Restoration Home

Converting a disused farm building into a dream home is a challenging task but taking on a whole set of them including a decaying mill, a waterlogged house and centuries-old outbuildings that could fall down at any minute, is another challenge altogether. But that’s what Nick and his American wife, Heather, have done. Coulton Mill in North Yorkshire is a Grade II listed, ten-acre site with a rotting watermill which turned grain into flour for centuries. The mill is joined to the miller’s house and everywhere has rising damp. Two barns are derelict and near collapse. Thought to have 13th century origins, historical evidence links Coulton to a powerful order of monks that challenged the authority of Henry VIII. Meanwhile, the stonemason reveals that the wall holding up the waterwheel is severely weakened and if it falls, it might jeopardise the other restoration work that has taken months to complete.