The Chapel was built in 1865 on land given to the Methodist church for the rent of one red rose per year. This can be read in the beautiful wax sealed calligraphy written deed documents on display inside. The Chapel is in a rural Oxfordshire idyll opposite a village Green which for those gazing out of the Chapel’s magnificent windows means lovely views of greenery and the chestnut tree. This scene is a constant indicator of the change of season; the leaves change colour, daffodils flower, children are seen collecting conkers or building snowmen and weary cyclists can be seen resting on the bench on their summer rides through the Cotswolds.
When the Chapel was bought from the Methodist Church in 2008 it hadn’t been used as a place of worship for over a decade and was only being used for the occasional coffee morning and had begun to fall into a state of neglect. With an enviable position on the village green in a prominent central village location; it really did deserve to be brought back to its best.
With a committed stance towards sustainability the process of carefully renovating and conserving the original architecture and best adapting the space for use as a private dwelling began in 2009. The goal was to build a modest two/three bedroom home that paid respect to the buildings historical narrative yet would showcase some cutting edge technology and architectural features. It was important that the design could be built almost entirely single handed requiring few subcontractors, and environmentally friendly products and reclaimed materials have been used wherever possible. Age old techniques have been used where sustainability credentials easily outweigh the downside of the extra length of time associated with using traditional methods.
On entering the Chapel one is welcomed by its spacious warm reception under seven meter high ceilings. It is full of natural light by day and computer controlled lighting means at night the lighting can be set to accommodate any mood. The windows are so tall one can view the clear night sky from indoors and there is no street lighting outside to hinder the clarity of the view of a star filled sky.
The fireplace is the heart of the home and in the Chapel this most certainly is true. It is a wood pellet stove and feeds the entire heating and hot water needs of the house, all based around the enjoyment of a real wood fire with all the convenience of a normal boiler. Not only does it ignite itself (set on a weekly timer) it will take care of itself entirely with the only contribution being the occasional top up of wood pellets in its hopper and a quick hoover out of the little ash it leaves behind. It burns the pellets so efficiently that even after an entire week the ash left is less than you could fit in a baked bean tin!
The heating system is very efficient. The fireplace itself puts 90% of the heat created into the underfloor heating which is set within a large concrete slab. Like a very large version of a storage heater, even after the fire has been off for several hours the floor still remains warm and the super insulated hot water tank means a hot shower is always instantly available. The Chapel’s central heating system is also good for the planet. The building itself is insulated to double the required level to satisfy building regulations and no fossil fuels are used to heat the Chapel. It is a balanced cycle because the carbon produced from burning the wood pellets is removed from the atmosphere the previous year when the tree the pellets are made from was growing.
One of joys is peeling off your shoes and socks and enjoying the feeling of warmth beneath your feet on the limestone floors. In the cold evenings it is so nice to sit in front of the glow of the real wood fire or head into the sauna followed by a drenching under the monsoon shower head in the wet room. There is a little bit of luxury and an attention to detail that is so pleasing to live amongst. Every opportunity was sought and utilised to maximise the space and functionality of this space, from the overall layout, the choice of fixtures and fittings, and also the hidden technology that is working silently in the back ground to make it all come together and create a luxury eco friendly modern home in a beautiful 150 year old building. - A rare treat to have the best of both worlds.
When the Chapel was bought from the Methodist Church in 2008 it hadn’t been used as a place of worship for over a decade and was only being used for the occasional coffee morning and had begun to fall into a state of neglect. With an enviable position on the village green in a prominent central village location; it really did deserve to be brought back to its best.
With a committed stance towards sustainability the process of carefully renovating and conserving the original architecture and best adapting the space for use as a private dwelling began in 2009. The goal was to build a modest two/three bedroom home that paid respect to the buildings historical narrative yet would showcase some cutting edge technology and architectural features. It was important that the design could be built almost entirely single handed requiring few subcontractors, and environmentally friendly products and reclaimed materials have been used wherever possible. Age old techniques have been used where sustainability credentials easily outweigh the downside of the extra length of time associated with using traditional methods.
On entering the Chapel one is welcomed by its spacious warm reception under seven meter high ceilings. It is full of natural light by day and computer controlled lighting means at night the lighting can be set to accommodate any mood. The windows are so tall one can view the clear night sky from indoors and there is no street lighting outside to hinder the clarity of the view of a star filled sky.
The fireplace is the heart of the home and in the Chapel this most certainly is true. It is a wood pellet stove and feeds the entire heating and hot water needs of the house, all based around the enjoyment of a real wood fire with all the convenience of a normal boiler. Not only does it ignite itself (set on a weekly timer) it will take care of itself entirely with the only contribution being the occasional top up of wood pellets in its hopper and a quick hoover out of the little ash it leaves behind. It burns the pellets so efficiently that even after an entire week the ash left is less than you could fit in a baked bean tin!
The heating system is very efficient. The fireplace itself puts 90% of the heat created into the underfloor heating which is set within a large concrete slab. Like a very large version of a storage heater, even after the fire has been off for several hours the floor still remains warm and the super insulated hot water tank means a hot shower is always instantly available. The Chapel’s central heating system is also good for the planet. The building itself is insulated to double the required level to satisfy building regulations and no fossil fuels are used to heat the Chapel. It is a balanced cycle because the carbon produced from burning the wood pellets is removed from the atmosphere the previous year when the tree the pellets are made from was growing.
One of joys is peeling off your shoes and socks and enjoying the feeling of warmth beneath your feet on the limestone floors. In the cold evenings it is so nice to sit in front of the glow of the real wood fire or head into the sauna followed by a drenching under the monsoon shower head in the wet room. There is a little bit of luxury and an attention to detail that is so pleasing to live amongst. Every opportunity was sought and utilised to maximise the space and functionality of this space, from the overall layout, the choice of fixtures and fittings, and also the hidden technology that is working silently in the back ground to make it all come together and create a luxury eco friendly modern home in a beautiful 150 year old building. - A rare treat to have the best of both worlds.
All photographs & content © Simon White 2013. All rights reserved.
