The Church of St. Nicholas dates from the early 11th Century and was extensively extended and remodelled in the 1840s by A.W.N. Pugin. A severe fire on Christmas Eve 2007 largely destroyed the Nave and North Aisle roofs and badly damaged the internal surfaces.
The damage gave the client the opportunity to upgrade the building with sustainable features for flexible and community uses. We followed a challenging brief to rebuild the listed church to serve the current and future demands of the parish and wider community without losing its historic identity.
We repaired and conserved as many of the fire-damaged elements as possible and provided modern facilities, including level access. A low energy under-floor heating system provides efficient energy use via an air source heat pump. When not in use, solar thermal panels maintain the inside temperature at 12°C which helps preserve the building fabric.