In an attempt to keep the children happy, they bought a zip wire and a hot
tub, and promised to create a retro American diner on the side of the house,
which is nearly finished.

Their optimism has seen them through: “We wanted to put all our eggs in one
basket and create a wonderful life.” Nick has kept his job as a design
manager, and Zena, who was head chef at Ealing Studios and cookery writer
for the Eastern Daily Press, is planning cookery courses in the diner, as
well as preparing the three barns for holiday lets (lodgefarmholidaybarns.co.uk).

All this they have done while the country has been in recession, for there is
little that will stop the determined house rescuer. Trees bursting through
the roof, rainwater running down the walls, knee-high grasses all around? It
might fill the cautious with horror, but it tugs at the heartstrings of the
truly passionate.

Steve Egford of Knight Frank’s building consultancy, which helps clients
organise building works and costings for rescues, says that there are fewer
projects being carried out, “but people are spending similar amounts as
before, anything from £500,000 to £2m or £3m”.

Government changes to VAT are making some step up the pace. “Alterations to
listed buildings have always been exempt from VAT, which worked as a
compensation for the pain involved in obtaining listed building consent,”
says Steve. “But from October the exemption ceases and work will attract
VAT, which will add an extra 20 per cent.”

Will it put people off? “There is still a reason to take on a semi-derelict
building. If it has been uninhabited for some time, it qualifies it for a
lower VAT rate of only five per cent, a considerable saving,” he says . “But
there is a lot of romance involved. People often take on a building and
overspend. Or they become very absorbed by it, and when it is finished they
sell up and buy another one. It isn’t always about making money, it
is because people like doing it.”

One result of the economic downturn is that there are more neglected
properties in need of rescue, says Save Britain’s Heritage, which is
publishing its buildings-at-risk register on June 1. It contains hundreds of
properties, from deserted chapels to forlorn country piles, in need of love
and attention.

Order the register, Dare to Care, from savebritainsheritage.org
or by post from Save, 70 Cowcross Street, London E1M 6EJ.

READY TO SAVE

1. Wigthorpe House, Wigthorpe, Carlton-in-Lindrick, Nottinghamshire, has been
empty for most of a decade. Through Robinson Hornsby (01302 751616), it is
to go to auction in June, and is expected to reach between £175,000 and
£200,000.

2. Attington Toll House, Tetsworth, Thame, Oxfordshire, needs “total
refurbishment subject to planning consents”, says Hamptons International
(01865 512332), which is selling it for £220,000. The 18th century property
has two bedrooms.

RICH REWARDS

1. The Old Manor, Dunster, Somerset, is a Grade II* historic manor on a site
which has been inhabited since 1266. The owners have restored the chapel
with its wagon roof, and kept the original cobbled floors. With five
bedrooms and a four-bedroom pavilion, it is priced at £1.3m through Strutt
Parker (01392 215631).

2. Edrington House, Foulden, Berwickshire, was a Georgian wreck five years
ago. It is now a restored seven-bedroom pile with a gate lodge in more than
12 acres, priced at £1.25m through Knight Frank (01578 722514).