Flat out to save old homes

'Finding someone like that is very difficult.' Although prices in the area have been rising fast over the past 18 months, property is still relatively cheap when compared to Manchester or Leeds.

The finances would be tight. It is likely that Clegg Hall could be converted into 12 flats, each with two bedrooms and, with similar flats in the area within unusual buildings going for £200,000, that would raise £2.4 million. In this circumstance, English Heritage would be likely to supply several hundred thousand, but this is not guaranteed.

If such a developer could be found and Clegg Hall saved, it would be a happy end to a miserable hundred years for the Grade II*-listed house.

The property originally had four floors, four or five large reception rooms, half-a-dozen bedrooms and enough room in the attic and basement for a small army of servants.

Constructed in 1618 for a local landowner and cotton trader, its steep gables, intricate exterior stonework and sturdy rectangular construction were built to impress.

Born during the agricultural age, Clegg Hall's blackened walls are covered in the soot from the industrial revolution, which began in the surrounding valleys of Lancashire and Yorkshire. But by the early 20th century the area's economic might had waned and Clegg Hall's owners moved out into more affordable accommodation, selling to a businessman who set up a pub in its lower floors.

That eventually closed down and, following a spell as a brothel, the building became vacant until World War II, when it was used to house evacuee families from Manchester, Leeds and London.

Even they didn't stay long. The house is said to have a ghost that scared away the evacuees with its nocturnal shrieks and howls. But a more likely story is that the city families, who were on their first visit to the countryside, were unnerved by the lowing of sheep, cows and deer. After that the house gently slid from a state of disrepair into dereliction.

After the roof fell in during the Sixties the rot really set in with shrubs taking hold all over the floor and walls.

More recently several fireplaces, exterior columns and stone porches have been stolen, hastening the property's demise.

One unique but long-gone feature of the house was an exterior wooden stairway that used to snake up one side of the building, connecting each of the floors.

This is a highly unusual feature seen only on a few other British historic houses, including the National Trust's Hardwick Hall in Derbyshire. But despite its poor condition the Pennine Trust is very keen to vet any developer who may come to their aid.

'The owner who donated the building to the Trust wanted Clegg Hall to be restored properly and today English Heritage takes the same line, so it won't be possible to cut corners,' says Fletcher. 'An unusual building like this attracts oddball characters and we've had to endure several time- wasters.'

But the Trust has put off several serious offers by insisting that the hall does not transfer to a new owner until the restoration has been completed to its satisfaction.

Despite this, it is urgently seeking a wealthy private property developer or a company with investment cash to spare to provide most of the cash.

But if someone were to step in, they would be restoring an immensely important piece of British architectural heritage despite the hole that would be burned in their pocket.

Pennine Heritage Trust, tel: 01422 844450. BBC2's Restoration series begins on Friday.