A HARTFORD family has returned to our TV screens as work on their Georgian manor house continues.
Renovation Nation series two started this week on Channel 4, showcasing various home restoration projects around the country.
Back on the show is Charlotte Hilditch and partner Matthew Zaman, who purchased Hartford House near Northwich in 2020 via an auction for £490,000.
“We knew it was our dream house and we had to go for it,” said Charlotte
“This is my first house. I never anticipated in a million years I would own something like this as my starter home.
“It just feels like it’s got that sense of grandeur when you look at it.”
The 14-room property dates back to 1795 and once boasted 13 acres of land, servants' quarters and a coach house.
However, it had fallen into disrepair and supercar pimper Matt estimates it will take around a decade to turn it into their dream family home, with the couple doing all the work themselves to cut down on costs.
Charlotte said: “I was kind of shocked at how much work needed to be done. And I think the more we got into it, the more we uncovered.
Matt added: “It is a major job, but yeah we’re just doing it.”
Series two of Renovation Nation starts with the news that Matt and Charlotte have had a second child, Zayn.
“Having children grow up in a renovation puts an added layer of pressure on,” Charlotte said.
“We’ve just been exhausted, there’s always a job to do.”
In episode one, they put the finishing touches on their four-year-old daughter Scarlett’s bedroom.
Charlotte said: “It’s almost like a pinch me moment, like are we actually completing it or is there still going to be something left to do?”
“It feels amazing to have one room complete. We’re over the moon. Really proud of us.”
In episode three of the new series, the couple set about completing the bathroom, which has taken a bit longer than they’d hoped.
“Welcome to the longest bathroom renovation in history. We’ve only been at it, what, a year?” said Charlotte.
Matt added: “We started this room first and we got to halfway through it and then Charlotte decided she wanted to get Scarlett’s room done, that was the most important thing because she was in a damp horrible room.
“So that’s what we’ve done, but it's now all guns blazing on this place.”
While working on the door frame for the bathroom, Matt spotted signs of severe structural movement.
With the ceiling at risk of collapse, Matt pulled the whole ceiling down and rebuilt it from scratch, adding new beams and joists to make it secure.
Before going back to the bathroom, Matt transformed the loft with a mezzanine floor.
Charlotte said: “Credit to Matt, he’s doing a lot of this off his own back, with very limited previous experience, so it is a steep learning curve for the two of us and I just have to be patient and trust his judgment on things, which I absolutely do.
Matt joked: “What I will say is Charlotte trusts me far too much.”
Renovation Nation continues on Channel 4 next week.
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