The Best Preserved Medieval Home In Britain | American Viscountess 

I can't believe the amount of jealousy and envy fueled comments. I am glad that this lady was able to recover her family home after 25 years of work and sacrifices, good for her. The repairs alone will support dozens of contractors for years. Once the house id finished it will provide income for many employees.

i'm from working class Oldham, not working due to a disability, still living in the semi detached house my parents bought nearly 50 years ago and i love this stuff, some commenters need to get over their obvious chip on the shoulder bitterness and jealousy.

I am very fortunate that I live in the building my ancestors build between 1720 and 1760. It’s also a half timbered house, but much smaller (around 280square meters living space) and it is in Germany, not England. We are regular working folks that had some animals and centuries back there where big ponds that my ancestors tended to and they where the sole fish “producer” of the region. I am unbelievably grateful that I can live in this amazing house with all the history of my ancestors together with my lovely wife. It is in perfect living condition, however it’s not in its original state like it was back then. It got repaired and renovated over the centuries so people can keep living in it. But the inside of the house, the openly visible half timbered walls, the crooked little rooms etc still show its age on the inside and make it so incredibly comfortable for me. I really hope that when I have children, at least one of them will continue to live in this house and give it to their children etc. I want this house to be a place of stability and peace for my extended family (and friends also). Whenever they want to come somewhere and have it comfortable they can live here. Whenever a friend needs a place to stay they can stay in our house since we have more than enough space, the whole first floor is fully furnished with bedroom, living room, multiple bathrooms etc which are completely unused, waiting for visitors. We are definitely not rich, but are fortunate enough to have somewhat good jobs at around 30 so we can’t talk about owning such an incredible mansion, but what we have is still very dear and important to our hearts!

What a stunning property. I am glad they were able to buy it back into the family.

This is true love. Supporting your wife throughout this journey is heartwarming.

This home is way back in my ancestry. My great-grandmother was Anvalyn Pitchford before she married!

Pretty amazing that they were able to save this huge piece of human history.

What a lucky little boy to be able to grow up in this beautiful , historic, gently-haunted house with all of those amazing grounds to roam. I hope he has lots of cousins and friends to come over. It’s the childhood of dreams. I love dthis episode, amazing!

I have to say, watching this video made me happy. It is one of the best things I have watched on RU-vid.

As a Texan living in England for over two decades, many thanks to my fellow Texan for helping to return the painting to its rightful place. It made me so proud to hear of this. I love my home state and fellow Texans but now I’m so honoured to live in this beautiful country I now call home. ❤

Oh, to own back your childhood home. Memories from times past to future memories.

For all snippy commentators you should understand the responsibility and sometimes burden that these old houses bring with them, for those that buy or inherit them it’s a lifelong job to upkeep them often with financial struggles as they require vast amounts of money to maintain them in the correct manner, it’s not for the faint hearted!

I love how England has families that have lived in homes for generations and I love all the history there.

This is my absolute favourite episode. This family are just lovely and their devotion to their home and history is beautiful.

Glad they didn't try to cram all of this into a 52 minute video. Enjoyed all the different settings and scenes and stories. My favourite part was the lath and plaster tutorial, gleaning practical knowledge from a skilled worker.

We moved toShropshire in 1991 and I remember reading about Pitchford passing out of the hands of the family who had been there for centuries….and what a heartbreak it must have been for them.( I can well imagine how I would have felt) …..so it’s wonderful to hear they have got it back. So often these beautiful houses are lost to the people who love them and then terrible things happen…..they end up mysteriously burning down ( insurance!!) This happened to beautiful Parnham in Dorset now a ruin.

I'm only 5 minutes into this, but already, while I am paying close attention to the conversation, the puppeteering part of me is also delighted by young Edward quietly showing off his puppetry skills with his friend Doggy. Right, on with the video!

Stunning, and so glad that you were able to get it back to the family and restore it back to its glory.

I was very impressed by the grit & fortitude this couple exhibited in their efforts to reacquire their ancestral home! What an incredible story! I hope things continue to work out for them!! And that they set up many safe guards to try to prevent a similar fate in the future.

During the conversation in the Treehouse, I love how our American Viscountess is holding her cup and saucer. So refined. And her outfit is wonderful. Stylish and sophisticated. She's done her homework, heartwarming to see.

I love when they walked into the pink room and the good vibes they felt and I really like the little boy tagging along and and participating.❤

Wonderful. So happy that lovely family got their home back again. Truly a remarkable property.

I'm in Australia. There are no houses here like Pitchford Hall, so it is marvellous to view this program. Really admired the ladies for swimming, and the library was wonderful. Best thing was the enthusiasm of all concerned. Thanks.

It's great that folks in GB use buildings forever. We in the U.S. misuse land and buildings, which is depressing to me. The smithy is magnificent. What Gracious Hosts. May they live to great age in good health. Props to James. So supportive.

This place is STUNNING!!! From someone who comes from a massive loud,busy,dirty American city in Wi this place looks like my idea of Heaven. The beautiful land and trees and fresh air and the house 😮 it just kept going and getting bigger and more amazing at every turn.. When Julie said it was like an Alice in wonderland feeling i couldn’t agree more. I felt a Secret Garden meets Alice in wonderland lol I could only dream of seeing a place like this in real life. I am so happy the family was able to get it back and make it stunning again. Those children will have some amazing stories to tell as they get older. And that treehouse 🥰everything about this estate makes me happy. The priest hole and the attics and bell tower the amazing land just WOW!!!!’

People mentioned the bad comments but I don’t see them. I’m glad that I’ve only seen positive ones. Preserving homes is such a monumental task. Only a few minutes in but already love it. (Update) I’ve now seen the negative comments…wow 🤦🏼‍♀️

Impressed by the Library, colourful taste and exuberance of Queen Elizabeth First Era. Fabulous visit with charming people. Incredible dedication to restore this Venerable Historic house. Bravo to the Pitchford Family and all participants in the arduous restoration in the normes. The billows in the smithy's house, we had the same, with added iron feet as a low table in front of a log fire place in France. Sad ending to its working life.

I'm thrilled for the family and for the artists who get to rent the workshops. They get to be creative and support and revive a piece of English history. Once is gone. There is nothing more to do.

Captivating tour! The family is lovely and I adore their passion for Pitchford Hall. The library is a cheerful restoration; so nice to see all of the volunteers come together and put their hearts into the restorations. I look forward to updates.

What a journey this family went through. I am glad they recovered their house. Impossible to imagine the mixed emotions when they came back after 25 years... amazing documentary.

It kills me that her family had to sell the furnishings. But at least she got the home back. This was an amazing video. So fascinating all together. Great tour! Great accomplishment.

so much pride and love for family and heritage! God bless them as they restore their family memories!

Once they started talking about ghosts, I wondered what types. Maybe a business man without trousers, a scout master with an arrow in his neck, a ww2 captain, a house mistress, a caveman, a peasant woman....

I enjoyed the whole film. I am especially enamored of the library. I love to read, for a start. I am just so excited about your library! It is so enchanting. It looks like something straight out of a fairy tale. I am excited for you that you got your house back. I hope to get our houses back into the family, like you. Your story inspires me to try to get our family estate back. I am terribly homesick for our houses. I just want to go home.

This is just fascinating history. So happy the family was able to get the property back. It would be such a shame to let this beautiful history go to ruin. Thank you for sharing.

This is just the best story - and I love that they're all open to, and talking about the positive spirits that reside within the house.

Gorgeous!! It’s like a modern fairy tale (with a lot of elbow grease) that they were able to get it back. I also love that the series hostess is an American Vicountess. Double fairy dust!

I was so moved when the absent painting was hung in its space of prominence. Extraordinary.....!

What a story, heartbreaking initially, good for them that they were able to get it back, lovely people.

Houston is my adopted hometown and Houstonians are famously generous. I would love to know who purchased the painting. What a lovely gift to donate the picture.

I watched Ladies of London and was thrilled to see Julie hosting this program.

I absolutely LOVED this whole beautiful story. I smiled the entire time and even shed some happy tears. What an extraordinary achievement for this beautiful couple. I wish them continued success in preserving this amazing home 😍🇦🇺♥

So happy for you to get your family home back. Ignore the naysayers. Plow forward and save your family history and Britain's History. It is a big task. God speed on your journey!

Historic beautiful house with fabulous grounds and other out buildings. That treehouse was amazing. A story regarding its history of ownership loss and having the commitment struggle to own preserve it again for history and their children which is really interesting. Love the pod cast regarding Pitchford Estate. So much loss of historical estates in England after WWI. This house remained in the family until 1992 which is quite the feat. Lost then 25 years later back in the family again. Now that is an unusual amazing story. The attic rooms for servants quarters must of been hot in the summer and freezing in the winter.😮 Love the library! It just needs some overstuffed chairs. A magical estate and family.

I enjoyed watching this video. So happy for the family being able to get it back. Great restoration progress. ❤

Beautiful restoration. I enjoyed learning the methods of using pitch and whitewash. Especially enjoyed seeing the tree house.

I love that you all allowed that little boy to tag along. Really accentuates the heart of this old home. I'm inspired anew with our own little plot of land. Thank you for this wonderful story and family❤️

What a gargantuan task. Wow. When the roof is leaking things go south pretty fast. It's probably all overwhelming, everything that needs fixing. I think I would fix the roof first. Glad they got the home back. Wish I could have kept my parents house but couldn't afford it and it needed a lot of work. My old house needs a lot of work and I can't fix it. It's only me and I'm 70 and do work full time but gotta live. I only work at Walmart all night stocking shelves.

I loved this show so much! Thank you!! Amazingly, at this time I am reading Samuel Pepys' Diary...! His patron and employer was Lord Montagu, Earl of Sandwich, and Hinchingbrooke is frequently spoken of, and visited!!

Rowena is quite quite lovely, stunning. James a very lucky chap. We too lost our home, but in the 70's. Not Lloyds, Burma Oil. It wasn't as grand or as beautiful as Pitchford, it's only mention in a book of British houses (where one or two had whole chapters) is ' a proportionate villa of some merit'. But we loved it. The gardens and park were exceptional, two brothers went one to China the other India collecting trees where they were planted. Occasionally I drive past it, the village has two modern housing estates, the park is badly overgrown with bracken, gorse and brambles. The lodge already shonkie in our day has been replaced by something indescribably awful. So I totally support Rowena and James and the love of their home and the courage of their conviction. Bizarrely I was at school in their corner of the world but had not heard of Pitchford before this evening, my friends there are now either dead or badly decaying, though I would have loved to have seen it in it's hayday and mine. Regards Phillip

Amazing place, so happy you got it back, so much history. Has to be an awesome place to live. Cheers from Newfoundland, Canada.

The drama and tension hanging that painting!! Good job Rupert!

Great story of such a historical family home. I enjoyed every bit of this program. The young boy was magnificent with his energy and youth. ❤😊 thank you so much American Viscountess for your dedication to bring back these homes, showing the hard work and pure tenacity these projects take, to a lively, restored and functioning Great Home❤😊

Jus so nice, and refreshing, to see a family work so hard, to regain what was lost to them. Wonderful restoration work and hope they manage to retrieve much of what was auctioned off. Maybe this video will seek the hearts of purchasers of those items that really belong back home :-)

What an amazing estate, I truly hope that the family are able to continue their journey of restoring this beautiful home.

WHAT FABULOUS VIEWING! Thank you 🎉

Lovely mansion, so glad they were able to recover it and are now restoring it.

I really love her looks she really look those portraits in paints of historic figures in a modernize way.. I love it so much..

What an inspiring story and its lovely to watch the whole family's love and joy for their house.

Beautiful home, excellent work on the preservation! 💐

The house is jaw-dropping. I love old houses and this is simply stunning. I was fortunate to go to school in an old Elizabethan mansion and it was fantastic. Amazing to regain the family home and I'd love to see it in the flesh so to speak.

Wonderful episode! What a lovely place to visit, to live, to treasure. I applaud this family.

The stance you had in front of the great hall fireplace , with your left leg and foot turned left is exactly how my jr. high school gf stood , back in '63 . I'm 74 now but flashed on her as soon as I saw that !!!! Great vid , take care 👍

I loved this so much! I appreciated the fact that it took its time and let us drink in the details. Loved the host and her enthusiasm. It really made me feel welcomed along inside with her. Very well done!

What a great vlog, Julie you have a great sense of other people’s emotions, coupled with the ability to imagine what someone else might be thinking or feeling. Thanx

It was nothing like this, but I was raised in one of our family homes in which my mother also grew up. Parts of the house were from 1865 and other parts had been added on over the decades. Not old by British standards, obviously, but a great place for a child to explore and in which to let one's imagination run wild. As they stand in the room this woman painted red as a teenager (were these former servants' rooms?), I go back to my gabled bedroom with a hidden attic off of it. It was a magical place filled with old family heirlooms and, I think, a ghost or two! Thanks for sharing this tour which brought back memories to me of a much humbler but equally loved family home.

What a beautiful house and wonderful home. God bless

Those giant bellows are all over the state of Iowa in the US, at the various heritage sites like Old Threshers in Mt. Pleasant, the Herbert Hoover Presidential Museum & Library in West Branch, and Living History Farms in Urbandale. I’m sure they are in other states in the US at their historical sites. They’re definitely not in abundance, nor are those skilled in smithy practice found far and wide. This documentary has been a pleasure to watch. Pitchford is a beautiful place! ❤ I’m thrilled to hear they may restore the farrier’s workshop.

It's intriguing how life can imitate art. The story of Pitchford Hall is very similar to the series 'To the Manor Born', starring Penelope Keith and Peter Bowles.

Such a lovely and heart warming story ❤. I love how they never gave up and that has given me more hope. Thank you so much.

WOW what an amazing video to watch. The feelings they must have each time a treasure comes home. I hope the man from Houston was able to watch this and see that painting being hung. So awesome!

What a beautiful home. I couldn't begin to imagine waking up in this house and growing up there. America is the opposite. When something is old we tear it down and demolish the land.

This was lovely .. so pleased the hall has been saved for future generations to enjoy xxx

Absolutely, magical! Thank you to Julie and the family for sharing this stunning (even in its current shape…if we were 1000 years ago, we would have some cracks and peeling exterior, as well!) estate, your home, with us! I hope to visit one day!

Invite artists/ sponsors to adopt a room. They will take responsibility to design ( within perimeters ) and fund the restoration of one room.A plack will be posted on the door, naming the donor/designer.

What’s a magnificent house and grounds, what a lovely story that the family have it back in their ownership 👏🏻 I was dreaming my way through this video, oh to live somewhere so glorious 🥰

What a charming program. Thank you, Vicountess for a really great tour of this beautiful estate. Enjoyed it a lot ❤

They are incredibly generous and kind people. In glad that Pitchford is once again in their care.

So happy for this family that worked so hard to reclaim their family home! It was meant to be! They belong together.

What a wonderful story, her knowledge is amazing and her son would be absorbing it all, I’m pleased she managed to get it back, she loves this house more than anyone who could buy it. I hope it stays in the family

I loved watching this and the family are so fun and interesting. So happy they were able to buy back their history and make more history as a family of Pitchford.

Would love to have seen more of the interior

What a beautiful history and wonderful family! Such a fun and enjoyable exploration of the place to watch! Looking forward to how their restoration progresses in the years to come

Im really glad they were able to get their home back. I can imagine how a great a feeling that must be for them. I would love a home like that.

How glad that they got it back... This is heritage. How she must feel returning to the home she grew up in.

I really admire all your efforts to preserve British history, especialty with American help ❤❤❤

What a fabulous story about this beautiful historic house. I have been absolutely riveted.

Very nice.. love that this is an ongoing project worthy of preservation.👍🙏🕊️I want a job like yours , getting to explore so very much history and enjoy the people who are involved in the restoration of all kinds of Historical places and people..in history as well as the present.

The craftsmanship on the home is beautiful.

Completely enjoyed this program thank you so much

Just beautiful. If only we started building according to our ancient European architectural traditions again, in stead of all the modern soulless monstrosities that surround us today.. Thank God this gem is still here today, too.

Hi Julie, Alberta is a fascinating woman, I am so happy that you were able to bring her to life. I applaud all your efforts and the efforts of your virtual helpers to make this possible. I will purchase my coffees to see, hear and learn more. thank you again for sharing your family with us. Love from N.Y.

Exciting and fun episode of adventure. Bravo...

Excellent episode - richly detailed

Love this home!

Speaking of ghosts ,did anyone else notice at 17:27 -17:30 the 3rd floorboard from the top right of your screen ?But I digress. I found this to be a heartwarming ,historical, and entertaining video .

What a delightful video! Nice that they could buy their family house back. So many interesting things to like but I liked the shape of the windows in the tree house. Definitely a blissful place to read.

That American Viscountess is always popping up on programmes in England on TV...

Love this video!❤️❤️❤️

Loved this video . I feel like I went on an adventure.