Amazing photos show a home where it feels like you are stepping back in time with little changed from the Victorian era.
A former worker’s cottage in Longton, Stoke-on-Trent, was kept with its original features by well-known local artist Tim Chitty who died aged 64, in 2021.
BBC ’s Home Under the Hammer visited the property which was then put up for auction following his death and has been bought for £53,500 by holistic therapist Mel and husband Mark.
After Mr Chitty died many of his paintings which depicted Stoke in times gone by were given to a local museum, reported StokeonTrentLive.
He was seen as an eccentric personality locally and would wear a black three-piece suit as well as carrying a cane, while making regular trips to Longton library.
His house was never modernised with a bathroom never installed and he used an outside toilet - while there was a tin bath for him to wash in front of a fire.
The only indication of modern living was a gas oven on a brick-floored scullery.
As the images show, Mr Chitty wanted to keep the house as it was which also meant no central heating.
BBC presenter Martin Roberts said: “You just feel like you're glimpsing the way people lived when this house was built. It really is quite special actually.”
New owners Mel and Mark said that they wanted to keep as much of the property’s traditional charm as possible while turning it into a holiday rental.
Mark called it a “sympathetic renovation” and said he would take up the original floor tiles, clean them and then relay them.
They also planned to build a small extension, in which they would put a traditional kitchen. The couple said they hoped the property would attract people visiting the area to learn about the history of the local pottery industry.
Stood in the back yard, Martin said: “There is just this sense... I don't know, it's the colours of the brick on the walls and on the pathway, the way the plants work, even the green of the windows. There is just a very special feel to this house, and for once, it's really difficult to put it into words.”
He was extremely pleased that Mel and Mark planned to keep the house as traditional as possible, adding: “This is a very special house and I am truly delighted that Mel and Mark have found it. It sounds like they're going to do a very sympathetic renovation, which is exactly what it needs.”
The couple said they hoped to have the work done within nine months and had a budget of £35,000 but when the BBC team returned a year later, the project was far from complete.
Mel explained that the process of securing planning permission for their work had been very lengthy, due to the history of the house. But she expressed respect for that process as she agreed with the council the property's charm needed to be protected.
“Because it's a conservation area, we've actually had to keep it in-keeping, which we wanted to do anyway,” she said. “That's the whole point of this project – to bring it back to its original life as much as possible with a modern twist.”
Since securing the necessary permission, Mel and Mark had got to work on the extension. As they began, the found that the land outside the house was not solid, so they had to build new foundations, adding to their costs and timescale.
They had also installed new sash windows, which were more effective than the old ones, but were still singled-glazed, to keep the house traditional. Next, they planned to put in Victorian fireplaces and build a traditional kitchen.
Mel said: “The kitchen is going to be as traditional to a worker's cottage as possible. So it's going to have a Belfast sink in there. And because the aim is for a holiday let, we only need the things that somebody would want to use over a few days.”
But when it came to the toilet, Mark explained: “A traditional Victorian terraced house bathroom would just be a tin bath, so we can't really go down that route. We'll do something Victorian but a bit more modern.”
After their various setbacks, the pair now reckoned the project would take another nine months and cost a total of £50,000. When added to the cost of the property, that would sum to a total spend of £103,500.
Local estate agent Tom Williams reportedly said that once renovated, the house would be worth around £90,000, but the fact that that valuation was lower than what Mel and Mark had spent didn't bother them.
“It doesn't matter,” Mel said. And Mark added: “It's irrelevant. You'd never get your money back selling this property. We've put too much into it. So the only way we can get any money back from this is to have it as a holiday rental.”
Tom said he felt the house could earn between £60 and £100 a night as a holiday rental once complete, depending on how the renovation turns out. He said: “It's going to be very interesting to see what and how the property develops.
“The direction I'd like to see the renovation go is that it's completed to the very highest of standards and the original features are added, because it will appeal to people who are looking for a period property.”
Despite the higher budget and longer timescale than expected, Mel remained optimistic that the project would be a success. She said: “My original plan is for people to come and experience Stoke-on-Trent, this house, the history of this house, because they will be able to read about this house. It is like a heritage rental. And I just know that people will love being here.”
