CHARLECOTE Park is hotly tipped for a prestigious award after revamping its old heating system.
The National Trust property near Stratford has spent the last 18-months carrying out conservation work for its Reservicing and Renewable Energy Project. And now the team has been nominated in the ‘Conservation and Regeneration’ category at the Constructing Excellence West Midlands awards.
Works included upgrading the Victorian heating system in the house and installing a new biomass boiler.
General manager Rebecca Watson said: “We’re thrilled to be nominated. It’s a huge achievement to be recognised alongside other prestigious projects. It means a lot to the team who have pulled out all the stops to stay open during the works.”
Matthew Glasgow, Building Surveyor for the project, continued: “The nomination recognises the high quality of work that’s taken place to reservice the historic Victorian heating system throughout the house and outbuildings. The work will help the team control the temperature conditions in each room to protect the collection from pests and mould.
“The team have worked hard to install the heating system in a way that respects and conserves the historic fabric. Ornate Victorian radiators have been repaired and reused and new replicas have been made where additional radiators were needed.”
A biomass boiler has also been installed as part of the work to help reduce reliance on oil and gas.
Matthew added: “The new biomass boiler links up to the reserviced Victorian heating system and is sympathetically hidden in one of the outbuildings. The wood pellets are sourced from off cuts from a UK based sawmill. The work will help us do our part in the fight against the climate crisis.”
The final winners of the awards will be announced in June.
To find out more about the conservation work at Charlecote visit https://www.nationaltrust.org.uk/charlecote-park
