A couple who bought a run-down “crack den” stately home for 225,000 pounds (approx. US$286,000) has spent 2 million pounds (approx. US$2.5 million) and 10 years restoring it to its former glory.
Reg and Elizabeth Price from Waterloo, London, made an offer for 200-year-old Roswarne House, which had fallen into disrepair and been taken over by squatters.
The former owners wanted 750,000 pounds (approx. US$950,000) for the property. However, the Greek-revival-style stately home on 6 acres (2.4 hectares) of land was on the brink of collapsing and so badly maintained that the couple put in an offer of just 175,000 pounds (approx. US$223,000). After some negotiation, they got it for 225,000 pounds in 2013. They then set about renovating the depilated graffiti-covered home in Camborne, Cornwall, in South West England.
The stunning Regency Grade-II* listed 29-room home was built between 1810 and 1815—but had been abandoned for six years and was being used by drug addicts.
A former conservation officer, Ms. Price, 72, heard about the house from a friend.
“We came up here one day, there’s 6 acres of grounds and all the flowers were out. It was just so beautiful so we fell in love with it,” Ms. Price said.
The house was built between 1810 and 1815 by a landed gentry family that made its fortune through copper mining and smelting.
The house later fell into disrepair until it was acquired by the Holman family in 1911, who made their fortune from mining.
The last resident, Percy Holman, died in 1969, and the house then became a care home.
The couple spent the next decade renovating every room, roof, cellar, garden, staircase, and ballroom.
“When we bought the house there was no glass in windows, it was all boarded up,” Mr. Price said. "Nobody had lived here for around six years, and it was full of rough sleepers and naughty boys doing drugs and stealing everything.
“Everything had been stolen, including all of the fireplaces except one and most of the window’s glass.”
Additionally, all the doors were kicked in, historic features were destroyed, and the roof was caved in.
For the next few months, the couple spent time picking up needles from the house and garden.
Not long after buying the property, one August afternoon, the roof fell and the whole ceiling had gone.
“Rainwater had just flooded all the way through the house and destroyed much of it, I remember just bursting into tears at the sight of it,” Ms. Price said. ‘'Squatters had lit a fire in the middle of one of the rooms. We had to board the place up and hire security at 70,000 pounds [approx. US$89,500] a year.
“For at least two years we had to maintain constant day and night security to keep youths and the homeless out. It was hard turfing people out, we felt bad, but we wanted to save the building.”
Repairing the place was the whole family’s job.
“The first thing we did was to take off all the boards and put metal grills over the shattered windows to let in air to dry any rot. After that, we replaced the roof to stop the leaks,” Mr. Price said.
The entire roof replacement cost 100,000 pounds (US$128,000) alone. Columns and staircases have been restored and fireplaces put back in every room. Local tradesmen were used during the process.
Some of the work on the house included replacing all of the plasterwork in the building, costing nearly 250,000 pounds (approx. US$320,000) for replacement and asbestos removal.
After the roof and windows were worked on, the couple left the house for about five years and returned to do the interior later.
Ms. Price re-furnished the house almost entirely with era-appropriate furniture bought off Facebook Marketplace and eBay. Work on the house was largely funded by the sale of another renovated derelict property in Waterloo, London.
Mr. Price, who worked in marketing for Unilever before retiring, says that at one point there were 18 work vans outside the building.
The couple also faced a lot of challenges with the Grade-II* listing. However, the house was so ruined when they found it that without extensive work they believe it would have collapsed within years.
Although the family’s initial plan was to downsize, they ended up upsizing when they bought the house, since the entire property was too big for just the two of them.
“[W]e’ve certainly put a lot of time, money, and passion into it,” Mr. Price said.
The couple—who restores abandoned or derelict homes into stunning flats and properties—built two blocks of flats at the back of the property and converted a barn into a house to generate funds to pay for this renovation.
Ms. Price said she hopes to use the building to support local charities and social groups such as the Scouts.
“We now use the space for wellness events, to host awards ceremonies, and are hoping to use it to support the local community,” she said. “We may own this house in name for few more years—but it belongs to Camborne. I want it to be used by the people of the town.”
Since the renovation, the home has won several awards such as the World Heritage Award in 2021, and an award from the Cornish Building Group.
The support the family has received for the house has been exceptional. However, the family believes that despite all the expenses, it was worth every penny to save such a treasure.
