Wonky old Georgian townhouse
Discussion
This thread has been a long time coming and will be a long time in the making – if you’re after quick results or stunning Flashman-esque transformations you are likely to be disappointed 
I’ve enjoyed many a build thread on this site over the years and have been impatiently waiting for the opportunity to share our own project (assuming there’s any interest, of course!). It’s possible that local PHers might be able to work out the exact location of the house, but if you do, please keep it to yourself
So, a bit of back story. We lived in this Oxfordshire town a few years ago in a lovely (but tiny!) 17th century cottage, and spent many an evening wandering around the old roads in the town looking at other houses in the area. One particular trio of houses always caught our eye – on the left a stunning stone-fronted house with mature wisteria, on the right a grand old brick house which is frankly bloody massive, and in the middle – a slightly awkward-looking, tall, severe and stark-fronted town-house that looked a little unloved and had done for some time. This was always the underdog of the three, the thorn amongst the roses, but – in truth – we would have been ecstatic to live in any one of these houses.
Still, times move on and in a quest for more space we moved out to the countryside, and spend the last 5 years or so in a converted Victorian school-house. Buying it as a ‘done’ property we then spent the next 5 years redoing most of it with the intention of living there for another 5 years or so and enjoying the fruits of our labour!
I’m sure you can see where this is going
About this time last year, my OH wandered over, phone in hand, and casually mentioned “that house we always used to wander past is for sale.” Oh? Says I. It was advertised way over what we could afford, and had clearly been lived in for some time by a (now very deceased) elderly owner. We couldn’t resist a chance to have a poke around though, and – well, a year later, here we are!
First thing’s first – what have we actually bought? I’ve sorted through the various snaps I’ve taken over the last few months (plus a couple of EA photos – I’ve had to snap them off the brochure as – silly me – I didn’t copy the web listing before it was removed).
It’s an early 18th Century terrace, with six bedrooms, two rotten old bathrooms, a lead water supply and a dodgy 20th century kitchen extension that is single skinned and will likely be bastid bloody freezing in the winter. The sash windows (all 20 of them!) are in various states of decay, as are the (frankly hideous) bay windows that have been tacked on the back. The house has also settled at some point in its early life, meaning the right side of the house sits about 8” lower than the left. Walking across the landing after a couple of sherries is a slightly odd sensation
You may be wondering why on earth we bought this old heap! I’m sure I’ll be asking myself this very same question in the months and years to come. The location played a big part of it – it’s very central – and I really think there’s a lot of potential in the old place. Plus, for a town centre house it has two disctinct and very rare luxuries we were unlikely to find anywhere else: a frankly mahoosive walled garden (big for a town centre at least!) which is wonderfully quiet and private, and (owing to said garden stretching all the way back to the next road) a separate driveway with what will be space for several cars.
A few of the garden:
Shed and greenhouse – both rotten, of course:
M5 parked in dilapidated old garage. Did I mention the asbestos roof?
…and a few, er, details from the house a we’ve gone around:
Smelly old carpets over biiiig floorboards:
This smells about as bad as you’d expect:
Horrible fireplace number 1:
Currently horrible fireplace number 2 (more on this later):
Two shower-heads. Natch. The less said about that plaster, the better
Um.
I've tried to show the wonky landing here. I'm holding the camera dead straight...
This view rather makes up for it though!
So that’s what we have. I’m very much looking forward to seeing what we can do with whatever’s lurking behind the smelly carpets and mouldy old curtains! At best I’m an enthusiastic DIY amateur, so the work done will be a mix of Getting A Man In and learning as I go. I’m sure there will be a few surprises along the way!
I’ve made a start on one or two bits which I’ll update on when I can – nothing too exciting yet, but as and when anything note-worthy comes up I’ll try and keep this up to date.
I’ve enjoyed many a build thread on this site over the years and have been impatiently waiting for the opportunity to share our own project (assuming there’s any interest, of course!). It’s possible that local PHers might be able to work out the exact location of the house, but if you do, please keep it to yourself
So, a bit of back story. We lived in this Oxfordshire town a few years ago in a lovely (but tiny!) 17th century cottage, and spent many an evening wandering around the old roads in the town looking at other houses in the area. One particular trio of houses always caught our eye – on the left a stunning stone-fronted house with mature wisteria, on the right a grand old brick house which is frankly bloody massive, and in the middle – a slightly awkward-looking, tall, severe and stark-fronted town-house that looked a little unloved and had done for some time. This was always the underdog of the three, the thorn amongst the roses, but – in truth – we would have been ecstatic to live in any one of these houses.
Still, times move on and in a quest for more space we moved out to the countryside, and spend the last 5 years or so in a converted Victorian school-house. Buying it as a ‘done’ property we then spent the next 5 years redoing most of it with the intention of living there for another 5 years or so and enjoying the fruits of our labour!
I’m sure you can see where this is going
About this time last year, my OH wandered over, phone in hand, and casually mentioned “that house we always used to wander past is for sale.” Oh? Says I. It was advertised way over what we could afford, and had clearly been lived in for some time by a (now very deceased) elderly owner. We couldn’t resist a chance to have a poke around though, and – well, a year later, here we are!
First thing’s first – what have we actually bought? I’ve sorted through the various snaps I’ve taken over the last few months (plus a couple of EA photos – I’ve had to snap them off the brochure as – silly me – I didn’t copy the web listing before it was removed).
It’s an early 18th Century terrace, with six bedrooms, two rotten old bathrooms, a lead water supply and a dodgy 20th century kitchen extension that is single skinned and will likely be bastid bloody freezing in the winter. The sash windows (all 20 of them!) are in various states of decay, as are the (frankly hideous) bay windows that have been tacked on the back. The house has also settled at some point in its early life, meaning the right side of the house sits about 8” lower than the left. Walking across the landing after a couple of sherries is a slightly odd sensation
You may be wondering why on earth we bought this old heap! I’m sure I’ll be asking myself this very same question in the months and years to come. The location played a big part of it – it’s very central – and I really think there’s a lot of potential in the old place. Plus, for a town centre house it has two disctinct and very rare luxuries we were unlikely to find anywhere else: a frankly mahoosive walled garden (big for a town centre at least!) which is wonderfully quiet and private, and (owing to said garden stretching all the way back to the next road) a separate driveway with what will be space for several cars.
A few of the garden:
Shed and greenhouse – both rotten, of course:
M5 parked in dilapidated old garage. Did I mention the asbestos roof?
…and a few, er, details from the house a we’ve gone around:
Smelly old carpets over biiiig floorboards:
This smells about as bad as you’d expect:
Horrible fireplace number 1:
Currently horrible fireplace number 2 (more on this later):
Two shower-heads. Natch. The less said about that plaster, the better
Um.
I've tried to show the wonky landing here. I'm holding the camera dead straight...
This view rather makes up for it though!
So that’s what we have. I’m very much looking forward to seeing what we can do with whatever’s lurking behind the smelly carpets and mouldy old curtains! At best I’m an enthusiastic DIY amateur, so the work done will be a mix of Getting A Man In and learning as I go. I’m sure there will be a few surprises along the way!
I’ve made a start on one or two bits which I’ll update on when I can – nothing too exciting yet, but as and when anything note-worthy comes up I’ll try and keep this up to date.
Ok, I have a bit of time for some fun stuff! I couldn't wait to see if there were at least some nice old features waiting underneath the 70s-tastic interior. Remember that old fireplace?
Well, I hit it with things...
Not a bad find, really! This room, currently a dining room, will be turned into a library and will be quite a dark, cosy room. I think these lovely old tiles will fit right in. Just need to see if we can unblock the chimney after it's been covered up for decades!
Next up, an attempt at digging some old shutters that have been blocked off by some hideous old secondary glazing. I don't think they've seen the light of day for many years...
Before:
Secondary glazing off, and first careful movement of the shutter...
[
Managed to do two windows with just one casualty - a hinge well and truly seized under layers and layers of paint!
Almost there....
Voila!
They're both a bit crusty under so much paint, but I'm pleased overall. Next job is to work out how to get a quarter-inch of paint off them without ruining them
Well, I hit it with things...
Not a bad find, really! This room, currently a dining room, will be turned into a library and will be quite a dark, cosy room. I think these lovely old tiles will fit right in. Just need to see if we can unblock the chimney after it's been covered up for decades!
Next up, an attempt at digging some old shutters that have been blocked off by some hideous old secondary glazing. I don't think they've seen the light of day for many years...
Before:
Secondary glazing off, and first careful movement of the shutter...
[Managed to do two windows with just one casualty - a hinge well and truly seized under layers and layers of paint!
Almost there....
Voila!
They're both a bit crusty under so much paint, but I'm pleased overall. Next job is to work out how to get a quarter-inch of paint off them without ruining them
jonnydm said:
Fantastic - very much looking forward to this.
Du1point8 said:
I would love to have a place like that... one day I will move out of London and buy some big old place for the family and a couple of wings for the old folk to join us.
Thank you both 
anonymous said:
[redacted]
Thanks! Yes, grade 2 listed.kiethton said:
That has great potential - are you going to level up the landing or leave it for “character”?
It's been like that for a couple of hundred years at this point. I'm going to leave well alone That is a stunner, and looks really interesting inside.
My favourite Georgian house renovation...I would have loved to have done something like this with ours, and if we ever dig a basement, will do. A bit too much grey, and I really don't like the fitted wardrobes, but mostly sympathetic with some stunning modern touches.
https://www.houzz.co.uk/projects/1372893/slot-hous...
My favourite Georgian house renovation...I would have loved to have done something like this with ours, and if we ever dig a basement, will do. A bit too much grey, and I really don't like the fitted wardrobes, but mostly sympathetic with some stunning modern touches.
https://www.houzz.co.uk/projects/1372893/slot-hous...
Ace-T said:
Bookmarked. That place looks fantastic and looks like an epic job. Makes our CardboardBarrett-to-Edwardian-doer-upper look easy-peasy
Thanks. I've spotted your thread actually - looks really good and I can certainly see us taking some inspiration from it Bikesalot said:
Bookmarked!
This has great potential. Excited to see this develop
Me too! It feels like a hell of a lot of work at the moment, but we'll get there.This has great potential. Excited to see this develop
Harry Flashman said:
That is a stunner, and looks really interesting inside.
My favourite Georgian house renovation...I would have loved to have done something like this with ours, and if we ever dig a basement, will do. A bit too much grey, and I really don't like the fitted wardrobes, but mostly sympathetic with some stunning modern touches.
https://www.houzz.co.uk/projects/1372893/slot-hous...
That's stunning Harry - although I do see what you mean about the grey, I think we're going to end up much less 'grand' than that, but sooner or later were going to have to knock down the crappy old kitchen extension and do something more interesting. Very much depends on what we can do structurally - there's a weird lobby at the moment which is complete dead space in the house which I'd like to incorporate if at all possible. You've also reminded me I need to take some pics of the cellar! My favourite Georgian house renovation...I would have loved to have done something like this with ours, and if we ever dig a basement, will do. A bit too much grey, and I really don't like the fitted wardrobes, but mostly sympathetic with some stunning modern touches.
https://www.houzz.co.uk/projects/1372893/slot-hous...
mcg_ said:
Very nice place! Lots of work, fair play
We recently started a renovation too. I've got a thread on here but I've not put anything good in it yet as uploading pictures is a ballache. We've got an instagram too, @the_old_bakery37, just followed yours.
Thank you! Will have a nosy at your project too We recently started a renovation too. I've got a thread on here but I've not put anything good in it yet as uploading pictures is a ballache. We've got an instagram too, @the_old_bakery37, just followed yours.
StoatInACoat said:
Cool house! I like. Are the outbuildings yours?
I want outbuildings
They are indeed - mostly just an extension of the weird kitchen extension. We currently have:I want outbuildings
- Garden shed. A little flimsy but ultimately sound. Remarkably watertight given that you can see daylight through the roof!
- Double garage. Concrete sections, rotten door, no windows (as in, there used to be, and now there are just holes), asbestos roof. It's not long for this world
- Workshop. Pokey, built up against the dividing garden wall, leaky roof, damp.
- Washroom. Pokey, built up against the dividing garden wall, leaky roof, damp.
- Greenhouse. Leaky and overgrown.
Hopefully this floorplan gives a bit of an idea of the layout:
The living room is in pretty good nick overall, and is a lovely big, light room. It'll be staying as is for the short-medium term. The family room will become a library (that's where the lovely tiled fireplace is). If you're thinking it's a bit of a walk from the kitchen to the rest of the house, you'd be right. We've come from a much smaller 3-bed - it's taking a bit of getting used to the fact that we can't hear each other around the house as much as we used to
The first floor is completely empty at present - were going to completely re-do this first and will eventually have our bedroom at the back (bedroom 1, with a lovely view over the garden) with bedroom 2 as a dressing room. We're camping out on the second floor at the moment!
Edited by seiben on Thursday 13th June 09:05
That looks great. Will watch with interest. The garden would have certainly attracted me.
Assume you may already know about the http://www.periodproperty.co.uk/forum/index.php - but if not it is a mine of useful information and people who will encourage you when the going gets tough.
Assume you may already know about the http://www.periodproperty.co.uk/forum/index.php - but if not it is a mine of useful information and people who will encourage you when the going gets tough.
seiben said:
Hopefully this floorplan gives a bit of an idea of the layout:
Love it, why the hell not!I saw a load of the Taylor's fireplaces in 'Blackwell House' a big arts and craft style house on the side of Windermere. Well worth viewing the place if you are up that way ever, a gold mine of interest and inspiration for us and our Edwardian project.
Daniel
Friends have just bought a Grade II listed property in Bucks. And the local heritage person has proved to be really reasonable - frankly, the interior does not concern them too much, although they are not knocking walls through etc. I suspect that the kitchen extension is newer and won't be listed?
I love that floorplan, but then I think that higgledy-piggledy houses give interest, away from the frequent open plan trend we have now. Lots of distinct rooms give a cosy, feel, and allow family members to retreat to distinct spaces for some quiet. Our house is a bit like this, and I avoided knocking through too much or creating a big kitchen extension for this reason.
The kitchen extension is odd, but the multiple small rooms at the end could be quite useful:
- get rid of old shed, and have proper garden tool storage in that end room.
- knock through the walls of the "middle two" rooms for a walk-in larder and utility
- That little entrance porch to the kitchen as a mud room, for removing muddy boots etc when coming in from garden
- Kitchen and dining room knocked through, if allowed, for a kitchen/informal diner
First floor
- that little front room at the front next to bedroom 2 would make a great master en-suite, but I suspect running soil/clean drainage will be problematic as it will have to come out the back of the house...not easy. But knocked through, also makes a good dressing room, which still leaves you with an issue as to where to have a master bathroom. Staircase gets in the way of making master suite across the back of the house.
More thoughts coming...
I love that floorplan, but then I think that higgledy-piggledy houses give interest, away from the frequent open plan trend we have now. Lots of distinct rooms give a cosy, feel, and allow family members to retreat to distinct spaces for some quiet. Our house is a bit like this, and I avoided knocking through too much or creating a big kitchen extension for this reason.
The kitchen extension is odd, but the multiple small rooms at the end could be quite useful:
- get rid of old shed, and have proper garden tool storage in that end room.
- knock through the walls of the "middle two" rooms for a walk-in larder and utility
- That little entrance porch to the kitchen as a mud room, for removing muddy boots etc when coming in from garden
- Kitchen and dining room knocked through, if allowed, for a kitchen/informal diner
First floor
- that little front room at the front next to bedroom 2 would make a great master en-suite, but I suspect running soil/clean drainage will be problematic as it will have to come out the back of the house...not easy. But knocked through, also makes a good dressing room, which still leaves you with an issue as to where to have a master bathroom. Staircase gets in the way of making master suite across the back of the house.
More thoughts coming...
Harry Flashman said:
I suspect that the kitchen extension is newer and won't be listed?
Thats not how listing works, everything within the curtilage of the building is listed, irrelevant of its age, condition, taste or even if it was appropriately applied for in the first place.Grade II indeed offers some restrictions, but understandably, and many can be worked around but you have to be determined, creative, respectful and very patient.
OP- great project. Good luck.
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