished, but the inside is undergoing a revolution.
24:22All the original features are going to be boxed in and hidden behind plasterboard,
24:27to give the new, clean, sleek look that Chris and Jill want.
24:33Oh!
24:39In only a week, the whole place is transformed and painted white.
24:44It suddenly looks like a classic modern space.
24:52This is, of course, completely different.
24:55You know, last time I was here, there were just joists.
24:58Yeah, we know.
24:59You painted all the steelwork.
25:00Put the floor in.
25:02What a space, though.
25:03It's bigger than I thought it would be.
25:05This opening is huge, isn't it?
25:07Yeah.
25:07But just look at all the lovely shapes.
25:09I just love it white.
25:12It's the first time we've ever, ever had white.
25:16And it's a bit to get used to.
25:18But it is very pure, isn't it?
25:19The very pure shapes, very pure colour.
25:21So then this is your bedroom through here, isn't it?
25:25The high, isn't it?
25:27What a great space.
25:28Look at that.
25:30And the bathroom.
25:32You're putting tiles down here.
25:35Blimey, you've got enough nails on the floor, Jill.
25:38That's Chris making sure it's not going to lift.
25:42Shower.
25:43And this.
25:44This is a little triumph, isn't it?
25:47This is a lot of hard work has gone into this.
25:51How much was this, this door?
25:52This one was about, um, about 900 quid.
25:56So it would have cost at least double that to have it made, especially.
26:00I'd say, and the shower tray, so that's come from one shower,
26:03this has come from another.
26:04That is horrendously expensive, that shower tray.
26:07I ordered the bath and I didn't ask the price of the shower tray.
26:11Because I really didn't think a shower tray would be a lot of money.
26:14Yeah.
26:15And then I got the bill and I thought, oh, bloody hell.
26:18That is seriously, that was over 1,000 quid, that shower tray.
26:21Just from the tray.
26:22Yeah, because it's round.
26:29Hey, nice action.
26:31Beautiful action.
26:32What's inside?
26:34A nightmare.
26:36What?
26:36Well, it's German.
26:38Instructions come in German.
26:40Nobody really knows anything about it.
26:42So we have, on one side, the underfloor heating company, they do all their bit.
26:48And on the other side, the boiler comes.
26:50And there's that great big missing link in between where everybody says, it's your fault.
26:54It's your fault.
26:55Do you think if you'd employed a project manager, could you have done that?
26:58No confidence.
27:00It's a personal thing, isn't it?
27:03Is the project manager going to think the same way that Jill and I do?
27:07Is he as fastidious?
27:09Does he look for the same line that Jill and I look for?
27:12I mean, how long do you think a project manager would have lasted with me and Jill?
27:15Well, two, three days and sent him on his bike.
27:20It's October, and the final crucial elements of Chris and Jill's home are being delivered,
27:26the staircase and the balustrade.
27:28The success of the overall design rests on elements like these, and Chris and Jill know that.
27:34They've been working on their staircase for six months, and like all the steel here, it has to be millimetre
27:41perfect.
27:42This time round, they've been 100% in charge.
27:45Let's hope it fits.
27:48Is this the big millimetre, Graham?
27:50Oh, no.
27:51Nice.
27:56There.
27:57Is it touched?
27:58Yeah.
27:58On that back?
27:59Yeah, on your side, yeah.
28:00Back a wee bit.
28:07Spot on.
28:08Have I got that?
28:09Yeah, I'll have that.
28:13That's just slightly, but nothing to worry about.
28:15Yo.
28:17Yeah, I'll hand him first.
28:18Yeah.
28:21Oh, look.
28:23The ladder goes.
28:27Uh, is it too long?
28:30That is hard up against him.
28:38That's what you call a snug fit.
28:44Whoa, man.
28:46Look at that.
28:47I don't think that needs any fixings.
28:51Whoa.
28:52Are you pleased with it?
28:56This is the first time I've ever got excited about anything in this house.
28:59No.
29:00Yeah, definitely.
29:01This is the finishes now.
29:03This is the...
29:03This is your department, isn't it?
29:05Well, these are the nice bits now.
29:07The nice, the juicy bits?
29:08Yeah.
29:08And when you put something in like this to me, it just pays off.
29:14Chris and Jill dutted and transformed their old mill in just ten months, on schedule and
29:19on budget.
29:21When I was last here, the question was whether it would meet their very exacting standards.
29:27How's it looking?
29:28It's fantastic, isn't it?
29:30It's like walking into a sort of television commercial.
29:32Though finished, the house still didn't feel quite lived in.
29:36But does it feel like, I don't know, being in a glamorous film, or does it yet feel like
29:42home?
29:42It doesn't.
29:43It's because it's so new.
29:44Everything's so new, and I want to keep it so perfect.
29:48The perfect house came with a perfect kitchen.
29:51I mean, everything here is beautifully spaced.
29:54This sleek 20th century home was fitted out with 20th century gadgetry.
29:58This groovy thing.
30:00Jill.
30:00It's the lighting.
30:02What's the little hot?
30:03It's the lighting.
30:04There's the lights.
30:06With not a single expense spared.
30:09I hate to think how much this costs.
30:11The whole thing's like some kind of space console.
30:14Even the showers seemed from the future.
30:16Total cost of five, six thousand pounds, some incredible sound.
30:21Absolutely mega.
30:22Clearly for Jill and Chris, money felt like no object.
30:26I mean, can you justify spending that kind of money?
30:28Jill got the shower and I got the stereo.
30:30However, there were some problems that money simply couldn't fix.
30:34But can you specifically pick one piece that you're not happy with, that bugs you?
30:39The steel work, which I always have done.
30:42And see the little bits of niggly little bits that I want to get.
30:47Just scrape them all off and I know I can't.
30:49And you see, when I'm doing the cleaning, I see all the little faults and little niggly bits.
30:54But I've got to let it go, haven't I?
30:57Hmm.
30:59Jill and Chris demanded top quality when they transformed this forgotten old mill.
31:05But 25 years on, has it lived up to their expectations?
31:09Having spent so much time with Chris and Jill, I quickly learned that they are the parents and quite the
31:15perfectionists.
31:16Which makes me now wonder whether or not they were ever fully happy living with all the kinks of that
31:23old imperfect building.
31:26Whether, whether all that 20th century tech has sort of dated.
31:31Whether or not that charming, timeless building remains charming and timeless.
31:50Back in 1999, I met a bold pair in the suburbs of industrial Huddersfield who bought a mill and decided
31:57to domesticate it with a lick of streamlined modernism.
32:02It's been 25 years since I last jobbed this pavement.
32:06Last climbed up this hill of this steep hilltop community overlooking this amazing landscape.
32:14And I remember these stones as being so distinctive of this place.
32:18Nearly every building in this place is constructed out of the same material, including the mill of Chris and Jill
32:25that they restored.
32:26When I saw it last, it still looked incredibly industrial.
32:30Though repaired, there was no sign that it was going to be a house.
32:35Now, of course, it's been here for, what, a quarter of a century?
32:39Time enough to maybe settle in, make a garden.
32:43We'll see.
32:50Oh, will you look at that?
32:53It looks just as good.
32:55Very slightly domesticated as it always did.
32:59You wouldn't ever know that they'd had to rebuild that endgable wall completely.
33:02But then, looking at it, now that it has this lush garden, it looks as though they've dismantled the mill
33:10and just rebuilt it in Ibiza.
33:20Well, the illusion is complete.
33:27New garden, new gardens that stretch all the way down the hill with sculptures and evergreen planting, which, of course,
33:37you know, remind you of sunnier climes.
33:41And a wonderful building that has the proportions of a French farmhouse.
33:48Oh, I seem to have come on holiday.
33:54Heya, Chris.
33:56How are you doing?
33:56How are you?
33:57A big hook.
33:58Yes, good to see you.
34:00You look really well.
34:02You look completely unchanged, James.
34:04You both look great.
34:05What impresses me is that you've remained here.
34:09I mean, I was really surprised to learn that you hadn't sold it, moved on, lived in three other different
34:14houses, but...
34:16It's hard to find somewhere that's 250 years old, that's natural like this, in the centre of a village with
34:21every amenity, but yet it's private.
34:23You say private, but, I mean, this wasn't private.
34:27It wasn't.
34:28I don't think the walls were that high, were they?
34:31My brother did all the dry stone walling.
34:33Nice.
34:34And built it up so we didn't get people peeping over the wall.
34:36And all the nice Yorkshire stone flags, reclaimed flanks, the reclaimed sleepers.
34:41Yeah, I guess they were.
34:42I know some of them need a bit of work doing to them, but they are 26 years old.
34:46So you put these down 26 years ago?
34:48Yeah.
34:48And put the enormous great palms in?
34:51Yeah.
34:52Well, they're 27 years old now, so they have grown a bit.
34:55Yeah, really established.
34:56It's very European.
34:58Well, these are from Menorca, aren't they?
35:00We did live in Menorca for seven years.
35:03What, you snuck away for seven years without telling me?
35:07Why did you leave the UK?
35:09Burnt out.
35:09We're too hands-on, and we're too particular.
35:12And you do, we burnt out, well, I was definitely burnt out,
35:16and you certainly was, because you were grumpy.
35:18But I wanted to go sailing.
35:19So everything out here, everything we see,
35:21is sort of inspired, really, by that Menorcan Mediterranean experience.
35:25Dare I ask, inside?
35:27Changed?
35:27You have to go and have a look.
35:28Well, yes, that was what I was hoping you'd say.
35:34A, O.
35:38This rather radical hybrid house has stayed unchanged.
35:43With the passage of time, it has almost earned itself heritage status.
35:49That is astonishing.
35:51Chris and Jill's mill feels very familiar.
35:54But through a 25-year-older lens, its corners feel sharper.
36:00Its shapes more playful.
36:02It's as though I walked out the door 25 years ago and walked back in again.
36:06Yeah, which I have done.
36:07But it's as crisp and as beautiful...
36:10Do you know what?
36:11It actually is...
36:13It's better than it was,
36:15and that's nothing to do with the space or the architecture.
36:18It's me.
36:19I'm a little bit more confident with hindsight
36:23about this style.
36:27This was a movement you were a part of, right?
36:31Yeah.
36:31And this is a really great example of it.
36:34I'd forgotten how good it is.
36:36It's great.
36:38And it sometimes takes 5, 10, 20 years
36:41to be able to look and think,
36:42no, that's really good.
36:43That really works.
36:44It was too new.
36:46I know that sounds silly,
36:47but it felt like a showroom to me.
36:50I felt like I was tiptoeing around.
36:52It didn't feel like home.
36:53It's lived in now.
36:54It's lived in.
36:55It feels like you're living in a piece of heritage architecture now.
36:59We are, actually, yeah,
37:00because we won a Reba Award in 2001
37:03for design excellence.
37:05Good.
37:06There's a lot of stuff here
37:08which is really, really considered and informed.
37:11It actually all happened
37:12within, like, a 5, 10-year period.
37:15Hope I'll stand the test of time when we're not here.
37:17Yeah, well, don't change it, right?
37:19You can't change it now
37:20because you haven't changed it for 25 years,
37:22which is what makes it kind of time-warp beautiful.
37:25But this was not like this before.
37:27Was it what you said about this post?
37:29It just feels as smooth as a baby's bum,
37:31not as a badger's backside.
37:35Another thing that's been polished out
37:37is the black spaceship of a kitchen island.
37:41It's now been beautifully crafted from timber.
37:44We bought a tree for this.
37:46You bought a tree?
37:48Yeah, and machined it all up.
37:49Did you make it in the business, in the...
37:51Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah.
37:52It sort of does breathe quality, this.
37:56And I'm sure if you made it for somebody else,
37:58you'd charge a fortune for doing it, but...
38:00We wouldn't do it.
38:02But the point is, you did it.
38:04You could.
38:05As you say, you bought a tree and did it.
38:06And there is a sort of really rigorous rationalism
38:10in this building about the standard that you were going for.
38:14Well, that's the standard we expect.
38:16Yeah.
38:17It's phenomenal.
38:19But then, you know, the interesting thing is,
38:21it has to be, doesn't it?
38:22Because it's part of that.
38:24This is part of the architecture.
38:26It's part of the building.
38:27Yeah.
38:27And I have to say, from memory,
38:29it's a much better contribution.
38:31I agree.
38:31I think it's a better enhancement to it.
38:35You're selling the business,
38:36or at least you've sold it to your...
38:37To the employees.
38:38To the employees, yeah?
38:40Which is a lovely thing to do,
38:41but does this mean that you're now,
38:43what are you, just now landlords?
38:45Are you retirees?
38:46We're landlords and we should hopefully be retiring
38:48in the not-to-a-distant future.
38:51And this time you mean it?
38:52I mean, definitely mean it.
38:56As retirement approaches,
38:58Chris and Jill have modified the house
39:00to suit the passing of time.
39:02There's a small gym to keep them active.
39:06Not surprisingly,
39:08the building's systems have also aged in 25 years,
39:11although some of the tech is still firmly in place.
39:15I recognise that.
39:17That great wall of machinery and cases,
39:20as if it was designed to last forever.
39:22Does this still play music?
39:24Of course it plays music, yeah.
39:25But we did upgrade the tech on it.
39:27We built some speakers actually into the plastered walls.
39:31Not the artwork.
39:32See, they're plastered in.
39:33They're actually in the walls.
39:35I like that upgrade.
39:36Reduces the clutter.
39:37But you've kept that.
39:38You haven't lost that.
39:39That's the important thing.
39:41What about the lighting system?
39:42The LED went on it,
39:43but we actually kept the actual frame
39:45and just added a new bit of tech to it.
39:47It's a little bit like keeping a Georgian ring pull,
39:50you know, on the front door.
39:51Wow.
39:5225 years old.
39:54Respect for that.
39:55Both of those pieces of tech maintained and glorified
39:58as original to the building.
39:59Yeah.
40:00At this rate,
40:00you're going to be leaving your 1990s trainers
40:03to posterity as well.
40:05The staircase,
40:06which took months to make,
40:09was, it seems, worth the wait.
40:10And it's as good as it ever was.
40:13This staircase,
40:14I admired when I saw it go in.
40:16I still admire it now.
40:17It's a beautiful object.
40:19And it's, again, totally of its time.
40:28Upstairs sits an open-plan home study
40:31with views overlooking their Mediterranean terrace,
40:35as well as two guest bedrooms
40:38to host friends and family.
40:40At the end of the hallway,
40:42within Jill and Chris's bedroom,
40:44I am reunited with what was always
40:47one of the most exorbitant features of this house.
40:51How much was it?
40:53I think, back in the day,
40:54I think it was about 6,000 pounds.
40:56What's so interesting
40:57is that this looks like it was put in yesterday.
41:00Everything looks like it was done with care
41:02and attention 25 years ago.
41:05And that tells you
41:06how good the quality was in the first place.
41:09But you've got to pay for it.
41:10You've got to pay for it.
41:12The real point here is
41:13that you did it at a time
41:15when none of that was possible.
41:16You did it in a way
41:18which echoed showers of the 1920s and 30s
41:22in the hands of the great moderns.
41:24Without it, without the six grand,
41:27there would have been no flourish
41:28in the building, would there?
41:29Nobody was doing that sort of thing then.
41:31And nobody would take the gamble
41:32because nobody put the neck on the block
41:35to give it a go
41:36and see whether it worked or not.
41:37And that was the gamble that we took.
41:40Fortunately, it worked
41:41without too much modification.
41:42All these extras...
41:44Little details.
41:45..which are expensive to do
41:47and which you might at the time
41:49think are frivolous
41:50turn out to be
41:52the design markers of the time
41:54that actually rooted in that period
41:57really well.
42:00Why has this building survived
42:0225 years so well?
42:05Because nothing was compromised
42:07in the first place.
42:08They invested in architecture,
42:10designed and built to last.
42:13Those ideas seem as valid
42:14and as interesting now
42:16as they were then.
42:17I'm sort of slightly overwhelmed
42:19by the fact that
42:20this is still here
42:21and better
42:22and that you are still here
42:24and probably better
42:25for being here
42:27and better for your relationship with it.
42:29Do you not feel
42:30that this place is so strong,
42:32so good,
42:33so much of you,
42:34so much of a manifestation of you
42:36that you can't
42:38leave it properly,
42:39fully?
42:41Difficult question.
42:42We thought that we'd found
42:43another project
42:45and we did put it up for sale
42:47and we...
42:48What?
42:48Don't shatter my dreams!
42:50That was only about
42:50four months ago,
42:51isn't it?
42:52What?
42:52So, are you selling it?
42:54No, we gave backward
42:56because the place
42:58that we wanted to go for
42:59fell through.
43:00Yeah.
43:01But what did you want to go for?
43:02Do something similar,
43:05do, I don't know.
43:05Do you have it within your spirit
43:07to do something?
43:07Here I am,
43:09but my back hasn't, no.
43:11Yeah, fair enough.
43:12Chris, you just want to do it.
43:13I have...
43:15I'd like to think
43:16I've still got it.
43:17Well, you would.
43:18Well, I'm...
43:19Don't joke.
43:20Are you impulsive people?
43:22Yes.
43:23Yeah, that's the problem.
43:25Yes, Mary.
43:26Very.
43:27So, if you both land on something
43:29you think is right in the moment,
43:30you'll do it?
43:31Yeah.
43:32Irrespective, yeah.
43:33And worry about
43:34the consequences later.
43:35Is that why you ended up
43:36in Menorca?
43:38Yeah.
43:38Yeah.
43:39I can't think of anything
43:40anybody would do
43:42to make this better
43:44because it is such a thing
43:46of its moment
43:47and of your moment
43:48in that time.
43:49You can't separate
43:50these things out.
43:51It's a kind of meeting point
43:52in the universe
43:53between time and space,
43:55craftsmanship, people,
43:57and the energy
43:59that comes from that.
44:00You can't just always
44:00reproduce it,
44:01that's what I'm saying.
44:02Okay, you've sold it,
44:03may we'll keep it.
44:05You might want to buy it.
44:09Okay, we'll keep it.
44:10And it's lovely.
44:11I love it.
44:12I love this
44:13just the way it is.
44:14As you say,
44:15it was in the moment
44:16at that time.
44:17Yeah.
44:17It gives me energy
44:18and that I would not
44:20want to give up,
44:22nor at my age.
44:26Remarkably,
44:27the hindsight of 25 years
44:29shows me
44:30that Chris and Jill
44:31built something
44:32more significant
44:33than a home here.
44:35They captured the spirit
44:36of a moment,
44:37the architectural energy
44:39of the end of a century,
44:41fusing modernist,
44:42industrial,
44:43and postmodern ideas
44:45with Yorkshire grit
44:46and history.
44:50There is a school
44:51of thought
44:52that says
44:54building a house,
44:56homemaking,
44:56if you like,
44:57is just an act
44:58of acquisitiveness,
45:00of spending more
45:00and more money
45:01to get more
45:01and more stuff.
45:03But you see,
45:04if you just wind back
45:05a few decades,
45:06if you were making
45:07a pair of curtains,
45:09you would be looking
45:10to buy some woolen fabric
45:12that had stamped
45:13on the edge of it,
45:14made in Huddersfield,
45:16because that was
45:17a mark of quality.
45:19It was universally known
45:20round the world.
45:22And what Jill and Chris
45:24have done here
45:25is to carry on
45:26that tradition
45:27in their home,
45:29filling it with craftsmanship
45:30in every corner
45:31and in so doing,
45:33making a home
45:34which isn't just
45:36fit for purpose,
45:37isn't just fit
45:38for a lifetime.
45:40but fit
45:41for time.
45:51I met Andrew
45:53nine years ago.
45:54He spent his life
45:55obsessing over
45:56saving energy.
45:57It's a self-heating house.
45:58Massive thermal experiment.
46:00His wife, Margareta,
46:01and their two children
46:02Look at that!
46:04could only pray
46:04that Andrew's
46:05madcap scheme
46:06wasn't a dud.
46:07How much are we going
46:08to be able to get done
46:09before the money runs out?
46:10So I'm back
46:11to see if
46:11the grand experiment
46:12worked.
46:14So this is
46:14mission control?
46:15That's too good.
46:16and I'll see you next time
46:26Bye.
46:28Bye.
46:39Bye.
46:42Bye.
46:43Bye.
46:43Bye.