Bringing Temperance Hall back to life has been a true family affair and a labour of love. Largely off-grid and constructed in the early 1700’s the building would throw up challenges and surprises at every turn so we decided to record the journey here.
So, why on earth would a family want to spend their time, money and energy on buying a derelict old stone barn in North Yorkshire? Well, the story comes with some history.
My wife Rachel and I have always loved being outdoors together, camping and caravanning wherever looked leafy and quiet enough to really relax. Growing up Rachel spent a lot of time in the Lake District, I spent a lot of time in Wales and as a couple, we explored the Peak District and in particular Hope Valley where we found a pitch for Rachel’s tiny ebay caravan and eventually got engaged. When our son Adam was born in 2010 we would walk or drive by crumbling or remote barns which new farming techniques had deemed unsuitable or redundant. We talked a lot about how nice it would be to have one of these as a bolt-hole in the countryside and after our little girl Emily was born in 2012 we started putting out a few feelers, checking the farming forums and estate agents to see if it was actually possible. We didn’t need much, just something with a roof, walls and maybe somewhere to put a log burner. The idea survived the exhaustion which comes with a new born and a toddler in the house and eventually, we started to see some results.
We would spot opportunities only to excitedly travel and find a crumbling shoe-box or disappointing location and we got pretty good at recognising that estate-agents favourite, the fish-eye lens. Then, one day in May 2014, a listing appeared and I arranged a viewing after work. I went for a drive to North Yorkshire and as I didn’t know the area, I wasn’t getting my hopes up however, even before I stopped the car, my excitement started to peak. Outside, it looked in a bad way but inside things looked promising, so long as you didn’t look up, or down, or to the sides. The moss covered stone slate roof was beautiful but sagging, there was no land, no planning approval, no mains water, no sewerage, no electricity, no parking, crumbling windows, a warped floor, rusted guttering, wonky chimney stack and damp everywhere.
It was perfect!
I recall the estate agent looking me up and down, and (..jokingly) saying ”if it had planning and some land, you couldn’t afford it”. Little did he know, that I couldn’t afford it even without these things, but having fallen for this little building in the middle of nowhere, I now had to figure out how to change that, convince Rachel of its potential and give it a new lease of life.
Rachel was eager for news so I took a short video, sent it on and before I had even got home, Rachel was ready to put an offer in! The stream, the tweeting birds and the quiet location had sold it to her, in advance of any visit.
Once home, Rachel quizzed me on the photos I’d taken and we arranged another viewing a few days later at which point, she was committed even before the handbrake was on. We low-balled our offer to the estate agent and for the next few weeks, offers and counter offers were made until eventually, the sellers (a local parish council) opted for sealed bids from all interested parties. We took our cue from Kirstie and Phil and put in our best odd-numbered offer with a short letter, explaining who we were and what we wanted to do with the building.
We still have no idea if we overpaid or if the letter swayed the decision, but a few weeks later, we finally got the good news. However, in the two years we’d spent looking for a bolt-hole, the process of buying it hadn’t really entered my head. If it was anything like our house, we would make an offer, the other side would accept, solicitors would complete searches, money would change hands and we would get on with renovating it. It would be an expensive exercise in box-ticking, but a pretty simple one.
Little did we know what was to come!