How a couple transformed a derelict New Mill cottage

HOME makeover shows can portray renovating a property as being fairly straightforward.

But Grange Moor couple Ian and Helen Hirst found that there was much more to their ‘little’ project than a lick of paint and a few smart interior choices.

In fact, it’s a miracle they didn’t run out of the door screaming when they found the New Mill cottage with no ceiling and a huge tree growing up through one of the bedrooms!

Says Helen: “Often you see these TV home makeover programmes and everything looks so straightforward.

“But the truth is there’s a lot more to it than a bit of paint and placing some nice flowers on the table – it took an awful of time and work for us to get everything right.

“We didn’t even do anything for the first six months because we had no idea where to begin!”

In the end it took the couple the best part of two years to breathe life back into the neglected period cottage.

Ian, a plumber and gas engineer, had worked for years on renovation projects for other people and decided to have a go himself.

He was backed by Helen, a director for Bradford and Airedale NHS, who hoped the right project would help fund their dream of a holiday home in Whitby.

After hunting around the New Mill area they were charmed by a quaint cottage at Sude Hill.

Thought to be a former mill worker’s cottage dating back to the beginning of the last century, the property had been intended as the home of an American businessman, but instead was abandoned for some time.

Helen says: “It was so quaint, tucked away in this little courtyard and much more interesting than the other houses we had looked at.

“It definitely had potential, but the problem was it had not been lived in for some time and left to become quite derelict.

“It was quite a shock when we first saw it. There were no ceilings at all upstairs which left the rain pouring through.

“And we couldn’t believe it when we looked at one of the bedrooms and found a tree growing through it with all its branches sticking out everywhere!”

“The house had been sold previously, but the person had been overwhelmed by all the work and it had fallen through. That said it all really!”

While Helen was so daunted by the enormity of the project ahead she couldn’t even bring herself to set foot in it to start with, husband Ian fully embraced the challenge, drafting in an army of fellow tradesmen.

Work started on the two-bedroom cottage in early 2007, when it was ripped back to its bare bones and painstakingly rebuilt.

Helen says: “It looked like a disaster to me – I couldn’t even go there for a few months because I couldn’t get my head around it.

“My struggle with it was it needed such a lot of work doing to it before you could even get to the painting stage.

“There were just no signs of life in it at all, with rickety old doors, not much left of the kitchen and no windows at all.

“Luckily my husband had the vision to see what the end result could be.

“But there was no covering over the cracks. Everything had to be done right, which meant stripping the house back to the stone walls and putting it back together again.”

Despite not getting started on the project for six months, once Ian and his team got through a few initial stumbling blocks like problems making the roof watertight, they were soon on their way to creating a very special home.

The couple wanted to keep the interior of the cottage fairly neutral to allow any potential buyer to put their own stamp on it.

But they were keen to make the most of the property’s great period features.

“The cottage had some really nice features and we felt it was important to work with them to keep the character.

“The only thing we lost, which I was quite sad about, was the window seats downstairs which had to go when we had the damp-proof course.

“One of the beams in the bathroom also had to go as we couldn’t get the height, but other than that we’ve been able to save and treat everything.

“I’d had a vision that we would uncover a beautiful stone fireplace, but in fact we found just a few stones so unfortunately we were not able make more of that!”

A huge amount of effort has gone into restoring the cottage to its former glory and no little detail – like ensuring the staircase spindles were detachable to allow furniture to be taken upstairs – has been overlooked.

But while Helen is proud of the result and the incredible amount of work her husband particularly has ploughed into the project, she’s in no hurry to do it all again.

“I’d always fancied having a bit of a go at property developing, but we completely underestimated the time it would take and the time we would need to give to it. You’ve got to be absolutely clear about what you’re taking on and not be misled by these TV programmes which make it look easy.

“I would advise anyone thinking about doing this to go into it with their eyes open and be prepared to do everything properly.

“I am pleased with what we’ve been able to achieve with the house and it’s certainly been an experience – just not one I think I’ll be repeating again!”