Creating parish rooms fit for purpose

Westwood is a thriving community of around 1,100 souls in Wiltshire. The Parish Rooms are at the heart of village life, hosting a range of activities and events.

Throughout the year from yoga to art groups, choirs and regular village lunches, and the rooms are also available for hire for family and other events and are often the first place people think of when planning a birthday, wedding, or anniversary celebration.

The beautiful stone building was built sometime after the main parish church, which was completed in the 15th century. It’s a much-loved feature of village life, but like all older buildings has a range of challenges when it comes to ensuring it’s comfortable for everyday use.

To improve the heating and energy efficiency of the building and eliminate draughts, our team was asked to install secondary glazing. Each window had to be carefully templated and measured to ensure the secondary glazing units fit the tall slim windows perfectly. Consideration also needed to be given to the distinctive arched tops.

The team installed 12 shaped slimline units and 3 slimline units, all in a bespoke dark grey colour to fit the stone window surrounds. This was chosen to accentuate the elegance and beauty of the original windows and complements the honey stone perfectly.

Mitchell Reece completed the surveying and detailed templating of the window, and Oliver and Luke Parker teamed up to complete the installation. The custodians of the Westwood Parish Rooms expressed their appreciation for what was achieved, helping to ensure that the users of the building can enjoy draught-free activities whatever the time of year.

The Parish Rooms, Westwood have added to our experience of working with windows at churches and church buildings, with units also installed at Bishop Hannington in Hove, All Saints Church in Hawkshurt, Capel Nant near Abersoch, Kingswood Meeting House, Hollywood Birmingham, Ampleforth Monastery and Faith House in Westminster.

Ecclesiastical buildings can pose unique challenges due to the size of the windows, with highly accurate measurements and careful templates needing to be created. They are often long and thin, and you need a good head for heights when surveying and fitting!

The team at Storm loves the challenge of helping to create warm, draught-free spaces fit for contemporary use.

If you have a project and need our expert assistance we offer free site surveys and no obligation quotes - contact us today!