1x4 - Cheltenham: The Half-Timbered Cottage

March 22, 2001

Kathryn and Charlie Raywood set about renovating a farmhouse cottage. The couple draw inspiration from Sainte Chapelle, Shakespeare’s birthplace and Gwidyr Castle. They start to strip the place back to its medieval roots. But with a meager budget of just £10,000 the basic structural work to the house eats up 80% of the budget, leaving a mere £2,000 for all decoration including a new kitchen, bathroom, lavish fabrics, tapestries and medieval furniture. They resort to enlisting family and friends to get things back on track. They buy Asian antiques which resemble medieval originals at a fraction of the price and up their overdraft in an attempt to get the project completed.