That was mad, beautiful and very, very funny. This amazing home was transformed on Grand Designs. Justin has just bought the property and hired the architect. The neo-Gothic house will have a moat and a chainmail water feature. Find out more about how we use your information in our privacy policy and cookie policy. Ahead of the latest series of his long-running property programme, Kevin has spoken out about needing to be more assertive around other people, even if that means being rude. Justin Maxwell-Stuart, 50, from London, bought an abandoned keepers lodge and an adjoining ex-council toilet block in Fulham cemetery for 1.8 million in 2016. That was the last time Princess Margaret came to supper.'. No, he was worried about something else, something much closer to home. He plans to complete all the work in one year. Photo: Jefferson Smith. But we struck a good balance of creating flow between rooms and making sure they are warm and cosy. A 4.5m 'Gothic' house built in the grounds of a Victorian graveyard and featured on Grand Designs is causing quite the buzz on social media. Something went wrong, please try again later. He said: Its a big thing actually, because weve been filming since June and weve developed a protocol for all the various places, whether were filming in a building or outside, quite diligently. The series opens with a house in a Victorian cemetery in south-west London one of the series biggest budget projects. I worked hard to meld the two parts of the house together, adding colourful fabrics and traditional upholstery to the new rooms, making them feel warm and lived-in. Justin describes the result as being unique but not ostentatious. Let us know in the comments below. Walking into the new wing from the cosy rooms in the lodge could easily have felt like stepping into the freezer aisle in a supermarket, said Gretchen. Justin was going to have lots of neighbours, as presenter Kevin McCloud pointed out, but they were all going to be dead. He bought the property for 2.2 million in February 2015 when he was a single dad living nearby with his son George, now aged nine. Enter your password to log in. The house is one of only three here, built on land released in the 60s when the cemetery's finances were precarious. 'Yah, lovely acorns,' says Justin, admiring their dazzling lustre while giving the impression he can't remember how much they cost (4,000 each). , Lucie Heseltine (@LucieJHeseltine) January 6, 2021, Not a great starter episode in Covid times. Work was also forced to stop for a full three months as a result of the coronavirus pandemic. Image: Jefferson Smith, I was lucky in that I came on board at the very beginning. 'One bit of a wife of Henry VIII and it would have been curtains,' is how he puts it. What, then, could go wrong? With many in debt, [losing] their jobs and homes, struggling to feed their kids; GD show some numpty millionaire spending nearly 4 mill on a cemetery lodge. Is it extreme fishing, I find myself wondering? Buried in Lakewood, New York, USA. A 4.5m 'Gothic' house built in the grounds of a Victorian graveyard and featured on Grand Designs is causing quite the buzz on social media. Justins home features in the first episode of Grand Designs 2021 series, but the question is whether they ever managed to finish building it Former army captain Justin hopes to restore a neo-Gothic cemetery keepers lodge, and turn it into his dream home in south west London. I now own a house in London thats steeped in history and has 13 acres of green space around it, he said. Or by navigating to the user icon in the top right. Winter Love Island 2023 final date confirmed and its just around the corner, Clarksons Farm star in shock as fans raise tens of thousands for TB-hit farm, BBC officially drops long-awaited Race Across the World series 3 trailer, Grand Designs returns with disaster as most surreal project yet is rocked by Covid, Grand Designs Kevin McCloud embraces telling people to back off to keep Covid compliant, Do not sell or share my personal information. Kevin McCloud presents the first of a new series of Grand Designs. Millions of viewers presumed it was going to be a canine pal, a Lightning for his Thunder. He recalls being told by his parents to keep her royal personage supplied with cocktail snacks during pre-dinner drinks when she came over to supper one balmy evening. MORE : Incredible five-bedroom home The Curve, as featured on Grand Designs, on sale for 3.45million, MORE : Boy, 16, designs Covid Invaders arcade game to encourage vaccinations, Billie Shepherd and Sam Faiers call out b****y Phillip Schofield over This Morning behaviour, Who Wants To Be A Millionaire? The already-stretched budget was in jeopardy when the contractors began to dig beneath a section of the lodge ready for the pool installation. The story of the Prendergast Mansion begins with the history of James Prendergast, founder of Jamestown, and how he came to settle here. We tour the nanny flat off the utility room, complete with its mini kitchen and narrow bed, upstairs to the master bedroom where Justin has left a pair of socks balled up on the floor ('oops') and into the ensuite with its mirrored bath. Every time I walk out that gate someone says hello or asks me how Thunder is. The concrete itself wasnt expensive, but holding up the old building while we dug underneath it was another matter entirely. its a bit spooky.. Further grand flourishes include a stone staircase leading down to the basement and a moat along one wall of the house. The properties featured in the series vary wildly from homes underground to converted water towers, with the only common factor being that they're all rather unusual or extravagant in some way. Owner with a 1million budget is left shocked by 4million quote to turn abandoned Neo-Gothic cemetery lodge into his dream home with a swimming pool and a MOAT Justin,. The ground floor living room is so fabulous. "One hell of a house but with one hell of a price tag as well.". Ex-army officer Justin Maxwell Stuart was at a crossroads in his life when he spotted a run down cemetery lodge for sale. Watch Grand Designs - January 2021 Series. Justin then plans to replace the adjoining blocks with a huge luxury extension on its ground floor, with a basement swimming pool and moat. Sign up for exclusive newsletters, comment on stories, enter competitions and attend events. The modern extension contrasts with the lodge. 'I now own a house in London that is steeped in history and surrounded by 13 acres of green space,' he says and you've got to give him credit for that, despite the thunderously busy main road on its western border. We also may change the frequency you receive our emails from us in order to keep you up to date and give you the best relevant information possible. It was a chaotic period in my life, I signed my divorce papers and the contract for the house practically on the same day. He was looking for another pair of eyes to help ensure the house became a home. 'Jan, you won't be expected to wrestle with grizzly bears every morning,' he says, and I worry that we are digressing too far, but there is no stopping him now. I think it would be fair to say that he had grave misgivings about the whole thing. The project took four years and cost a whopping 4.5 million - a sum that Justin admits he wouldn't have paid had he have known at the start. Image: Jefferson Smith. Grand Designs host Kevin McCloud observed one of the most unique builds in the history of the show on Wednesday evening, which saw a 4.5m house go up in a south-west London graveyard. Jan Moir for the Daily Mail, Amateur builder who had a brain tumour and whose wife is battling skin cancer spends 275,000 transforming ugly abandoned shed at the bottom of her parents' garden into a contemporary modern home in just 18 months on Grand Designs, Viewers left in floods of tears after master joiner with rare muscular dystrophy transforms circus wagon into a cute holiday home as 'his legacy' for his family on George Clarke's Amazing Spaces, King Charles hosts von der Leyen at Windsor Castle, Moment notorious prisoner Charles Bronson dances naked outside cell, Gabor Mat: No Jewish state without oppressing local population, Amplified jet stream could lead to 'disruptive snow in places', Isabel Oakeshott receives 'menacing' message from Matt Hancock, Dashcam captures moment two cars collide on a roundabout, Putin spy plane before being 'destroyed by pro-Ukraine Belarus group', Police search allotment sheds for Constance Marten's missing baby, Huge urgent police search for missing baby of Constance Marten, Student-athlete tells police her coach said 'kill yourself', Moment teenager crashes into back of lorry after 100mph police race, Putin orders intelligence service to find 'scum' who oppose him. , updated Each email has a link to unsubscribe. Don't stint on the cushions, Morag! With many in debt, loosing their jobs and homes, struggling to feed their kids; GD show some numpty millionaire spending nearly 4 mill on a cemetery lodge. It seemed natural to think that because the design of these spaces is contemporary, the interior design should be very clean and modern. As his dream became a reality, the last scenes of the programme revealed one final twist, as Justin disclosed he had found a special someone to share his new home. From Kanazawa in Japan, Hideko moved to the UK and has worked for Gordon Ramsay and Heston Blumenthal, running the latter's celebrated experimental kitchen. He wants to restore the lodge and demolish the toilet blocks. 'I did. Even if he is a little less chipper and bright-eyed by 2020. Well, ahem. 754K views, 5.9K likes, 1.3K loves, 867 comments, 1K shares, Facebook Watch Videos from Channel 4: The usual ambitious project, in an unusual place A third also added: "Possibly the greatest #GrandDesigns ever. It took months, a metre at a time, but it has added a huge amount of value to the property, said Simon. Grand Designs starts on January 6 on Channel 4 at 9pm. London Bridge overcrowding: Give TfL control of Southeastern trains, Motorist fined 650 after council paints disabled bay around his car. By We use your sign-up to provide content in the ways you've consented to and improve our understanding of you. She is a world-class pastry chef and now runs her own company. To decorate and furnish a house that had two distinct sections the new wing with open spaces and the smaller lodge with original features. He is seen buying the wardens lodge and a nearby ruined 1960s council toilet block which adjoins onto the building, which costs him 1.8 million. I am used to living in old buildings because my family home in Scotland, dates back 1,000 years, says Justin. 'The Maxwell Stuarts are very understated,' he says. "That was mad, beautiful and very, very funny.". The owners of an eye-catching Devon house that featured on Channel 4's Grand Designs have lost a planning battle with the council.