Country House Rescue - Prince of Wales's Building Crafts Apprentices help restore the show's "neediest house"

31 March 2010 – Press Release

On Thursday 1 April viewers of Country House Rescue will have seen the Prince of Wales’s Building Craft Apprentices grappling with damaged plaster, rotten windows and dry rot in an effort to begin restoring what Ruth Watson describes as the most dilapidated house they’ve ever had on the series.

Kelly House at Lifton in Devon is a Grade I listed building, which has been in the Kelly family for 900 years. The building is so badly dilapidated that in parts you can see the sky through the roof.

The Prince of Wales’s Building Craft Apprentices were invited to help with the restoration work. In accepting the offer, Hank Dittmar commented:

“This was a real win-win situation - the apprentices had the opportunity to work on an important Grade 1 country house whilst The Foundation was able to get the message across to viewers about the value of repairs being done by skilled master craftspeople. When you own or manage a traditional building you can’t always just pop to the local DIY store – repairs should be done with the right materials and with minimal intrusion to the building’s structure. You need craftspeople who know what they’re doing.”

The apprentices worked for 3 weeks at Kelly House under the direction of master-stonemason Henry Rumbold, and master carpenter Steve Davies.

Around 12 UK students join the course each year, each already with basic knowledge of their chosen building craft. They are typically stonemasons, carpenters, brickmasons or plasterers, and spend seven months training with some of the UK’s leading master craftspeople. Starting with a three-week summer school the students learn about the built environment, architecture and building materials before completing a range of placements on live construction sites. Here they work alongside architects and other professionals on the restoration of historic buildings and on new development projects.

For information on becoming a Prince of Wales’s Building Craft Apprentice or to help fund this important programme please contact The Prince’s Foundation on 0207 613 8500.