the Renovation

Our renovation project will be a long process.

Our long term plan is to restore the whole castle. As the internal fittings have either been removed or severely damaged we plan to replace as sympathetically as possible using replica products and modern techniques where necessary.

The first phase has got off to a great start! We have cleared the site from trees and bushes, reclaimed the driveway and lawns, emptied some rooms of rubble, removed the ivy and secured stone work where necessary.

We have converted the old gas house into a tea room and small shop that services our visitors and volunteers.

We have set up and opened a luxury glamping venue in the forest and have plans to extend this later this year.

We have fully restored the courtyard and have replaced the glass roof.

We have started work on the internal rooms within the courtyard which will form separate bar areas as part of a new and unique intimate event space.

We are in the process of renovating the old Pooks Horse Stable into an outside bar.

We have so far completed two cloakrooms and have made good headway into the specialist bar areas. (A whiskey bar, craft beer bar and champagne room)

And we are now taking bookings for weddings!!!

The next phase is to reinstate the scullery and castle kitchen so that we can provide catering facilities for afternoon tea parties in the courtyard and for weddings on site. We have also started work on our beautiful Chapel. This will allow us to offer a variety of unique wedding spaces from marquees on the lawn, intimate gatherings in forest or courtyard and within the eighteenth century chapel.  

The rest of the castle will provide three self-contained luxury apartments for our children to make into their homes in the future. We plan to open a boutique hotel visitors an luxury event space for corporate events. 

There is soo much work ahead! 

We regularly run volunteer weekends at the castle and love to share our passion for the place. If you would like to volunteer please do get in touch. 

Follow the latest from our renovation

Our honeymoon gave us the time sit and look back at our achievements this year. It’s always a shock when do as mostly we are headlong into something and move quickly from one deadline to another. Over the next few months we will spend time sorting new drawings, planning applications etc. for next years projects. Push our weddings and events business We will start tiling the roof and complete the bridal salon in the castle. Next year will be: Updating the gardens Making three holiday apartments Renovation of the stone spiral stairs hallways in the middle section of the castle Completing my champagne turret Completing the dungeon room Completing the castle kitchen My head is ready buzzing with ideas and colour schemes. We have agreed to take it slower this next year and have a least one holiday 🥰 We always start with good intentions and then get carried away but it’s been great to look back to see what we can get done! So here’s a rough summary of this year 😍 We’ve repaired and restored land drains, castle drains and gutters We’ve stripped out and replaced four floors in the east wing We’ve repaired and restored 8 doors We’ve shifted tons and tons of rubble We’ve restored a Minton mosaic floor We have restored stone archways Replaced 6 stained glass windows Completely restored the chapel Completely restored the hallway Replaced all the walls, floors and rooms in the three floors above the chapel We’ve replaced plasterwork’s, painted, sand and filled for months at a time We’ve cleared behind the front door We’ve updated the gardens and flower beds We’ve had, weddings, parties, egg hunts, photo shoots, tea parties…, oh and we got married! And we’ve replaced the entire east wing roof! 😰 I’m sure there’s been a whole lot more inbetween but it’s been one hell of a year! 🤩 #culdeesrenovation #rennovationlife #mydailyrenovation #renovationnation #renovationproject #oldhomerenovations
326
25

Our honeymoon gave us the time sit and look back at our achievements this year....

LOVE seeing people enjoy the space we’ve created. The smokes, laughter and love make it all worthwhile 💕🥰 #culdeesrenovation #culdeesweddingsandevents
87
0

LOVE seeing people enjoy the space we’ve created. The smokes, laughter and love make it...

Well hello summer! The weather has been gloriously warm which makes working in the castle much easier. With no roof on the middle section the warmth and light makes everything a little easier. Strangely though surrounded by the solid stone walls it’s still cool 😎 Our Pygmy goats are loving the weather too and enjoying all the lush green lawns to feast upon. Happy days ☀️ #culdeesrenovation
168
2

Well hello summer! The weather has been gloriously warm which makes working in the castle...

So here are some stills of operation phase “middle section” we always have to do things a little bit differently… we have to complete this next section of the castle that sits behind the front doors so that we can reinstate the stone spiral staircase that accesses all the rooms above the east wing which is now floored, walked and watertight! 🤪 I know it seems crazy but this is the safest way. I spend A LOT of time trying to convince the architect, structural engineer and the various departments at the council that our crazy plans will work. We definitely have more vision and insight, spending hours trawling over old drawings and photographs we know every inch of this building and how it works. So sometimes Rob and I just need to spend a few months clearing the rubble and exposing the walls, joist pockets and stonework. Present the cleared area along with the plans and only then can we start with new drawings and planning submissions 🙈 it’s a long winded process but allows us to take our time and record every detail as we go. This is when we find treasures and I start planning how the rooms will look after the renovations. This is nowhere near the amount of rubble we had to shift in the east wing so with support from friends and family this will get done ✅ #culdeesrenovation #diyextravaganza #truenorth
564
33

So here are some stills of operation phase “middle section” we always have to do...

Load More