The restoration of Shilstone began in 1997 when the site was purchased by Sebastian Fenwick. The initial work was on the surrounding dilapidated farm buildings, converting these into offices, workshops and cottages. The hedgerows were restored and relayed, new banks shored up, and the overgrown valley with its rare and lovely water theatre and grotto, were unveiled and revealed to their former glory, showing the valley woven with stone lined rills and leets, and the series of ponds connected with cascades of water.

The house, which had formerly been important, had been much reduced in size, and was at this point a rather nondescript farmhouse, sitting at the top of the valley above the grotto. After much research the architectural historian Christopher Rae-Scott, on the recommendation of English Heritage, produced detailed drawings of the design for a new house, on the footprint of the earlier house, and based on what evidence we were able to gather. It is built around a lovely internal courtyard, filled with flowers, and the style of it appears to evolve from 1620 in the magnificent oak-panelled, plaster-ceilinged drawing room, to 1680 in the charming upstairs gallery with internal windows looking down into the drawing room below and to the courtyard, through to 1720, in the south and east sides of the house. English Heritage were very supportive of our plans. The stone for the new house was quarried from a quarry on the land, which was blasted with dynamite to produce the stone, and this was then cut by one man, Richard Daly, over a period of seven years. The fine interior of the house was created by Steve Lovegrove and Tom Shute to the design of Kit Rae-Scott, with exceptionally fine panelling and woodwork throughout. All the materials used, where possible, were locally sourced, and the same dedicated team worked on the project throughout, and still continue to do so today, managed by the Fenwicks.

There was no garden, and this has been planned and planted from scratch, to the design of Lucy Fenwick. The walled garden was there, but very dilapidated, and had to be essentially rebuilt. The ten ton granite cider press which was already at Shilstone, was moved with great difficulty to its position in the walled garden, and is now a delightful fountain with Triton in its centre holding a shell from which the water cascades. Lucy is very keen on wildflowers, and long grasses, and is working on increasing the unmown areas to encourage the native wildflowers to establish themselves. This is a slow process, but the number of specimens increases each year, and last year (2023) saw a record number of wild orchids. The knock on effect of this is greater diversity of wildlife, especially the insects and birds.