The BEST episodes of The Restoration Man
Every episode of The Restoration Man ever, ranked from best to worst by thousands of votes from fans of the show. The best episodes of The Restoration Man!
George Clarke is The Restoration Man, travelling the British Isles meeting the stubborn romantics who want to breathe new life into the architectural treasures he unearths on his journey. His mission is to help them transform these undervalued gems into brand new homes fit for 21st century living.
#1 - Harrogate Revisit 2016
Season 6 - Episode 5 - Aired 3/31/2016
George Clarke returns to Harrogate to see how Carol and Majid Nadry have finished converting their brick water tower into their dream home. After the huge delays and eye-watering legal costs of sorting planning and access restrictions, the couple have finally built the two-storey extension that was the key to creating a family home with character. George sees how the industrial heritage of this unique building is beautifully complemented by a 21st century glass and sheet metal extension that finally realises the old water tower's hidden potential.
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#3 - Church Hall Barn 2017
Season 7 - Episode 4 - Aired 1/26/2017
George Clarke follows Jude McKelvey as she restores a dilapidated 17th-century barn into a family home to share with her two boys - a project made all the more difficult by the tight conservation restrictions on the Grade II listed building. The timber-framed structure needs months of painstaking craftsmanship and the 44,000 clay tiles must be replaced by hand. Can Jude meet the enormous challenge of dividing up the barn's cavernous interior without destroying its heritage?
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#4 - Berkshire Pumping Station
Season 7 - Episode 1 - Aired 1/5/2017
George Clarke returns for a new series of the show that helps rescue neglected architectural treasures across Britain. Young couple Steven Crame and Marina Bacchelli were looking for their first home to own together in Berkshire, when they found a disused water pumping station nestling in its own ancient woodland. The couple threw themselves into the task of converting the huge brick shed into a modern four-bed family home, while preserving a 15-tonne crane as a central feature of their lounge. But a new-born baby, flooding and spiralling costs add to the pressure.
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#5 - Cheshire Water Tower 2017
Season 7 - Episode 2 - Aired 1/12/2017
George Clarke meets Cheshire couple Andrew Jones and Michele Gibbons, who plan to turn an 85ft art deco water tower into the six-storey 'end house' of their dreams. The conversion proves an incredible challenge for the builders, as they must cut through double reinforced concrete to build new floors and fit over 20 new windows. It takes almost a year to get the tower wind and water-tight as, meanwhile, the couple must come to terms with fact that, despite a dislike of art deco furniture, they need to furnish their towering example of architectural history in a fitting style.
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#6 - Lancashire Water Filtration Plant
Season 7 - Episode 3 - Aired 1/19/2017
In Lancashire, Matt Whittle and his father-in-law-to-be Mike Readfern pool their resources to convert an enormous water filtration plant into a pair of semi-detached houses sharing an internal garden atrium. Family relations are tested as the huge scale of the project makes the schedule drag. George Clarke encourages the pair to persevere and make the most of the unique opportunity that the internal atrium gives them - to create a garden for all weathers.
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#7 - Longhurst Lodge, Surrey
Season 3 - Episode 3 - Aired 1/10/2013
It was love at first sight when theatre producer Vanessa Ford Robbins and her partner Nik Huddy saw Longhurst Lodge, a Victorian gate lodge nestled on the boundaries of a country estate in Surrey. This unusual two up, two down has been derelict for nearly 50 years. Nik and Vanessa want to bring this fairy tale building back to life, but they desperately need more living space and face mounting planning issues over extending the Grade II listed building. The couple tackle the project with huge drive and determination, doing all the build work themselves, but living in a caravan on site during winter. George Clarke is on hand to help advise and support the couple and also discovers some of the estate's bloody history.
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#8 - Oast House
Season 3 - Episode 1 - Aired 12/27/2012
George meets James and Lois Denning, who inherited an historic estate which has been in James' family for the last 234 years. The castle and stately home that used to belong to his family have been given to the National Trust, so they've decided to convert a stunning and only recently abandoned oast house. George is on hand to advise them with the epic restoration of this beautiful old agricultural building into a grand nine bedroom family home.
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#10 - Thorington Gate Lodge
Season 1 - Episode 6 - Aired 4/25/2010
George Clarke joins former heavyweight boxer Scott Welch as he plans to convert Thorington Gate Lodge in Suffolk into a weekend retreat so he can spend more time with his father who lives nearby, despite not having set foot inside the building. It soon becomes clear that Scott has a fight on his hands getting planning permission as the project is set to include an ultra-modern glass extension.
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#11 - Telford Church
Season 3 - Episode 2 - Aired 1/3/2013
Using an inheritance from his late father, artist Keith McIntyre and his wife Sheena bought a listed, Thomas Telford-designed church in the remote island of Berneray in the Outer Hebrides. Keith and Sheena plan to convert the church into a holiday home and artist's studio, where they can bring their art students and musician friends to be inspired by the amazing light and rugged, desolate landscape. In restoring this roofless ruin, Keith and Sheena face challenges from the extreme weather and have to keep the neighbours on side while managing the build 400 miles away from their home in Newcastle. Meanwhile architect George Clarke uncovers the church's turbulent history.
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#12 - Preachers Pig Barn
Season 3 - Episode 5 - Aired 1/24/2013
David and Judith Ward take up the challenge of restoring a dilapidated pig barn across the road from their daughter's farmhouse in order to be nearer to their grandchildren. David is a charismatic preacher and has faith that even in this challenging market they will manage to sell their old home, pay back the loan and raise the funds to finish the restoration. George Clarke is there from the start, giving practical advice and guidance. But will their hopes for a happy retirement in the bosom of their family ever become reality?
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#17 - Pumping Station
Season 4 - Episode 1 - Aired 1/7/2014
The new series begins with Alison and Matthew Grey, two designers form London looking for a new place to live out of town. The couple love industrial buildings and have purchased a pumping station, intent on turning it into a design haven. But with costs mounting, as they continue to delay decision making, the couple are in danger of having to refinance in order to finish the build.
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#18 - Reeds Windmill, Kent
Season 2 - Episode 1 - Aired 1/5/2012
After years of living away from their families, Pete and Nikki have moved back down south to Kent with the dream of restoring a derelict windmill that's been owned by Pete's family for over 100 years. Locally listed, the windmill has been a roofless ruin since 1915, and its tapering structure overlooks an area of outstanding natural beauty in the heart of the county. The build nearly comes unstuck when Nikki, who had recovered from cancer, suddenly becomes unwell again. George is on hand to advise, and support them on their restoration journey as they battle with Nikki's illness.
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#19 - Medieval Hall Revisited
Season 2 - Episode 6 - Aired 2/9/2012
George Clarke revisits Simon Hooper and his partner Victoria in Cardiff to catch up on their dream of converting a Grade I listed medieval hall into a unique home. George is keen to see if the family have overcome the challenges of restoring such an ancient building.
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#21 - Cow Barn
Season 4 - Episode 5 - Aired 2/5/2014
Marco and Kath Walker take over a pair of Grade II listed 17th and 18th century cow barns from their local farmer in Wellington, Herefordshire. The barns are tumbling down, the couple have their two young children in tow, they've never done anything like this before and are complete restoration novices, and the project is beset with problems from the start. George offers much needed advice throughout the build and discovers how these buildings and the surrounding farm helped to revolutionise cattle farming in the UK.
Watch Now:Amazon#22 - Church, Eden Valley
Season 2 - Episode 3 - Aired 1/19/2012
Scientist Phil Evans and his wife Joanne have taken a huge financial gamble and bought a Grade II-listed, gothic revival parish church in the Eden Valley, aiming to turn it into a dream home. Disaster strikes early on in the build and the implications are huge for their tiny budget. Architect George Clarke is on hand to give them all both practical advice and a reality check when the costs spiral out of control and threaten to halt the project.
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#24 - Medieval Hall and Mansion
Season 1 - Episode 9 - Aired 5/16/2010
George Clarke advises two families who have bought rare and nationally important buildings in Wales. Simon Hooper and partner Victoria dream of converting an ancient Grade I listed medieval hall into a unique home, but their budget is tight. At the other end of the scale are the Edwards, who have fallen in love with a neglected 70-room mansion, which they're determined to lavishly restore back to its original glory. Both highly ambitious restoration projects prove to be more challenging than their new owners anticipated.
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#25 - Water Tower, Settle
Season 2 - Episode 7 - Aired 2/16/2012
Mark Rand and his wife Pat's dreams of converting a water tower on the Settle-Carlisle railway line faces a battle with the planners which threatens to de-rail the whole project. Former Bradford police officer Mark and his wife Pat are fervent enthusiasts for the Settle-Carlisle railway line. It's the couples dream to own part of the line's history, which is why they bought the Victorian Settle station water tower to convert and live in. Sitting beside the station, in what's now an industrial estate, the building hasn't been in use since the 1940s. But Mark wants to bring this Grade II listed building into the 21st century, and has plans to add a glass rooftop extension, seeking advice from architect George Clarke. But have these restoration warriors embarked on a project too ambitious to see through?
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