A whole bunch of trouble! How did TV Ruth Watson stop this family’s Cornish mansion from falling apart? With drastic actions – and very heavy love …
Georgina Le Grice is no stranger to horror stories, thanks to her work as a London-based literary agent. But she never expected to be in one, at her family’s Cornish mansion, Trereife House. The picturesque 18th century property was falling apart and there was no money to save it.
“I moved to Trereife House when I was only two,” says Georgina, 24, “and my elderly grandmother moved out. There were 80 acres of land, 14 rooms and six huge, ornate bedrooms. We never had heating and I went to bed in the winter on layers of clothes and two blankets. But I didn’t mind because I loved the house.
From a young age, Georgina knew that she and her younger brother Peter, 23, were heirs to a mansion with a remarkable history. The house has been home to the Le Gris family since 1798.
Savior: Ruth Watson at Trereife House in Penzance with Tim, Peter, Georgina and Elizabeth Le Grice
But generation after generation has been hit by crippling death tolls and running costs.
In 1982, he was succeeded by Georgina’s father, Tim, who ran a law firm. He moved his wife Liz and their two children a few years later.
With a running cost of £ 40,000 a year, Tim, now 68, is pouring money into a series of projects that prove disastrous. A theme park for gypsy caravans, a zoo and a restaurant failed to thrive and instead accumulated significant debts.
Early last year, the house – and the family – struggled to stay afloat.
Then Georgina, whose career as a literary agent in London flourished, realized how bad things were. She says: “I wanted to help, but I didn’t know where to turn. I had seen Country House Rescue before and hoped Ruth Watson could give us some answers.
But can Ruth, a millionaire hotelier and businesswoman who does what Gordon Ramsey does to decaying country heaps with decaying restaurants, save the family home?
The first meeting last May was a disaster.
Beautiful B&B: With a running cost of £ 40,000 a year to meet, Le Grices had to turn his home into a hotel
After inspecting the house, Ruth gave the family her assessment. She offered a large bed and breakfast business, but when Georgina Liz’s mother, 62, was reluctant to help, Ruth was not happy. Georgina recalls: “Ruth offered her mother to quit her job as a librarian to run a B&B.
Mom objected and said she wasn’t home. Then Ruth replied, “I see it in the way you maintain your house.” Mom held him while the cameras filmed, but then he burst into tears. I felt absolutely awful.
But Ruth believes difficult words are needed.
She says: “I found the house in a state of complete destruction. There were holes in the roof, damp everywhere, damaged plasterboard cornices and trees growing in the middle of the outbuildings.
In that state, Georgina and her brother had to inherit a pile of garbage.
She set the family tasks: to prepare four of the bedrooms for paying guests; explore the possibility of renting luxury yurts for high-quality camping in the fenced garden; and organize a literary event bringing visitors to the mansion.
Before Ruth came to help me, I was so desperate that I bought 60 cards with an eraser in the hope of a miracle to save my family home. I didn’t win a penny
“In the end, the bed and breakfast attempt was successful,” says Georgina, “as guests said they liked the house and camped on site. We knew there was potential, but Ruth wanted me to quit my job in London and move to Cornwall. At the same time, I was offered a raise – and I felt completely torn.
Ruth offered to dedicate two years of her life to starting a B&B, and Georgina agreed.
Renovation work began, with the family plowing every penny they could set aside to repair the roof and make the four bedrooms suitable for paying guests. “Until my last visit in October,” says Ruth, “I was happy that some progress had been made – but I didn’t know how far the family would go to run their business.”
Four months later, Georgina is finally the lady of her estate while still hanging out with her career. She arrives in Cornwall at 11pm every Friday and catches the train at 5am to London on Monday. This is a punitive regime, but one that breathes life into the family estate.
Weddings are a thriving business, and the bed and breakfast rooms are doing well.
Georgina says: “Before Ruth came to help us, I was so desperate that I bought 60 lottery scratch cards in the hope of a miracle to save my family home. I didn’t win a penny.
Now, thanks to Ruth, we have prepared the house for a prosperous future.
Rescue House, 21:00, Sunday, Channel 4.