This remarkable Victorian home for sale has been treated to a hands-on restoration by historic house enthusiasts

Those features included the architraves, ceiling roses, cornicing, staircase and bell pushes, along with the original Lincrusta wallpaper, period fireplaces and much, much more.

What saved the property from being regularly updated was that it and the other houses in the row were built in the 1890s as rental properties for workers at Frank Colley's Maltings, now Molson Coors Brewery.

The last tenants had lived there well into their 90s and the Burtons were the first private owners. A perfectionist, Mick set about restoring and carefully modernising the five-bedroom property, including stripping every bit of woodwork that had been layered with paints from the previous 100 plus years.

After that he went round the whole house again to painstakingly paint it afresh. He also insisted on replacing the plastic central heating pipes with a new copper lagged system and invested in cast iron radiators.

“It took us 18 months to find someone who could install the copper pipes the old-fashioned way by bending them into position but it was worth the wait because he has done a proper job,” says Mick.

He and Rachel also bought new cast iron gutters and downpipes to replace the plastic ones and invested in new pine floorboards where needed and they restored all the original sash windows.

The Westmorland green slate roof and its leading has been checked and was described by the roofer as “a work of art”.

Among the graft and the expense of the project, there were some lucky finds, including some of the original brass jelly mould light switches, which had been chucked under the floorboards when the house was rewired by the brewery. “We were able to find a company to replicate them as new,” says Rachel.

They also managed to reinstate the old range in the kitchen after sourcing a Victorian N.E. Simplex. To ensure the look was authentic, they found a craftsman to create a sandstone surround just as it would’ve been.

“Someone had taken the range out and put a 1930s fire in but we managed to find a range at one of the UK’s top reclamation yards, Nostalgia in Stockport,” says Mick.

Period furniture was sourced from auctions and inspiration gained from their regular trips to the Beamish museum, near Darlington. The Burtons also invested in a new and budget busting Thomas Crapper sink and matching high level loo with a chain pull.

Yorkshire born Crapper, a plumber and astute businessman, found fame and fortune in late Victorian London after designing and manufacturing one of the first successful and super smart flush toilets. His brand was revived recently and www.thomas-crapper.com is now based in Huddersfield

“The wooden toilet seat alone was £750 but it looks so nice so we have no regrets. There is nothing else on the market to match it,” says Rachel.

The interiors are beautifully designed with carefully sourced period furniture and some modern touches, all of which blend beautifully with contemporary colour schemes.

The couple are selling the house to downsize and it is on the market for £485,000 with Wishart estate agents, tel: 01937 534474.

The property is set over four floors and includes two reception rooms, a newly-installed kitchen, five bedrooms, a bathroom, a separate toilet, outhouses and a keeping cellar.

The latter comes complete with wines from the 1960s, 70s and 80s, which the Burtons are leaving for the new owners, should they want it. “We will miss this lovely house but there are only three of us here now and it is too big for us,” says Mick.

The couple intend to stay in Tadcaster, which is attracting more attention from buyers outside the area, particularly those priced out of York.

They like what they discover as Tadcaster, best known for its breweries, including Samuel Smith’s, John Smith’s, Molson Coors and the Tower, is full of character with house prices starting at £175,000 for a two-bedroom terrace and £230,000 for a semi.

It also has good schools, independent shops, a supermarket, swimming pool, leisure centre and sports clubs plus you can get onto the A64 and the A1 in minutes

Jenny Cairns of Wishart estate agents in Tadcaster, says: “It has been a bit of a hidden gem but that has started to change.