A 149-year old, formerly derelict church in Hexham, Northumberland has achieved Passivhaus standard – thought to be the first building of its type to do so. The original church construction was funded by Sir George Barclay Bruce, an engineer accredited with being the first to envisage renewable electricity.
Warksburn Old Church has featured in the Derelict Rescue TV series and was introduced by its owner as a Keynote Project at Oxford’s Passivhaus Conference in September 2024.
The former Presbyterian church had been a decayed and damp, empty Victorian building but has been transformed into an ultra energy efficient home that now generates more energy than it consumes.
The Passivhaus standard demands high energy efficiency, insulation and airtightness, yet Warksburn Old Church retains its stained glass windows, feature timber roof trusses and other historic features, including ten metre high ceilings. The property has a high level of airtightness with a mechanical ventilation system with heat recovery (MVHR), highly insulated floors, walls and roof and energy efficient windows and doors. EV charge points and full fibre internet further contribute to the modern features of the property.
The building’s owners, Dr Anne James and Dr Alan James, conceived and managed the project. The couple spent £1 million on the retrofit over a one year period, which was completed in 2024. It is now a holiday home for up to six people, that champions the Passivhaus movement and anyone interested in retrofitting their own property can book a stay. Anne and Alan also offer a Passivhaus “informed client” advisory service to those considering a Passivhaus (or low energy) retrofit of their own property.
What is a Passivehaus?
A passive house is built to a rigorous standard designed to ensure the building’s carbon footprint is as small as possible. This includes super-insulation, heat recovery ventilation systems and controlled rates of air infiltration.
Passive houses can be certified as such through an exacting quality assurance process, to show that they meet the building standards set out by the Passivhaus Institut in Germany. To meet the requirements, the house must consume less than 15 kilowatt-hours (kWh) of electricity per square metre in a year, for all its heating and cooling. The total energy consumption for all household heat, hot water and electricity must not exceed 120 kWh per square meter annually.