This imposing four-storey house may have looked dirty and scruffy when the owners first clapped eyes on it in 1984 – the bathroom ceiling was in the bath and someone posing as a buyer had stolen the dining room fireplace – but it didn’t put them off.

“The wow factor that attracted us to the house was its elegance, style, proportions, original features, location and suitability for a growing family,” the owner says.

“I used to drive past these houses every day for several years and was always impressed with the front elevation, so when one came up for sale we were obviously interested.”

Built in 1897, when the ‘well off’ still had servants, you can still see some of the original buttons that used to call for service from ‘downstairs’ staff.

“It appears to have been an electrified system,” the owner says. “We still have the bell system that would have been in the lower ground floor where the servants cooked and did the laundry.

“The house had a quality that was hard to resist, although we knew it would be a big job. We had a builder in for about six weeks before we moved in, repairing the roof, replastering, replacing the bathroom ceiling and lead water pipes, and rewiring the house.”

Before they moved in, the couple got a reception room, bedroom, bathroom and kitchen habitable.

“The kitchen was quite a job because it was hand-built out of solid ash, with traditional mortise and tenon joints, and sycamore work surfaces. We laid a quarry tile floor and a few years later the original warming oven was renovated and is now used for storage of spices, pans and cake racks.”

With an interior that was predominately painted dark brown, there was quite a bit of paint stripping and decorating in the first few years.

All the sash windows have been re-corded and are in working order. A period fire surround was found at an auction to replace the one that was stolen.

To create more space, the dining room had a wide arched opening that had been created in the wall that originally formed a corridor from the kitchen to the rest of the house. “Unfortunately it had been badly done, but we improved it later when we laid a new oak floor in the dining room and hallway.”

It was five years before the couple did the front room, where the original fire surround had been replaced by a stone crazy paving effect that went nearly to the ceiling. This was removed and they found a fire surround similar in style to that in the dining room.

The original bathroom with a brown corner bath was reorganised, the bath replaced with a modern suite.

The attic was changed substantially. An old cast-iron bath was badly worn and took up too much space, so they reluctantly decided to get rid of it.

“It must have been hoisted up when the house was built. It weighed a ton and there was no way of getting it out in one piece, so it had to be smashed into smaller pieces,” the owner says.

The water tanks in the rear attic were moved to the top of the stairwell and boxed in with a new sloping ceiling that allowed the area to be split into a bedroom and second bathroom.

“My favourite room is the dining room because it is very spacious and light, with a big square bay window with stained glass above. The entrance porch is a close second, with its cut glass double doors into the house and original ceramic wall tiles, by Burmantoft we think, and extensive stained glass.

“We have sitting out areas both front and back which can catch any sun all through the day so the outside is used a lot.”

The outside toilet block was removed and the stone used to create a secluded sitting area, paved with stone flags and small walls built for planting. There’s a similar sitting area at the front.

“The path at the side of the house is made out of tiles that we made and kiln-fired, which took a lot longer than we thought, so when the path to the front gate needed doing we went for block paving.

“It is the right time for us to move and for a younger family to move in and enjoy the space that allows a family to live together without getting on top of each other.”

This property in Chellow Terrace, Chellow Dene, Bradford 9, is on the market for £249,950 with Your Move, Bradford, tel (01274) 733644, web www.your-move.co.uk