Work was also forced to stop for a full three months as a result of the coronavirus pandemic. On the show, Justin said that he began the project after he and his 'wonderful ex-wife separated'. The elegant living room is in the new extension. 'Oh, the thrill of catching a salmon,' he continues, cradling an imaginary one in his arms. Died on 29 Jul 1969. ", And another wrote: "I rarely post on here now as whatever I think [there are] always people with opposing and genuine views but #GrandDesigns wtf is a single parent spending millions on a ridiculously huge house. It wasn't just that he was planning to spend a fortune on converting the dilapidated Victorian Lodge ('ghastly concrete grouting!') But we struck a good balance of creating flow between rooms and making sure they are warm and cosy. Off we go, down to the 13-metre pool, where he has a daily swim of 100 laps before tea and toast with homemade raspberry jam; then into the wine cellar with its 'everyday bottles' on the racks and more serious grand cru clarets still being unpacked from their cases. Justin Maxwell-Stuart, 47, from London, bought an abandoned lodge and the adjoining ex-council toilet block in Fulham cemetery for 1.8 million in 2016, the Mirror reports. But as is often the case with these kinds of builds, time drags on, costs mount, and even a private gate into the cemetery becomes a problem. He also said that if he'd known the total sum of the project at the beginning, he never would have started it. He explained: "I thought, now my life is in turmoil and chaos, I now have the opportunity to do something off the beaten track. By clicking Sign up you confirm that your data has been entered correctly and you have read and agree to our Terms of use, Cookie policy and Privacy notice. Visit www.f. Following our socially distanced chat under the exploding acorns in the kitchen, Justin takes me on a tour of The Lodge, which he plans to rent out on short-term Airbnb-type lets once the world is back to normal. This account already exists. We use your sign-up to provide content in the ways you've consented to and improve our understanding of you. By clicking Accept all you agree that Yahoo and our partners will process your personal information, and use technologies such as cookies, to display personalised ads and content, for ad and content measurement, audience insights, and product development. At one point, The Lodge was propped up by steel girders as they excavated underneath for the pool, while Justin was terrified the build would be stopped if they unearthed human bones. The stone is a defining part of the build and despite the massive price tag, it was crucial as it would marry both parts together., Dark wood cabinets run from the kitchen into the dining area. As series 20 of the ever-soothing, ever-ambitious show begins, we learn that Grand Designs' latest builder/dreamer/victim has spent 1.8m on the warden's lodge in a Victorian cemetery and an. Instead, the projects where people have been doing it themselves, stockpiling materials, being really resourceful and changing halfway through when they realise they dont have enough plaster or the right cladding, theyre the projects that have come to fruition because people are being really clever.. 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, Incredible five-bedroom home The Curve, as featured on Grand Designs, on sale for 3.45million, Boy, 16, designs Covid Invaders arcade game to encourage vaccinations, Do not sell or share my personal information. Jeremy Clarkson shuts down claim hes been sacked from Who Wants To Be A Millionaire? 'If you didn't live in London, you will think what I spent is a ridiculous amount of money for a house. Justin Maxwell-Stuart, 47, from London, bought an abandoned lodge and the adjoining ex-council toilet block in Fulham cemetery for 1.8 million in 2016, the Mirror reports. Appearing on Channel 4's Grand. Justin, who is related to Mary Queen of Scots, drew inspiration from his family's 50-room mansion, Traquair House, which is Scotland's oldest inhabited house. McCloud explains that old money types are often asset-rich but cash-poor, and as the lodge project stretches on, and on, there is a real question of whether it will be completed at all, particularly when the owner keeps embellishing his plans. Justin Maxwell-Stuart spent four years and 4.5 million transforming a cemetery into his dream home. he says, with a shrug. The original 18-month timeframe more than doubled and the costs spiralled, but he has no regrets. 'We make the best flies in the world,' says Justin, who knows the lyrics to only one song Happy Birthday. Gretchen Trusted of Shake the Sky, is responsible for the stunning scheme. After dinner they had a cocktail in the downstairs bar and he gave Hideko a key to the safe he'd built into one of the York stone walls. The house is one of only three here, built on land released in the 60s when the cemetery's finances were precarious. And replacing the 1960s block with an extension for Justins ground-floor living spaces. But I've had enough peanuts and I don't even like peanuts anyway." Justin Maxwell-Stuart, 47, from London, bought an abandoned lodge and the adjoining ex-council toilet block in Fulham cemetery for 1.8 million in 2016, the Mirror reports. 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. Let us know in the comments below. Meanwhile, on the night they moved into The Lodge back in November, Justin asked Hideko to marry him. It was a chaotic period in my life, I signed my divorce papers and the contract for the house practically on the same day. We, Yahoo, are part of the Yahoo family of brands. It isnt exactly what his man is going to do the prospect of ripping up graves to build a baronial architectural masterpiece is a little much, even for Grand Designs but his man, former army captain Justin Maxwell Stuart, is quite happy to live next to a graveyard, and has a big plan to do so. For instance, its not just about having the pipework in the right place. 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. Hollyoaks pictures reveal major return, custody shock and exit. public service announcement: Grand Designs is back tonight. Ex-army captain Justin has a dream of transforming a home which is surrounded by graves, and loves the south west London cemetery lodge. Original reporting and incisive analysis, direct from the Guardian every morning. If you live one kilometre down the road, you will think it is bloody good value. 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 Genres Special Interest Subtitles English [CC] Audio languages A couple in Newhaven face a race against time as they build their dream home on a windswept cliff-top site in time for the birth of their baby. I tell people off. You can change your choices at any time by visiting your privacy controls. 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. Cant wait for the new series of @granddesigns @Kevin_McCloud. Demolishing the blocks and turning them into an extension, the project has even more issues as the property is surrounded by a grave site. You can now, I can be completely anonymous in a hat and a mask.. Photo: Jefferson Smith. Photo:Jefferson Smith, The question was if the extension should mirror the style of the stone-built lodge or whether it should be something different. 'The absolute thrill of achieving something by yourself. Read our, {{#verifyErrors}} {{message}} {{/verifyErrors}} {{^verifyErrors}} {{message}} {{/verifyErrors}}. Justin then plans to replace the adjoining blocks with a huge luxury extension on its ground floor, with a basement swimming pool and moat. Left to my own devices, I would probably have built the extension in a gothic style. Theyre not smaller in terms of vision at all because weve got some really exciting stuff but theyre not the really big almost commercially run things that we sometimes feature.. As wife Margretta yearns for a beautiful contemporary house, Andrew's focus is primarily on his . Although he admits: "I haven't quite worked out how to pay the end bill. I am used to living in old buildings because my family home in Scotland dates back 1,000 years, says Justin. But, I have watched enough episodes of Grand Designs to know this might not have worked. Schools in London face disruption as teachers stage strikes, Former Met acting commissioner described rape as regretful sex, Detectives hunting for Constance Martens baby find remains of infant, London Ambulance Service told to improve its ethnic diversity, Shocking moment moped narrowly misses 70mph train at level crossing, FTSE 100 Live: ITV, Taylor Wimpey and Flutter post results, What is the Willow Project? Have something to tell us about this article? 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. 'I did. What do you think youre doing? Every time I walk out that gate someone says hello or asks me how Thunder is. 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. The aim was to knock down the toilet block and replace it with a ground floor extension, a moat and a basement with a swimming pool. The large sliding glass rooflight over the kitchen and dining area transforms the space into an open courtyard. I was fighting in that corner the whole time., Brass pendants hang above the elegant dining table. Of course! Something went wrong, please try again later. As we were already halfway there, I decided we should go ahead because space is money, especially in London. To decorate and furnish a house that had two distinct sections the new wing with open spaces and the smaller lodge with original features. A series of gardens around an innovative property in Fulham Cemetery - the house is soon to be featured on Channel 4's Grand Designs. The basement den is a cosy space to watch TV and drink cocktails. Appearing on Channel 4's Grand Designs, dad-of-one Justin revealed his plans to transform the derelict land. Justin Maxwell Stuart had misgivings about appearing on Grand Designs, the popular Channel 4 show which features people pursuing their vision of a dream home by building it themselves. I fantasise about how many could be helped instead, Jackie Milton (@JaxMilton) January 6, 2021, Put on #GrandDesigns to try and take my mind off everything but all I am thinking is no one should have this amount of money. 'I was worried,' he says, 'that people would just think I was a posh twit spending money.'. It is simply not the Maxwell Stuart way, darling. The rafters have been painted white for a sense of spaciousness. Jan Moir for the Daily Mail It is amazing what you can achieve when you've got millions sluicing about in your sporran. James' mother was Mehitabel Wing, born March, 20, 1738, in Duchess County, N.Y. Glens Falls, N.Y., was once named Wing Falls after her . This amazing home was transformed on Grand Designs. . What, then, could go wrong? Grand Designs 2021: inside the new homes on the C4 series, You must be at least 18 years old to create an account, Must be at least 6 characters, include an upper and lower case character and a number, I would like to be emailed about offers, events and updates from Evening Standard. The blue upholstered chairs in the living room are from William Yeoward. get a bigger potential return on my investment. The work was painstakingly slow as well as costly. Photo: Jefferson Smith. So, to have the leaf motif and the blue greens running throughout the rooms creates a cohesive look throughout the house. But it appeared to. Im quite bad walking down the street now. Grand Designs returns! Ive never built a pool in a cemetery before, says one builder. rand Designs returns to our screens tonight for its 21st series just as we need it most. Fans on social media were beyond impressed with the outcome, as one said: "Bloody love #GrandDesigns and what an episode to start the new series. Oddly enough, when we are saying goodbye at the front door, local celebrities Clare Balding and Alice Arnold are strolling into the cemetery and beam in his direction while someone else shouts 'Hello Justin!'. That was mad, beautiful and very, very funny. We are given the impression that Maxwell Stuart has reached his absolute financial limit, yet there is no question of sacrificing the gargantuan chain-mail waterfall that sits alongside his basement swimming pool. MORE : Grand Designs returns with disaster as most surreal project yet is rocked by Covid, MORE : Grand Designs Kevin McCloud embraces telling people to back off to keep Covid compliant, Billie Shepherd and Sam Faiers call out b****y Phillip Schofield over This Morning behaviour. 'Yah, lovely acorns,' says Justin, admiring their dazzling lustre while giving the impression he can't remember how much they cost (4,000 each). The plan is to knock down the loos, build a new extension where they once sat and then extend the neo-gothic Grade II listed lodge by excavating a hefty amount of ground underneath it, constructing a huge mega-basement. Were having to deal with the real-time issues that people are encountering and that makes all of the stories a little rawer. What do you think of the revamped London pad? You can download it on Android here and Apple here. The house is in a graveyard on a busy London road but this room is so peaceful. What a great job that is! Further grand flourishes include a stone staircase leading down to the basement and a moat along one wall of the house. 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. A trip to Maxwell Stuarts 900-year-old ancestral home on the Scottish borders reveals why his ambitions are so grand. , updated Photo: Jefferson Smith. Appearing on Channel 4's Grand Designs, Justin Maxwell-Stuart revealed that if he'd known what the grand total of the project was at the beginning, he'd never had gone through with it. Enough episodes of Grand Designs, dad-of-one Justin revealed his plans to transform derelict... Dining table I walk out that gate someone says hello or asks me how Thunder is real-time... Pipework in the new extension so peaceful the revamped London pad to stop a. It on Android here and Apple here Justin asked Hideko to marry him anonymous in a gothic style and... 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