“In many ways, I’ve taken on the most difficult building to try to save,” says the Castaway survivor. “To a lot of people, size is important and they are taken by the majesty of a building such as Kinloch Castle on Rum. But it’s not a question of value and size, it is more down to its historical significance as a representative of a unique history — whether it is Buckingham Palace or a tiny dwelling.
“Why I am so keen to take on Easthouse Croft, in West Burra, and persuade people that is the building to save is that it is one of only two remaining crofts on Shetland.
If it goes, then there is only one and without that there is no memento or proof of how people used to live. I spent a year on Taransay (for the programme Castaway 2000), which was covered in “black houses” — the ruinous remains of old crofts, and I’d never seen a croft in better condition than a few stones on the ground. This one is, to all intents and purposes, as it would have been hundreds of years ago, although it has been through some stages of development, which need to be taken out. It would be awful if it was left to deteriorate.
If it is restored to its original standing, it will be a blueprint for many more years to show the way the islanders lived for centuries and up to living memory — the family who were brought up there are still around. It’s such a monument to the history of the resourceful, sturdy, rugged people who live on the islands.”
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Estimated cost to restore: £130,000
ROBERT HARDY
“Faenol Old Hall, in Bangor, is hugely interesting — part medieval and part Tudor,” enthuses the actor. “It immediately caught my eye, seeing I’m a quarter Welsh and grew up on the borders of Wales and Shropshire.
“There are actually two buildings at Faenol: one a grand white Regency house with views over the water to Snowdonia, the other Faenol Old Hall that was uninhabited for years and years, and just left. It is this that is the subject of restoration. One hopes that the proposed restoration will be subvented to some extent, in that the input of students of architecture, carpentry, stonemasonry and all the crafts that go into the making of a house of period will be wonderfully positive.
“Ironically, because so little money was spent on Faenol Old Hall, over the years much of the original fabric is still there to be saved — and it would be a second-to-none opportunity to train craftsmen.
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“The Old Hall is stripped inside, but fortunately there still exist wonderful craftsmen in this country, of the sort that helped restore York Minster after it was burnt. Faenol already has great success with concerts, and there is such potential for more visitors and military history tours.”
Estimated cost to restore: £2.8m
JOAN BAKEWELL
“When I first saw Poltimore House, in Exeter, it broke my heart,” says the television journalist. “It was in such a terrible state of disarray and I just knew something had to be done. I used to stay in a cottage across the River Tamar and travelled down to the area a lot. It is beautiful, but very rundown. It is very overgrown. The roof is just about there, but some of the windows are out. It was hard-hat visiting. But it is extremely beautiful, with long wide corridors, high ceilings, and it is full of light. You can see that once restored it will affect the lives of many people. It has so much potential.
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“I grew up in Derbyshire, which is teeming with stately homes; there aren’t that many in the southwest.
“Great houses should be saved as much for their history as for their architecture. Poltimore House has an extraordinary inner courtyard dating from 1580 and a circular Tudor staircase. During the Civil war, the house was the scene of five days of tough negotiations between the Royalists and parliament, resulting in the surrender of Exeter to the parliamentary cause and the Treaty of Exeter in 1646.
“The house was sold off in 1921 and was used as a school and a maternity hospital. Lots of locals were in fact born there. It has since been derelict but squatted by benign hippies for a while, who helped preserve the property and keep out the vandals.
“It’s since been bought by the Poltimore House Trust which seems very serious, and ready to go, but needs the money. There is no shortage of ideas.
“I think it should belong to the community. It could be hired out for weddings, for fairs, the Women’s Institute could meet there, art exhibitions and house great social events. The gardens are terrific. It would be tragic if it went.
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Estimated cost to restore: £10m
KIRSTY WARK
“I first came across Mavisbank House, in Loanhead, more than 10 years ago,” explains the Newsnight presenter. “First, with a good friend of mine who was an Adam expert working in Scottish Heritage, and then while filming the series One Foot in the Past.
“I visited it again recently, at night. It was a bit spooky, and rather lovely, with the trees rustling, but really forlorn. It is just such an exceptional house. I like the idea that it is a country seat, near enough to Edinburgh, where you would go and look out over your lands. It is the most glorious house in the most glorious setting. I love Mavisbank because of its scale, its beauty, its decoration and its craftsmanship. Set in the heart of the Scottish coalfields in Midlothian, it is a building of great culture. Its appeal is its classicism, that it is really quite small, that it is also suburban, and very Italianate. It could be the first Palladian house in Scotland.
“I think that it is such a shame that it’s in such a state of ruin. It has been dealt not just one blow but several. It is an irony that the man who built the house in the 1720s made his money on the back of his mineworkers, and now it is the mines that are causing such instability, and are part of its downfall.
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I love the fact that the local people have been so passionate about bringing it back to life. A Save Mavisbank Trust has been set up. I think it would be great as a writer’s retreat or an art gallery, or something that the community could use. To me, this building could easily take on a new life in the 21st century. We cannot let these houses disappear because they are part of Scotland. We need to have memories and living and breathing buildings reflecting that age.”
Estimated cost to restore: £6.2m
Restoration starts on Friday on BBC2 at 9pm