After 22 weeks of restoration work, a section of the floor in Bath Abbey’s North aisle has been successfully repaired saving it from eventual collapse.
This section of the floor has also been fitted with underfloor heating pipes that, as part of the Abbey’s long-term Footprint project, will be fuelled using Bath’s famous thermal water.
The new heating will be carefully monitored for the next 12 months in order to measure its effectiveness with different floor surfaces. Two-thirds of the floor in the trial area will be recovered with the original ledger stones while the final third will be covered in new stone.
Once the trial is completed, the Abbey will use the findings and methodologies to repair the whole of the Abbey’s floor and to install underfloor heating throughout.
This will provide a sustainable and environmentally friendly solution to the Abbey’s long-term heating needs, thanks to a partnership with Bath & North East Somerset Council to power it using the hot water which flows from the Roman Baths next door.
Charles Curnock, Footprint Project Director at Bath Abbey, said: “The floor trial work in the North aisle is imperative as we need to repair the collapsing floor. At the same time, having already identified the need to replace the present Victorian heating system with a greener, more cost effective solution, the opportunity to install under floor heating was too good to miss.
“While the more observant among our visitors and worshippers might spot the discrepancy where the new floor meets the old, the really exciting bits will all be happening underneath! What makes it even more remarkable is the thought that in just a few years’ time the Abbey will be heated by Bath’s great natural resource – the thermal water which currently runs out unused into the river.”
The North aisle floor trial has been funded by the Coles-Medlock Foundation and Brian and Margaret Roper, and is a significant step forward for the Abbey’s Footprint project.
The £18 million project aims to transform the Abbey, repair the floor, install underfloor heating using the energy from the thermal baths and create 200 square metres of additional space and facilities in order to meet the needs of the community and to enhance the Abbey’s service to the city.
