It's always sad to see a beautiful old building left to languish and another slice of history disintegrate into dust. So, we wanted to bring you some good news stories. Here, you’ll find a collection of mansions, castles and historic homes that seemed beyond the brink of rescue. Happily, their fortunes were reversed and they were restored to their former glory for future generations to enjoy.

Click or scroll on to take a look at these incredible residences brought back to life...

Around 1822, entrepreneur and businessman William Parks emigrated to New Brunswick, Canada. A prominent figure within the Irish-Presbyterian community in Saint John, Parks built a two-storey Gothic Revival property in the city in 1856. Made of locally quarried stone, the house was given the name Clifden Terrace.

While Mother Nature began to reclaim the exterior in more recent years, the home's grand proportions and imposing exterior are still clear to see in this image. 

Featuring a layout typical of most cottages built at this time, the interior includes double parlours on the main floor, along with a grand library and dining room. While Clifden Terrace did not have gas lighting originally, there was indoor plumbing, a relative luxury in those days, and the copper tub and marble wash basin reportedly remain in situ at the property.

Following Parks' death in 1870, the property stayed in the family until 1955, when it was sold at auction. Over the following decades, time took its toll on the home, until it was sensitively restored and opened to guests in 2021.

Now known as Clifden Manor, the former residence of William Parks has undergone extensive renovations to carefully restore the historic building back to its former glory. 

Now hosting seven beautifully appointed bedrooms, an old listing for the property describes the Irish manor-style home as “meticulously modernised for today’s lifestyle" while maintaining the "original beauty of fine craftsmanship”. It's currently run as a boutique bed and breakfast, offering visitors a luxurious base in Saint John. 

The 1850s stately sandstone home still boasts its impressive marble hall with trompe l’oeil detailing and gold leaf embellished cornicing and mouldings.

Contents of the 1955 auction were said to contain “one of the largest collections of old mahogany, silver, china and glass”, Napoleon beds, Georgian armchairs and one of Canada’s rarest stamps, according to property records.

While the home has seen many changes over the centuries, the historic spirit and elegance of Clifden Terrace have been meticulously preserved across its stunning 7,500 square feet of living space. 

Throughout the stunning renovated residence, you’ll find towering ceilings, an array of glittering chandeliers, nine fireplaces, a large kitchen and dedicated workspaces. 

What’s more, the heritage house still boasts one of its most interesting features that guests can enjoy today – the central belvedere viewing gallery, which was a feature of the earlier Regency style.

If you want to experience this beautifully restored piece of Canadian history for yourself, you can also find Clifden Manor on Airbnb. 

Even while being swallowed by nature, the ruins of this incredible mansion remain imposing.

Built in 1902 after an earlier structure burned down, banker Elijah B. White commissioned architects Noland and Baskervill to design this magnificent Colonial Revival home in Leesburg, Virginia. A trendsetter, it was one of the first of this style in the area, featuring a grand tetrastyle Roman Doric portico, plus a regal triangular pediment.

Although dilapidated, you can see the bones of a luxurious interior in the elegant wood-panelled entrance hall, created by artisan wood carvers the Norris Brothers of Leesburg.

A beacon of glamour and style, the house featured on the society pages of glossy magazines during its 1920s heyday, with the White family entertaining political elites within its walls.

The property stayed in the White family until 1970, before passing to the Epperson family, who cared for Selma for almost 30 years. But when it was sold to an overseas investor, the property began to decay.

By 2007, the house had been empty for 16 years and was regularly invaded by vandals and ghost hunters. It was placed on the Most Endangered Historic Places list by Preservation Virginia. 

But Selma Mansion eventually got her happy ending thanks to business leader and history buff Sharon Virts and her husband, who overhauled the house. The peeling white stucco over the brickwork has been restored, as has the grand staircase leading up to the portico. Magnificent symmetry is revealed with the end chimneys framing the hipped roof. 

Look at the transformation inside too! After an impressive renovation, the home is a regal residence once more.

In this hallway, a neutral paint scheme allows the curved archways to shine. The regal residence is certainly big enough to host plenty of guests, with nine bedrooms, seven bathrooms, racehorse stables and even an intercom system. 

While the mansion's old pool was uncovered at the front of the property, it was in too poor a state to salvage, so it was relocated to the rear of the house.

The Virts family bought Selma for £958,000 ($1.2m) and used old architectural blueprints for the restoration to ensure the project stayed faithful to the original design. It reportedly took two years and £4 million ($5m) to renovate the grand old house. What an amazing achievement!

Rockwell House in Milledgeville, Georgia was hidden away by overgrown shrubbery and slowly decaying after 70 years of neglect. It was an awful fate for this beautiful house, designed in 1838 by architect Joseph Lane and photographed here by Leland Kent of Abandoned Southeast.

Once the epitome of grandeur, it was constructed for Colonel Samuel Rockwell in the neoclassical Federal style with Greek Revival elements.

Over the decades, the house was scorched by fire and ravaged by water damage. You can see how bad the deterioration was in this picture of the master bedroom.

The old house very nearly didn’t survive the 1970s, as a local man wanted to buy the mansion and strip it of the remaining fine interior details. Luckily, it was added to the National Register of Historic Places in 1978 so the pillaging was prevented, but the property continued to crumble.

Turning around the fortune of this southern belle, investors Ross Sheppard, Jacob Hawkins and Will Walker bought the abandoned mansion for a bargain £255,000 ($319.5k) in 2019. The trio are Georgia locals with a passion for historic houses – in fact, Sheppard is a realtor specialising in historic home preservation.

The team initially returned the home's exterior to its original sunny yellow hue, however, it's since been painted a crisp white. The steep steps and imposing Ionic columns were also painstakingly restored.

The renovated sitting room has been sympathetically restored too, with a careful emphasis on retaining all the original features, including the fabulous tall sash windows.

Soft light blue walls beautifully showcase the white woodwork, including the intricately carved surround that frames the doorway. The impressive overhaul has definitely succeeded in preserving the historic spirit of the space.

This is the badly damaged master bedroom – totally transformed! Local mason Mr Woodrow helped restore the ruined room, conserving the fine cornicing over the sash windows. The team also had the help of property conservation expert Kyle Campbell from Preservation South.

Following the renovation, the house was rented out to holidaymakers and marketed as a wedding venue. However, the mansion was listed for sale at the end of 2023 and changed hands in March 2024, according to Zillow's property records. Who knows what the future holds for this historic beauty?

This North Carolina manor was a sorry sight, having stood empty for about 40 years. The Page Mansion is a huge 6,000-square-foot Colonial-style brick house designed in 1913 for timber tycoon Frank Page. It has a huge staircase, parlours and dining rooms, six bedrooms, plus servants’ quarters. But its original owners were crushed by the Great Depression and the mansion began to moulder.

The house was an eerie tableau – pictured here in the dining room, crumbling walls surrounded a dining table still set with fine glassware.

However, the home's next chapter was just around the corner. The Page Mansion’s salvation came in the form of Abby and Trey Brothers. Abby stumbled across the home by chance listed on Zillow in April 2018 while house-hunting. The couple took the plunge and bought the property in July 2018 for £124,000 ($155k).

The pair tackled the ambitious renovation project with gusto. They opted for a modern layout, knocking down interior walls to create a free-flowing dining room and kitchen. Despite the change to the downstairs floor plan, the dining room retains its traditional look and original features, such as the grand fireplace and large sash windows. 

Previously, the study was smothered under a thick layer of grime. Following the couple's overhaul, it's unrecognisable. The feature wall now looks stunning, with striking ochre paint and built-in cabinetry framing the fireplace. The shelving also conceals the home's new plumbing and air conditioning units, while the recessed ceiling hides unsightly pipework.

Originally filled with rubble and debris, you could hardly step inside the master bedroom let alone sleep in it! But after Abby and Trey worked their magic, it now looks like a haven of relaxation.

Despite serious setbacks, including flooding caused by a hurricane, the couple have successfully turned this shell of a building into a family home steeped in historic charm. Follow their journey on Instagram and Facebook.

In its heyday, this mid-century home in Birmingham, Alabama was the height of 1960s modern design, with wide horizontal planes used to create a spacious interior. Embracing the tenets of organic architecture, the house celebrates its picturesque location with huge windows and a palette of natural materials.

Photographed here by Leland Kent of Abandoned Southeast, the home's architect, John Randal McDonald, aimed to build affordable, informal living spaces for families. 

Once a beloved family home, it fell into disrepair after the owner died. Yet even in this rundown state, you can see the architect’s vision of open-plan living filled with light and space.

McDonald’s buildings were more affordable versions of visionary architect Frank Lloyd Wright’s work. McDonald's designs included jutting rooflines, repeating rectangles, ribbon windows and horizontal lines, but without the expensive masonry, glasswork or costly carpentry of Wright.

Happily, the two-bedroom home was rescued from ruin by local investors who spotted its potential. Despite being built in 1960, the house still looks ultra-modern today, with the exterior featuring restored window panes and a manicured lawn with shrubs. The whole property was brought up to 2019 energy codes, with updated electrics, plumbing and a septic tank.

Staying true to McDonald's vision, this super-relaxing living room cocoons you in natural materials and exposed brickwork. The green paint and vast windows add to the indoor-outdoor effect. A scoop rocking chair made from wooden slats completes the look.

Featuring a 1,500-square-foot floor plan, the renovated house has an open living area, two bedrooms, two bathrooms, a family den, a walk-in closet and a pantry.

Dark wood gives this stylish master bedroom a distinctive look. The low ceilings are cosy and the artwork at the far end creates a playful illusion of a forest just beyond the wall. Meanwhile, the clever use of downlights and table lamps adds atmosphere without the need for a central light fixture.

The restoration carefully retained McDonald’s original vision for the house, while updating the residence for modern living. No wonder it was snapped up, selling for £180,000 ($225k). 

A Victorian beauty left to decay for decades caught the eye of dedicated historic house restorers Kevin and Laine Berry. Having admired the property in her hometown of Conway, Arkansas for years, it was a childhood dream fulfilled for Laine when the couple purchased the house for £85,000 ($106k) in 2011.

However, it was far from a straightforward renovation. After about 70 years of neglect, the house was marked for demolition, plagued by termite damage and dry rot in the foundations.

Having renovated 20 heritage homes, Kevin and Laine have a talent for bringing fixer-uppers back to life. But this one was quite the challenge. Pictured here, original period features were missing from the living room, with ugly wood slats and ceiling tiles covering the home's natural charm.

Still, the couple was enamoured by the residence's history. While the home was built in 1909, the original owner evidently had a change of heart about its location. In 1925, the house was lifted off its foundations, placed on logs and pulled by mules across the block to be rotated 180 degrees into its final position.

While not quite akin to moving the house down the block, the couple's first repair was lifting the whole structure so that the rotten foundations beneath the property could be remedied. 

As you can see from the renovated cornflower-blue exterior, all the blood, sweat and tears were worth it. But it didn’t come cheap – the first 16 months of the huge project cost an estimated £96,000 ($120.5k). 

The old house was full of hidden surprises. The couple discovered 12-foot ceilings disguised under panelling, plus original eight-foot pocket doors hidden in the garage and a fine kitchen sink in a garbage pile. 

Pictured here, the dining room is now grand and palatial with the original floor-to-ceiling windows restored. Framed embroidered waistcoats are displayed on the walls, along with a cabinet full of Laine’s grandmother’s china to add an authentic historic feel to the interior.

The entire back wall of this bedroom was infested by termites and had to be remodelled. Now, it features a dreamy colour scheme accented by intriguing antiques, such as the vintage trunks by the bed. 

Elsewhere, a durable paint designed for saltwater boats has been used on the floor throughout the house so the couple’s rescue dogs can run around without ruining the finish.

Laine and Kevin are busy restoring several other historic properties, but they’ve made this charming house their home.

A derelict castle with an intriguing history was the perfect property project for enterprising renovators Dick and Angel Strawbridge. The couple documented their restoration journey on hit TV series Escape to the Château.

Located in the town of Martigné-sur-Mayenne in France, Dick and Angel snapped the 19th-century castle up for a very reasonable £350,000 ($439k) after tax. However, while the exterior of this neo-Renaissance building looks fairly well preserved, the interior was another story…

With crumbling walls, a leaky roof, no heating, water, electricity or sewerage system, it was a massive job. But you can see the potential in this dilapidated room with its high ceiling, tall windows and vintage fire surround, all waiting to be restored.

Relishing the challenge, Dick, a former lieutenant colonel in the army, restored the ceilings, walls and floors in the dining room, kitchen and main bedroom himself. Impressive!

Dominated by a splendid Palladian window, this renovated informal seating area looks super-inviting. It’s a clever idea to transform a redundant space at the top of a staircase into a functional living area.

Angel was in charge of the interior design, adding quirky décor and luxurious fabrics for a wonderfully characterful style. She also created many of the home's finishes herself, including printing tiles and wallpaper to save money.

Here’s Angel’s renovated crafting room inside the dreamy castle, where she creates handmade accessories and home furnishings.

From 1406, the building was a fort belonging to the Husson family. The current exterior is from the 19th century when it was redesigned in the style of a grand residence with two large towers, a square moat, 47 rooms, an orangery, a stable block, a walled garden and 12 acres of parkland.

A compact guest bedroom in one of the towers benefits from lots of light from multiple windows thanks to the angular shape of the room. The floor-length sweeping curtains add drama to this visually interesting space.

After five years of renovation, the château is now the couple’s family home as well as a successful wedding venue. You can follow their journey here.

This Romanesque Revival-style brick mansion in the historic Lakeshore District of Evanston, Illinois was once shrouded in dense overgrowth.

Built by Swedish architect Lawrence Gustav Hallberg in 1901, the property has a distinctive round tower, thick walls and a colonnaded porch. It was later bought by Oscar G. Mayer in 1927, son of meat-packing millionaire Oscar F. Mayer.

In 2015, the house was listed for sale for £877,000 ($1.1m) but under very different circumstances from its previous grandeur. By that point, it had stood empty and decaying for 10 years – and according to local rumours, it was haunted...

Still, the home's potential is clear from this listing image by @properties, which was taken at the time of its sale. Just look at those stained-glass windows that frame the entrance!

The 7,400-square-foot house was bought by real estate attorney Scott Hargadon and business partner, James Kastenholz, who planned to save the property and preserve its historic features.

With the greenery cut back, you can now see the portico wonderfully restored and the intriguing curved shape of the building is fully revealed.

The renovation reportedly cost more than £798,000 ($1m) and involved fixing the house foundations, patching up the roof and plumbing and repairing the stained-glass windows.

Previous owner Oscar G. Mayer died in 1965 leaving a legacy of $66 million (£57m), or £515 million ($645m) in today's money – most of which went to a charitable trust.

The property’s stunning original woodwork was carefully preserved by the renovators. Notice the extremely fine arched arcades over the fireplace, echoed on the dramatically twisting staircase. These arches are typical of the Romanesque Revival style, which takes inspiration from the architecture of medieval Europe. 

Comfortable, modern furnishings integrate seamlessly into the old interior of this open-plan living room. Note the finely carved original fireplace surround and the original hardwood floors.

The huge rooms are spread over three floors, including six bedrooms, five bathrooms, a chef’s kitchen with a walk-in pantry, a music room, a games room, a panelled library and a ballroom. 

The revitalised property sold via Baird and Warner for £1.4 million ($1.7m) in 2018. Now a new family gets to enjoy this marvellous old mansion.

Renovating a rundown 16th-century fortress was no small task for married couple Stef Burgeon and Simon Hunt. Kilmartin Castle on the beautiful west coast of Scotland in Argyll & Bute is a Z-plan tower house consisting of a main three-storey block, with projecting round towers at opposite corners.

The couple fell in love with Scotland during a holiday there. So, when Steph spotted a listing for a Scottish castle for £375,000 ($470k), they decided to take a chance.

During the renovation, the pair came across damp patches on the ground floor, leaving them no option but to lift the original flagstone tiles to investigate. Here you can see Simon in the midst of the task, which took a whopping eight weeks. They discovered leaking fertiliser bags under the floor which had been used as a makeshift solution to stop the damp. On a builder's advice, they had to dig down a foot to install modern insulation and underfloor heating, before relaying the floor.

Thankfully, the formerly derlict fortress is very cosy now!

Look how the cave-like stone walls have been integrated into the beautiful new kitchen while preserving the property’s character. You can see how the massive original fireplace has been turned into a seating booth, featuring a table and benches reclaimed from an old pub. The kitchen has a central island with two ovens and an ingenious herb garden suspended from the ceiling.

Meanwhile, fire-safe doors for the castle's main entrance were made by Broadleaf Timber, the company that created the castle doors at Disneyland Paris.

Original stonework left exposed around the windows and fireplace in the living room turns the 500-year-old thick stone walls into decorative elements. Beautiful wooden ceiling beams retain the old building’s character.

It’s thought the castle was home to John Carswell, a prominent Protestant reformer during the reign of Mary Queen of Scots. It was later held by the Campbell Clan for about 200 years.

The overhaul is remarkable given the scale of the project. The upper floor of the castle had mouldering carpet throughout – even in the single bathroom that served the whole building. Luckily, the floorboards were good underneath and these have been beautifully restored. 

The dialogue of old and new is showcased in this renovated bedroom, which features the original stonework peeking out from beneath lime plasterwork. Heritage-design fabrics on the headboard and throw give the room an old-world feel without overpowering the compact space.

After seven years of hard work, Stef and Simon successfully transformed this 500-year-old fortress into a luxury boutique hotel. 

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