‘Our beautiful historic home was definitely a labour of love’
PROJECT HAS TAKEN YEARS OF HARD WORK AND A LOT OF MONEY
SIMON Kelsey and his partner Catherine took on the huge project of transforming their house in Coltman Street about six-and-a-half years ago.
They bought the house from Hull City Council and, at the time, it had been derelict for about 12 years and was set out as five flats.
Since then, the couple have got married, had two sons, Noah and Elijah, and have made the house a home again.
The early Victorian townhouse was built in 1853 and was the former home of fishing magnate and philanthropist Christopher Pickering and, from 1921 to 1970, was the Hull Children’s Clinic.
The couple have recently opened the house up to Airbnb too, and have already taken in about a dozen guests. But it has taken a long time to get to that point.
“We got the house about six-and-a-half years ago and it was five derelict flats and we have been working at it ever since, turning it back into a house. Now we are married with kids, it’s a family home,” Mr Kelsey said.
“When we got it, it was a mess. It had been derelict for 12 years. It was five derelict flats, empty rooms, broken stuff everywhere. It had been robbed of all its copper and wire. It took us six months just to strip it out.”
Although it looks impressive today, it has been a long, and often tough, journey.
“We were lucky, when we started we got a heritage grant for the windows and for the railings but a lot of it we have done ourselves, of course, when the money ran out we did it all ourselves,” Mr Kelsey said.
“It has been pretty hard. We started in a tent, we had to live outside for a few months.
“But the worst was about two years ago when we thought we’d almost finished and we had a leak in the attic and half the house went back to brick. It went right through the house and it was a nightmare.”
The couple wanted to take the house back to what it would have been like 100 or more years ago.
“The first thing we had to do was take it back almost to brick and then find out what it used to look like,” Mr Kelsey said. “So what we have tried to do is turn it back into the house it would have been recognisable as 100 or 170 years ago.
“We are happy that it is a beautiful house but it’s never ending. It’s never finished and you are never satisfied.”
Mr Kelsey says it is only recently that he has felt confident to open the house up for guests to stay. He is renting out three rooms, costing £29 each per night or £44 for a couple, including breakfast.
“We thought it was enough like a house about a month ago and that is why we opened our spare rooms as Airbnb,” he said.
Mr Kelsey says the amount he has spent on the house is probably around £250,000. And he says giving up was never an option.
“We have spent more money on it than it’s ever worth so there was never any turning back,” he said. “We both signed up for this and we have stuck with it, but it’s a beautiful house.
“It’s been harder than we hoped for, it’s taken a lot longer and, of course, we spent a lot more money than we’d ever imagined.”
Mr Kelsey, who previously appeared on Restoration Home, presented by Caroline Quentin, says the house has a fascinating history.
“We did a TV show a few years ago and they raised up a lot of interesting stuff,” he said.
Speaking of his experience on the programme, Mr Kelsey said: “They came every week or two and spent a day filming.
“Every now and again, Caroline Quentin would come at strategic moments with a big team of people and a PA and a director.
“It was nice having them along. It meant it took a bit longer because you end up starting every room just so they have something to film, but otherwise it was a nice experience.”