Conservation & Heritage Issue 50 Winter 2025/Spring 2026 - Flipbook - Page 67
Installing Underfloor
Heating in Historic
Churches: A Careful and
Considered Approach
In recent years, underfloor heating has become an increasingly popular and important
solution for historic churches seeking to balance comfort, sustainability, and conservation.
alternative by providing consistent warmth from below so
improving comfort while reducing fuel use.
Bakers of Danbury, Heritage Building Contractors
The challenge is considerable when working with centuriesold floors, memorial slabs, and sensitive archaeology which
must all be respected while at the same time delivering
modern heating performance.
However, in historic buildings, this is not as simple as laying
pipes and pouring concrete. Traditional floors in churches
often contain ledger stones, tomb markers, and layers of
archaeological material. Disturbing these features risks
damaging the very heritage that makes such places unique.
In listed buildings, permission for alterations is governed by
the Faculty Jurisdiction system, which requires proposals to
meet stringent conservation standards.
The recent restoration, reordering and heating project at St
Mary’s Church in Stebbing, Essex, carried out by Bakers
of Danbury Heritage Building Contractors, is a first-class
example of how these competing needs can be met.
Balancing Warmth and Heritage
In the case of St Mary’s Church, the project was undertaken
under Faculty approval (Petition No. 2023-091408) and
guided by a philosophy of reversibility and breathability, two
principles that now underpin best practice in church floor
renewal.
Churches are notoriously difficult buildings to heat.
Their large volumes, thick masonry, and intermittent
use make conventional heating systems both inefficient
and environmentally costly. Underfloor heating offers an
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