Restoration Home

St Thomas a Becket church in Somerset is on the heritage critical list and badly in need of rescue. A flood in 1968 led to the church's eventual deconsecration and it is just one of many churches in Britain that has been declared redundant. Decline in church-going and amalgamation of parishes have put a huge swathe of our architectural heritage in peril. Working their way up the property ladder, newly-weds Paul and Laura spotted the church in 2007 and decided this was the family home for them. They purchased the listed church with plans to turn it into a three-bedroom home. As the church is transformed, its past emerges - the dark times which marked its end and its links to an architectural movement that would change style forever, connecting it to the design of some of the greatest buildings in the country.

Coldbrook Farm is a 17th century Grade II listed Welsh farmhouse. Run-down, off the beaten track surrounded by working farm buildings in a muddy yard, its lavish carved Tudor timberwork is a clue that there is more to this farmhouse than meets the eye. As owners Bill and Kim grapple with the challenges of mixing old and modern, architectural expert Kieran Long and historian Kate Williams dig deep into the archives uncovering evidence that points towards Coldbrook's possible links with one of the most powerful lords in Britain.

Caroline meets with Alex and her partner Martin who have purchased Rock Farm, which was once a perfectly proportioned Georgian house but is now a crumbling shell, cracked and contorted out of symmetry.