Can a derelict shop be the key to breathing new life into a small Yorkshire town? That’s the gamble at the heart of Our Yorkshire Shop: A Victorian Restoration, airing Sunday at 8 PM GMT on Channel 4. The first episode kicks off what’s likely to be a long and complicated restoration project—transforming a forgotten grocer’s shop in Masham into a combined cafe and historic bakery.
In the premiere, joiner Ian Johnson starts the arduous process of rescuing the shopfront, uncovering some unexpected gems along the way—namely, original period windows and the shop’s 1900s awning, preserved beneath decades of grime.
The series looks to be a love letter to preservation, community spirit, and the kind of hands-on labor that goes into reviving a piece of history. Whether the cafe and bakery can actually help revitalize Masham remains to be seen, but the enthusiasm driving the project—and the early reveals within the shop itself—certainly make a strong opening argument.
Our Yorkshire Shop: A Victorian Restoration premieres Sunday at 8:00 PM GMT on Channel 4.
