Grand Designs: Cornish Flour Mill Revisit (Channel 4 Wednesday 29 November 2023)

Grand Designs: Cornish Flour Mill Revisit airs Wednesday 29 November 2023 on Channel 4.

What is this episode about

The listed but abandoned Cornish flour mill from the 17th century had been sitting empty for 60 years and was full of decaying timbers when former skydivers Leigh and Richard fell madly in love with it in 2017.

Unfazed, the risk-takers settled on this peculiar spot as their permanent residence. They took a giant leap of faith by selling their home, putting their business on hold, and moving 250 miles to live in a caravan on site.

With only £250,000 to work with and zero construction or restoration expertise, Richard and Leigh set out on an extremely ambitious mission: to build a three-bedroom, four-story home that was both warm and modern while preserving the exterior and preserving as much of the house’s history and magic as they could. They allowed themselves twelve months to complete the task, but that was clearly not enough time. The actual extent of the damage to the walls, structure, and roof was discovered once the work commenced.

Richard and Leigh had to take on more and more work on their own as funds started to run out due to unexpected remedial bills. Their fight to close the mill became a lonely, all-consuming ordeal when the pandemic hit.

There were still unfinished rooms, unfinished landscaping, and they were still living in the caravan in January 2021. Now, nearly three years later, Kevin McCloud comes back to check if this peculiar old industrial building has been turned into a home.

Season 25 Episode 7

When can we see the episode

Grand Designs: Cornish Flour Mill Revisit airs Wednesday 29 November 2023 at 9:00pm on Channel 4

Featured Image Credit: Channel 4