Annual Reports

 

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CIBSE  Heritage Group 
Annual Report 1997

The CIBSE Centenary Year has been a particularly busy time for the Heritage Group

Its main objective, that all Institution members should receive their personal copy of a free commemorative publication, was achieved with the distribution of "The Quest for Comfort", a 144-page selective history of the building engineering services industry around the turn of the century.  Written by Chairman Brian Roberts, it makes extensive use of the Heritage Archive using historical books and documents collected by the group since its formation in 1974.

All this would not have been possible without the backing and generous financial sponsorship of IMI Waterheating, Andrews Water Heaters & Boilers and IMI Rycroft, arranged by the Group's Vice-Chairman Paul Yunnie, who also organised the production and printing. The Group also thanks Ben Greenish and the Builder Group, who solved the problem of the book's distribution, by arranging for it to be  sent out with "Opus" The Building Services Design File" The Group also assisted with the Patrons Group Publication "For the Greater Comfort of Mankind."

The Group has been involved with a large number of Regional & Centenary events throughout the year, providing speakers for heritage lectures around the country. This is continuing into 1998.

The group also participated in the seminar "Learning from History - Standing the Test of time," held at the Royal Institution in July, with contributions from John Barnes & Brian Roberts ("Cathedrals of Commerce" - a review of services in office buildings over the last 100 years) and by Ian Stewart ("Mackintosh or Mockingtosh?") - a review of the great Architect's buildings and services.

The Christmas Heritage Lecture held at the London Building Centre, was given  by an international guest speaker Harald Loewer  of the Technical University of Hamburg.Professor Loewer is an acknowledged expert on air quality and ventilation and his presentation  "The Origins of Climate Control " included the work of Max Pettenkofer and other pioneers of indoor air quality.

The Group is keen to pursue its policy of collaboration with other specialist groups and will be participating in the Centenary Seminar "The History of Ventilation" now being planned by the Natural ventilation group for around May/June 1998.

The Heritage Group has three ongoing projects:

1. The life and times of Wilson W Phipson Consulting engineer 1838 - 1891.

2. 19th Century Church Heating.

3. Haden - The Formative years, 1816 - 1892.

The Group is also working on a Millennium project (The Comfort Makers), collecting biographical data on pioneer engineers and histories of early companies.



CIBSE 
Heritage Group 
Annual Report 1998

At the beginning of the year, the Group concluded its participation in the CIBSE Centenary Year by presenting a number of Heritage Lectures at various Regional Meetings.

At the CIBSE AGM in May, the Group’s Vice chairman, Paul Yunnie was presented with the CIBSE Silver Medal in appreciation of his international liaison activities and his special contributions to the Centenary celebrations. 


Also in May Mike Barber on behalf of the Group hosted visits in Liverpool at St George’s Hall, and the Royal Infirmary also in Liverpool for Professor Jeffrey Cook of Arizona State University, who is researching prominent Victorian buildings and their building services.

In June a joint Centenary seminar “Ventilation: Lessons from Innovations of the Past” was held with the Natural Ventilation Group at the Royal Society.


In July the Group went to Scotland where a meeting and tour of the Charles Rennie Mackintosh 'House for the Art Lover' in Glasgow was organised by Ian Stewart. Visits were also made to the Cochran Boiler factory in Annan, an exhibition on the history of Cochran at the Annan Museum, and the Archives of the University of Glasgow.

In September the Group made a joint visit with the Construction History Society to the CIRCA / WICCAD Archive being established in Frome Somerset and then went on to Trowbridge to view the Haden Archives in the Wiltshire Record Office and the exhibits in the Museum.


In December the Christmas Heritage Lecture “Shell Revisited” was held at the Shell Centre on the South Bank and included a lecture, films of the building of the Centre and a tour of the services plant rooms. Completed in 1962, Shell was then the largest air-conditioned office block in Europe and using a radiant-cooling ceiling system.

Liaison with other organisations continues, including the ASHRAE Historical Committee, the CIBSE / ASHRAE Group, Lighting Division, the Natural Ventilation Group, the Science Museum, the Museum & Galleries Commission, BSRIA, and Arizona State University.

In March 1999 the Group is co-sponsoring with the IEE a lecture at Savoy Place on the history of lift technology and is also contributing to the BSRIA International Ventilation Hygiene Conference at the National Motorcycle Museum at Solihull.


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CIBSE  Heritage Group 
Annual Report 1999
After its involvement with the CIBSE Centenary the Heritage Group has continued its work of promoting the study and recording of the history of building services engineering.  This work involves liasing with such organisations as the Science Museum, The National Trust and English Heritage.

The Group’s 1999 summer meeting took it to Northern Ireland, where they visited a pioneering mechanical ventilation system for the Royal Victoria Hospital, Belfast, dating from 1903.  This system designed by Henry Lea described in Rayner Banham’s book “The Architecture of the Well tempered Environment”, comprises a plenum supply system, the air being supplied by two air handling plants (duty and standby), each consisting of wetted screens of coconut fibre rope for filtration/humidification, steam pipe coils for heating the air, and a steam engine driven axial fan. The treated air is fed into a large subterranean builders work duct from which the supply to the Hospital’s 17 wards is taken. The Wards were pressurised by this filtered, tempered air supply and this residual pressure provided the motive power for the vitiated air to leave the Wards via extract ducts which terminated in distinctive louvered lanterns, one on the roof of each Ward.

The visit to inspect what remained of the system was prompted by the current threat to this 1903 building posed by new Wards being built alongside. The Group’s expectations were to at least find remnants of the 1903 plenum system still in place. However, these expectations were greatly exceeded!  The complete system was found virtually to still exist, steam driven fan and all, and to our delight was found to be in action!  Admittedly one of the steam plants has been replaced by a modern electrically driven air handling unit with the remaining steam plant serving as standby.

After visiting the Royal Victoria Hospital, the Group moved on to inspect the preserved Carrickfergus gas works. The last remaining coal gas plant in Ireland. The works ceased to produce coal gas in 1964.  Part of the works now houses a collection of gas appliances. The Group returned from Northern Ireland convinced it had visited one of the last (if not the last) working steam driven ventilation system.  However, shortly afterwards we learned that the latter was not the case – apparently, also in Belfast, is another steam driven system which is still in continuous daily use, this being a system at the Municipal Technical Institute.

Thus a return visit to Belfast is being planned. Also being planned is a visit in May 2000 to Liverpool, to inspect what remains of two pioneering systems. The first being the mechanical ventilation system designed by Dr D B Reid in the 1850’s for St. George’s Hall, Liverpool, followed by a visit to another building described by Rayner Banham in his book – namely the hermetically sealed house known as the Octogan building, designed in the 1870’s by a medical GP.

As well as organising visits, the Group has a number of on-going projects. One of these is to investigate the life and works of a foremost Victorian Building Services Engineer, Wilson Weatherley Phipson, whose building’s include the Royal Albert Hall, Alexandra Palace and Birmingham Town Hall. Other work includes the preparation of a publication documenting the lives of pioneers of our business (The Comfort Makers), a book of the histories of the major long established heating and ventilating firms in the UK and a book on the history of air conditioning in high rise buildings.  We continue to offer talks to CIBSE regions etc.

In November we produced and distributed the first edition of our Group Newsletter, which we intend will now be produced on a regular twice yearly basis.
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CIBSE  Heritage Group
Annual Report  2000

The Group was involved in a very active year, with further visits to historical buildings, and carrying out more detailed investigative work into the pioneers of the Victorian heating industry.

Four Committee meetings were held during the year.

 BOOKS

1.  Work continues on the preparation of the book titled The Comfort Makers, which is being sponsored by ASHRAE and publication is planned for 2001.

2.  The Magic of Hot Water is being prepared and will be produced for Andrews Water Heaters with publication in the spring of 2001.

3.   G N Haden & Sons Ltd Bristol Office 1927 – 1969 is completed and will be printed in early 2001.


A site visit was made to Liverpool to view what remained of the enginering services in two important local buildings.

The Group’s newsletter hopefully, is now an established fact. Issues numbers 2 and 3 were printed and distributed during the year.

Several group members attended the Dublin 2000 Joint conference of CIBSE / ASHRAE in September at which the Group presented a heritage paper which gave an update on the life, achievements and contracts of Victorian H&V engineer Wilson Weatherley Phipson.

The achievements of this forgotten Victorian H&V engineer continues to involve the Group’s members and further researches have been made at the Birmingham Record Office, Patent Office and the National Newspaper Library. Many more details about his achievements have been discovered including the first set of original drawings prepared by him for the Birmingham Art Gallery and Gas Offices. These have now been recorded and photographed. 

A return visit was made to Northern Ireland in November to tour, record and photograph the engineering services in the Municipal Technical Institute Belfast (MTIB) building. This building is truly remarkable because it retains its original Edwardian 1905 steam engine driven ventilation system which is still in continuous daily use. The photographs taken, and records made will be added to the Group’s new website, and a Power Point Presentation will be made for use at future Heritage talks.


The Octagon  —    the hermetically sealed house designed in the 1870s by a medical GP, and described in Rayner Banham’s book.


St Georges Hall - the mechanical ventilation system designed by Dr David Boswell Reid in the 1850s.

Construction of the Group’s new Internet website continues with the structural layout of its Webpages and their presentation under discussion.

An exciting development for the Group is that they are now being informed about buildings that have historical engineering services which are under threat of removal and disposal. The Group is then able to arrange a visit so that the equipment can be photographed and recorded for inclusion on the Group’s website. One such example is the parish church of St Helen’s in Abingdon that has several redundant warm air stoves located in under-floor pits in the aisles.

A joint meeting was held in December at the premises of the Rumford Club in London at which the Heritage Group gave a talk on the historical achievements of Count Rumford. 

Members of the Group gave several Heritage talks during the year to various CIBSE regional meetings.




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CIBSE  Heritage Group
Annual Report  2001

The Group’s objectives include the promotion of research into all aspects of the history of Building Services Engineering, together with the recording, and where appropriate, the preservation of historically significant systems, equipment  and records.  The Group has a committee which meets four or five times a year.  The committee members cover a wide range of disciplines, such as HV&AC, Gas & Electric Services, Lighting and Public Health.  The Science Museum, English Heritage and BSRIA are all represented on the committee.

The Group has a mailing list of more than 60 addresses in the UK, Europe and USA.

Present Activities

Current Research projects include:-

1. Wilson Weatherly Phipson, MInstCE (1838-1891) was one of the two major British  H & V Consultants of the Victorian era (the other being Henry Lea).

Outcome to date:  Papers presented to the CIBSE  National Conference in 1996 and 2000.  Papers presented to the Merseyside and North  Wales, Yorkshire and East Midlands branches of CIBSE.

 Planned:     The publication of a book in conjunction with the Newcomen Society.

2. Haden, firm and family.

 Outcome:   Booklet entitled ‘G N Haden & Sons Ltd, Bristol Office 1927-69’ privately published 2000 (F J Ferris)

 Planned:  Haden Family of Trowbridge  

3. The lives of those involved with developing the art and science of building services.

 Outcome:   Book ‘The Comfort Makers’  published by ASHRAE 2001  (B M Roberts).

4. Steam Driven H&V Systems (Royal Victoria Hospital, Belfast and The Municipal Technical Institute, Belfast).

Outcome to date:   Papers presented 2000 / 2001 to Merseyside & N Wales, Yorkshire and East Midlands Regions of CIBSE.

Other ongoing research projects being carried out under the auspices of the Group include: Church Heating in Victorian times, History of Glasshouse Heating, The Heatmakers (publication planned to mark the HVCA Centenary) and Cinema Air Conditioning 1900-1939.

Other recent publications with which the Group has been involved include:-

1. ‘The Magic of Hot Water’ published by Andrews Water Heating 2001 – (B M Roberts and  P G Yunnie).

2. ‘The Quest for Comfort’ - CIBSE Centenary Publication 1997 – (B M Roberts).

Some recent activities have involved visits to Heritage properties with historic building services systems, John Rylands Library, Manchester; Eltham Palace, London; Soho House, Birmingham; The Municipal Technical Institute and The Royal Victoria Hospital, both in Belfast.

The Group now produces a newsletter twice a year.  Copies are mailed to our membership and it is also included on the Heritage Group website.

Future Plans

It is hoped that all the research projects mentioned earlier will result in major publications (books or referred papers).

We are developing a CIBSE Heritage Group website (cross-linked to the official CIBSE site).

We intend to further develop our links with such organisations as ASHRAE, English Heritage, The Science Museum, the Newcomen Society and The National Trust to increase the general awareness of the importance of the history of building engineering services.  We hope this will result in more joint publications, and ongoing preservation and exhibition of historical Building Services Hardware and Software.

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CIBSE   Heritage Group
Annual Report 2002

The Group’s objectives have continued unchanged, being the promotion of research into all aspects of the history of building services engineering, together with the recording, and where appropriate, preservation of historically significant systems, equipment and records.

The Group’s Committee numbered nine during the year, plus five co-opted members from external organisations such as BSRIA, the Science Museum, English Heritage and The National Trust. The committee met five times.

The Group has continued to pursue a number of  projects including researching pioneering H&V Engineers such as Phipson, Haden, Perkins, Musgrave and Davidson, and in the field of AC, Carrier’s work in the UK. Landmark buildings visited and recorded include the Municipal Technical Institute, Belfast [again], Royal Victoria Hospital Belfast [again], various National trust properties such as Erddig Hall, Tyntesfield House, and The Argory. The possibility of creating a sound archive of past president’s memories is being investigated.  

Book preparation continued, and discussions for joint publications with English Heritage, National Trust and the Newcomen Society were held. More than half the finance required has been pledged by six sponsors, for a Heritage  book featuring landmark buildings. It is hoped the book will be published in time for the 2003 Edinburgh CIBSE conference.

Fruitful research  has been done in a number of  areas, such as Glasshouse Heating, Church Heating and Cinema Air-conditioning. 

Two editions [nos. 6 & 7] of the HG newsletter were published. These colour editions were mailed to a membership list of exactly 100.

The HG website [www.hevac-heritage.org] has greatly developed over the year. Our site is cross-linked with the official CIBSE site.

As in previous years several Heritage presentations have been made to various CIBSE Regions etc.




CIBSE  Heritage Group 
Annual Report 2003
 






A major event of the Group occurred in September  when it celebrated the 30th anniversary of its founding in 1973. To mark this special occasion an 8-page anniversary  edition of the Newsletter was published which gave pictorial snapshots about the DISCOVERIES; HERITAGE IN PRINT; LECTURES; VISITS; HERITAGE COLLECTION; and  WEBSITE showing the group’s achievements throughout its lifetime.



Members of the Group during the year have written several articles for trade and other publications including the Building Services Journal, ASHRAE, HAC and NADFAS.


The Group’s objectives continue unchanged, being the promotion of research into all aspects of the history of building services engineering, together with the recording, and where appropriate, preservation of historically significant systems, equipment and records. The Group was very pleased to have contributed towards the preservation in St Paul’s Church Deptford London of a rare warm air stove, made by the firm of John Grundy, which was due for imminent removal and disposal.






The Committee this year welcomed Chris Sugg of IGEM as a member.  The Group has six co-opted members from the external organisations BSRIA, the Science Museum, English Heritage, and National Trust. The Group met five times during the year, holding two of its meetings by invitation at the offices of English Heritage and National Trust.


The Group has continued to pursue a number of  projects including research into pioneers in H&V Engineering such as Phipson, Haden, Perkins, Musgrave and Davidson, and in the field of AC, Carrier’s work in the UK. Landmark buildings visited during the year were the Victoria and Albert Museum; the National Monuments Record Centre at Swindon; The National Trust properties of Penryhn, Powis and Chirk Castles, Lacock Abbey and Kingston Lacy House. The creation of an Oral History sound archive remains one of the Group’s future objectives.






The book “Building Services Heritage” featuring twenty Landmark Buildings with important   historical engineering systems was published on time for the 2003 Edinburgh CIBSE conference. A copy of the book was provided for all the delegates.


Discussions continue with English Heritage and The National Trust for joint book publications.  Drafts of two books have been completed and submitted for approval, 1.)  the centenary of the HVCA and 2.) “The Haden’s of Trowbridge”.  Both books are scheduled for publication in early 2004.
 

Further research continues on a number of subjects, such as Glasshouse Heating, Church Heating, Cinema Air-conditioning and the Lighting of Ocean Liners. 

Two further colour editions [nos. 8 & 9] of the HG newsletter were published and distributed to a membership list of exactly 100.

The HG website  [ www.hevac-heritage.org ] continues to expand and a Picture Gallery was added in January which provides an excellent historical mix of pictures and text, sub-divided into five major subject areas, PIONEER COMPANIES; SYSTEMS & EQUIPMENT; BUILDINGS & STRUCTURES; ENGINEERS & ARTISANS and TRANSPORT. The site is cross-linked with the official CIBSE site and also English Heritage.

This year Heritage talks and lectures were given to several CIBSE Regions and for the first time some of the talks used a Power Point Presentation computerised format for the talk.




CIBSE Heritage Group
Annual Report 2004

The Group has had a busy and productive year with the Committee meeting four times.

 
Three of these meetings were combined with visits to heritage sites, the first to the House of Lords Records Archives where the Group was shown the original documents of Sir Goldsworthy Gurney’s 19th century reports about the Ventilation of the House of Commons. The second visit to Brunel’s Engine House & Museum at Rotherhithe included a tour under the Thames of the first under-river tunnel ever constructed in the world.

The last visit was to the Crossness Engines Pumping Station on the south bank of the River Thames  London, with a guided tour of the four largest steam driven rotative beam engines still in existence. One of the beam engines has been wonderfully restored to its former working condition.

The Group’s activities this year have been overshadowed by the untimely death of Committee member Nigel Seeley, who prior to his retirement represented, the National Trust, and latterly University College London.


Several new members joined the Committee this year :-

Jane Insley         [Science Museum]    (Bob McWilliam has now retired).

Tim Bowdon       [Gifford & Partners]

Geraldine O’Farrell    [English Heritage]

 Neil Sturrock      [John Moores University]

        David Shaw       [Society of PHE]

During the year Heritage Group members have authored, edited and prepared for publication a number of booklets including:-

[1] ‘HVCA @ 100’ which commemorated the centenary of the HVCA.   [Brian Roberts]

[2] ‘Hadens of Trowbridge 1816 - 2004’ - a publication sponsored by Haden - Young  [Brian Roberts, Frank Ferris and Paul Yunnie]


Two newsletters  [Nos.10 & 11] were published and distributed during the year.


The Group’s own Website continues to expand and its Homepage now has 22 separate sections and is fast approaching 150MB in size. Several heritage subjects about Buildings with historical engineering services and equipment have now been prepared and featured in the computerised format of Microsoft ‘Power Point’. These are separate presentations on heritage topics that are available on CD’s for presenting to CIBSE Regions and other
interested groups. During the year members gave talks to several CIBSE Regions and Organisations on subjects of engineering heritage.

The Group’s Vice Chair, Paul Yunnie, has been honored by being made Chair of the ASHRAE Historical Committee for the second time.

Two members of the Group were presented with medals, Geoff Brundrett (Silver) and Richard Forster (Bronze), and honored by the Institution at their AGM in May for Services to the Institution.

Group members have visited and reported on a number of historical buildings during the year, including the Britannia Music Hall, Glasgow; The Victoria Baths, Manchester [Winner of the Restoration TV series];  the Faenol Estate, North Wales; Speke Hall Merseyside, [The National Trust]; and Cragside Northumberland [The National Trust].

The Group continues with its research into a number of ongoing projects including,

[1] The life and works of Victorian Engineer   Wilson W Phipson.

[2] Preparing publications in conjunction with The National Trust and English Heritage.

[3] The life and achievements of John Grundy  (first IHVE President 1898)

[4]  Building Engineering Services Heritage Revisited.

Future heritage visits under consideration are in their early stages, being proposed for St Paul’s Cathedral, Buckingham Palace and The Victoria Baths Manchester.


2004 has been a successful year for the Group and it is hoped 2005 will prove to be likewise.


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CIBSE Heritage Group
Annual Report 2005

The Group had a less hectic but still busy year with the Committee meeting five times.

Two of the meetings were held during the visit to a historical building. The first was to the Houses of Parliament where a group of members were given a guided tour, to view what remained of the historical engineering services for this prestigious and complex building, that had been a test bed for many innovative H&V design features installed during the 19th and 20th centuries.


The Heritage Group
during their tour.



The second visit was to the Victoria Baths in Manchester. This building was the competition winner of the BBC2 TV series of programmes titled “Restoration”. Viewers were invited to phone in and vote for the building they felt was the most worthy of being restored and brought back into use.


Displaying the Restoration
Winners Banner.

In May The National Trust held a one-day symposium in memory of Nigel Seeley who had also been a member of the Heritage Group. Two members of the Group gave presentations and talks to the audience.

Newsletter No.12 was published in June. This was the last one to be sponsored by Andrews Water Heaters. Newsletter No.13 published in December became the first issue to be sponsored by English Heritage.

In August the Group said goodbye to their vice-chairman of many years Paul Yunnie who has relocated to Australia, and welcomed Neil Sturrock as their new vice-chairman.

The Group’s own Website continues to progress, with updates usually every 2 months. Five Victorian engineers and two Doctors all with strong H&V interests have now been researched and given their own Webpage layouts. Seven more books on engineering heritage subjects have been added to the website, displayed in electronic format.

Webmaster and Newsletter Editor for the group Frank Ferris, was honoured by the Institution at their AGM in May, being presented with the Bronze medal  for Services to the Heritage Group.

The Institution of Civil Engineers asked the Heritage Group to write mini-biographies of five Victorian engineers who had a prominent involvement with the Heating and Ventilating industry. The biographies are to be included in their new Dictionary of Victorian Engineers, whose careers spanned the period from 1830 to 1890.
 

During the year members gave talks to CIBSE Regions and Organisations on subjects of engineering heritage.

The Heritage Group accepted an invitation from the Republic of Ireland CIBSE Region in November for a representative to attend their Heritage Event in Cork City. The evening event was held at the Old Waterworks, where the old buildings housing many items of engineering heritage, have been carefully restored by a combination of local funding and a grant from EFTA. The buildings are now used as a Lifetime Lab for the benefit of the general public and as an educational facility. 

Group members have visited and reported on a number of historic buildings during the year, including The National Trust properties of Arlington Court Devon, Dunster Castle Somerset, Great Chalfield and Westwood Manors in Wiltshire.




The Group’s first commemorative plaque
for a building of significant historic engineering services, was awarded to St George’s Hall Liverpool. The Chairman of the M&NW CIBSE Region is seen here presenting it to the Chairman of the St George’s Hall Charitable Trust.

 



Research has continued into a number of ongoing projects including,

[1] The life and works of Victorian Engineer, Wilson Weatherley Phipson. MICivil E.

[2] Preparing publications in conjunction with The National Trust and English Heritage.

[3] Let there be Light.  Research into the history of the IES

[4] Building Engineering Services Heritage Revisited.

[5] The family and firm of Renton Gibbs  Liverpool

[6] The family and firm of John Grundy, the first President of the IHVE.

[7] The search in Churches and Chapels for Victorian and Edwardian heating systems.

[8] Dr Neil Arnott. FRS and his warm air stove.


Future heritage visits under consideration are still in their early stages, being proposed for the old British Library and Buckingham Palace.

2005 has been a year of consolidation for the Group. The Group looks forward to making further exciting historical discoveries in 2006, enabling much more of our building engineering services heritage to be recorded.


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CIBSE Heritage Group
Annual Report 2006


The Group's Committee met 5 times during the year, 3 of the meetings included a visit to a building having an interesting background of historical engineering heritage. Two of the visits were made to the Houses of Parliament to complete the HG tour of this important and complex building.

The third visit was made to the Old British Library building to view what remained of the original engineering services in the undercroft of the circular shaped Reading Room.

              

The book about the life and contracts of  Wilson Weatherley Phipson by Brian Roberts, (who as the Author first wrote it in 2002 and then updated it in 2006), has now been privately printed and distributed to group members. It is a tribute to the detailed research carried out by the Group’s chairman into the life and contracts of this eminent Victorian heating and ventilating engineer, sadly forgotten by history. The book is now available as a hard copy, to those wishing to purchase a copy.


The Group’s Internet website celebrated its 5th anniversary in November and continues to expand with 40 new webpage updates added to the website during the year. A software program has been written which now allows all new and amended webpages to be updated and added to the HG Internet website as soon as they have been constructed. The website is now attracting enquiries from people around the world, interested in learning about our engineering history. The Group’s members are always pleased to assist and help wherever possible.


Group Member Frank Ferris (an ex-employee of G N Haden & Sons Ltd) was pleased to be given the opportunity by the Haden family to transcribe the 61 letters, hand written by family members George snr, George jnr, James, John and Ann Haden during the years 1810 – 1822. The letters have now been prepared and printed as a booklet. It gives a fascinating insight into the lives and times of these engineers in pre-Victorian Britain who worked for Boulton & Watt of Birmingham, the steam engine pioneers.


           

Group member John Barnes was honored by the Institution, and awarded the Bronze Medal for services to the Heritage Group. Chairman Brian Roberts made the Group’s first award presentation, at the December Committee meeting.

Paul Yunnie  our  group   member   “down under”  in  the   antipodes  has  had a  very  busy  year    a) researching the history of Haden Australia Pty, and has subsequently been involved with the organisation, for the publishing of the book titled, ‘Haden Degrees of Excellence since 1816’, and b) his active involvement in the re-emergence of the scale model of the Sydney Royal Opera House previously unseen for the last 30 years.


Newsletters 14 and 15 were printed and distributed during the year.

Group members have as in previous years, continued to give talks to various CIBSE regions and other Societies, about all aspects of the history of building engineering services, and the industry’s pioneers.

New Group projects started during the year include 1) IES Presidents 1909 - 1977, 2) the search for Victorian cast iron Street Furniture, 3) ornamental drinking fountains, 4) small towns gas making plants and 5) the heating and ventilating of Victorian Prisons and Asylums.

The Imperial Aircraft War Museum at Duxford Cambs. contacted the HG for permission to use the photos of the Brabazon Hangar shown on the HG’s website. They would like to include the photos as part of their Buildings for Aircraft exhibition to be held in 2007.

Research has continued into a number of ongoing projects including,

[1] The life and works of the Victorian Engineer, Wilson Weatherley Phipson.  MICivil E.

[2] Preparing publications in conjunction with The National Trust and English Heritage.

[3] Let there be Light.  Research into the history of the IES

[4] Building Engineering Services Heritage Revisited.

[5] The family and firm of Renton Gibbs & Co Ltd Liverpool

[6] The family and firm of John Grundy, first President of the IHVE.

[7] The search for Churches and Chapels with Victorian and Edwardian heating, ventilating and lighting systems.

[8]   Dr David Boswell Reid MD, his life and works.


The year 2006 proved to have been another excellent time for Heritage Group achievements. Two more books written and new research projects commenced.
Importantly its Internet website continues to expand, becoming internationally known and used by many people wishing to discover information and receive guidance on matters pertaining to Building Engineering Services history
.

History Matters - Pass it on

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CIBSE Heritage Group
Annual Report 2007

The Group’s Committee met five times during the year, two of these meetings included a heritage site visit.

The first visit, in April, was to the CIRCA Trust (Construction Industry Resource Centre Archive) at Kimmins Mill in Stroud, Gloucestershire, where the enthusiastic Curator, John Keenan, showed us round and introduced us to a mere fraction of the endless and priceless material stored there.









For the second visit, in September, the Group achieved a long-term ambition of seeing the building engineering services at St Paul’s Cathedral. Martin Stancliffe, the Surveyor to the fabric of St Paul’s Cathedral
and renowned Conservation Architect, conducted our tour. Our Haden enthusiast, Frank Ferris, was particularly pleased to find an original Haden heating system, complete with Haden’s own radiators and square flanged lengths of pipework, heating the upper levels of the Cathedral, but apart from that there was very little in the way of historic equipment left to be seen. We were informed that in the 18th Century in very cold weather, trolleys with fires burning on top of them were pulled round the building.


The Heritage Group continued their visits to properties of The National Trust during the year to record and photograph any singled out which are thought to have historical equipment or systems. The properties visited were Calke Abbey, Saltram House, Quarry Bank Mill, Wightwick Manor, and Coughton Court.

The visit to Quarry Bank Mill at Altrincham in June was made by a small group from the Committee, following the announcement that The National Trust had just acquired the house of Samuel Greg, founder of the Mill. There was evidence that steam pipes under the floor had at some stage, heated the entrance hall to the house when the steam main from the Mill had been extended to the house, but the house has been continuously lived in and all other equipment was modern.




Group member Frank Ferris has become a Contributor to the Oxford Dictionary of National Biography, and has submitted entries for Wilson Weatherley Phipson and George Haden that are intended hopefully, to become the first two of several entries of pioneering H&V engineers. 

Chairman Brian Roberts, has produced another five Electronic Books (Fire & Schools; Prisons; Churches; Hospitals; and Plumbing) which will be added to the Group’s website to complement the other books that are available.


Newsletters 16 and 17 were printed and distributed during the year.


The Heritage Group Committee considers that an extremely important element of its role is in giving talks to CIBSE Regions and other Societies about all aspects of the history of building engineering services and this has continued apace this year. We are more than willing to meet this obligation, however, we would urge Regional Secretaries to give as much notice as possible for these events. There have been one or two occasions where only a few weeks notice was given to the Heritage
Group Committee for a talk, which Regions had unilaterally included in their programmes. It should also be noted that travelling expenses for these events should come from Regional Funds.

June 2007 marked the bicentenary of the very first public demonstration of gas street lighting, which took place in Pall Mall London. Committee Member Chris Sugg, was involved with the organisation for the commemoration of this event. City of Westminster Council’s Green Plaque being mounted at 100 Pall Mall (the nearest viable location, as the original premises have long since been removed). 

The final Committee Meeting of the year was timed to coincide with a visit to the UK of the Group’s former Vice-Chairman, Paul Yunnie, now residing in New South Wales. Paul was very pleased to be able to show the Committee photographs of an original Haden stove front plate which had been removed from Overbury Parish Church in England, then air freighted out to Australia, where it was renovated and now has pride of place in the entrance hall of Haden’s Sydney office. The Heritage Group was pleased to have been involved in helping Paul find a suitable item of G N Haden’s heating equipment made in their Trowbridge works during the Victorian period, for display in Haden’s offices.

Research has continued into a number of ongoing projects including :-

[1] The life and works of the Victorian Engineer, Wilson Weatherley Phipson. MICivil E.

[2] Preparing publications in conjunction with The National Trust and English Heritage.

[3] Let there be Light.  Research into the history of the IES

[4] Building Engineering Services Heritage Revisited.

[5] The family and firm of Renton Gibbs & Co Ltd Liverpool

[6] The family and firm of John Grundy, first President of the IHVE.

[7] The search for Churches and Chapels with Victorian and Edwardian heating, ventilating and lighting systems.

[8]  Dr David Boswell Reid MD, his life and works.

[9] IES Presidents

[10] Victorian Cast Iron Street Furniture

[11] Ornamental Drinking Fountains

[12] Small Town-Gas making plants

[13] H & V of Victorian Prisons and Asylums

[14] Historic Services in Sydney State Theatre


2007 has proved to be another year affording the Heritage Group the opportunity to build upon its earlier achievements.


Dr Neil Sturrock, December 2007

History Matters - Pass it on

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CIBSE Heritage Group
Annual Report 2008


The Group’s committee met 5 times during the year. Two of the meetings included visits 1) The National Trust 'Heelis' Headquarters Building In Swindon Wiltshire At the Trust’s HQ the Group was updated on their Database which will include all items of engineering that exist within their properties and 2) The Royal Engineers Museum in Gillingham Kent.  The visit to the RE Museum allowed members to search their extensive library.

The Group’s Internet website continues to grow and must now rank as the largest website in the English speaking world that deals exclusively with all historical aspects of building engineering services and its heritage. The Website continues to go from strength to strength attracting enquiries and information from people around the world, interested in learning about our engineering history. The Group’s members are always pleased to help in answering people’s enquiries and to assist wherever possible.




One such item of information was that the City Hall in Cardiff still retained in use its original Ashwell & Nesbit “Nuconomiser” atmospheric steam heating system installed in 1904. A visit was arranged and details of the installation can now be seen on the Website.
Twenty new books in electronic format have been added to the Group Website in 2008. To make it easier for visitors to the Website to be able to download books, all these and future book additions are available in pdf.

Group members Neil Sturrock, Mike Barber and Frank Ferris wrote entries for the new 2008 publication of the Biographical Dictionary of Civil Engineers Volume 2 – 1830 to 1890. The entries were for prominent H&V pioneering engineers, George Haden, Angier March Perkins, Loftus Perkins, Wilson Weatherley Phipson and David Boswell Reid. 

Two important discoveries regarding Wilson Weatherley Phipson were made during the year, 1) in the Austrian National Library Vienna, one of the musical waltzes he composed and 2) in the Manchester Free Library his Remarks on the H&V System Van Hecke.

After visiting many Churches in Somerset, Group member Frank Ferris discovered one Church with two important historical items that were worthy of being given a Listed status by English Heritage. Therefore amendments to the original Grade II listing of the church have been applied for to include these two items.



Member Chris Sugg has found two residential buildings that are still lit by gas lighting. He has visited the premises and taken details of them. Information has been added to the website.
Frank Ferris stood down as Newsletter Editor in 2008 after producing the first 17 editions. Newsletters are now prepared by Brian Roberts the Chairman of the Group who has already issued Newsletters 18 and 19, which were printed and distributed during the year.

Group members Geraldine O’Farrell and Tim Bowden together with other members have given talks to various CIBSE regions, University Courses, Conferences, Conservation Groups and other Societies. Neil Sturrock the Group’s Vice-Chairman was invited to Italy in May to lecture to post-graduate students at Milan Polytechnic on the work of the ventilation pioneer Dr David Boswell Reid who was responsible for the system installed in St George’s Hall, Liverpool and the Houses of Parliament.



Whilst there Neil was shown a large villa built in 1794 which had an integral warm-air heating system. The building had been built for a nobleman who was at one stage an Italian Diplomat in England and it was suspected that the system may have been a derivation of that at Soho House in Birmingham.

Neil was also interviewed at Liverpool’s St George’s Hall by Adam Hart Davis, for the BBC TV programme “The Building of Liverpool.”


Neil has also been actively involved during the year with the preparation of an electronic book to celebrate the 75th Anniversary of the Merseyside & North Wales Region, that will be available shortly as a pdf download from the website. This electronic book includes detailed studies of a number of important buildings, in the M & NW Region, which have been significant in the development of building services engineering.

Buildings included:


    (a) St George’s Hall, Liverpool – world’s first air-conditioned building (1850s);
    (b) The Doctor’s Houses, Liverpool – world’s first domestic integral ventilation(1860s);
    (c) Two Victorian Bridewells in Liverpool with integral heating and ventilation (1860s);
    (d) Chester Cathedral, very early application of Gurney stoves (1860s)
    (e) Picton Library, Liverpool, UK’s first electrically lit library (1879);
   (f) Royal Liver Building, first multi-storey reinforced concrete framed building in Europe, novel heating and ventilation (1911);
  (g) Mersey Tunnel (Queensway), world’s longest underwater road tunnel and largest ventilation system (1934);
    (h) St George’s School, Wallasey, world’s first solar-heated school (1963);
    (i) MANWEB headquarters, Chester, Europe’s first heat-recovery air-conditioned building  (1966);
   (j) Granada TV House for the Future, Macclesfield, UK’s first high profile low energy house (1974).


The Group was pleased to welcome Richard Rooley (the first Briton and non-American to serve as ASHRAE President) as a new member, together with David Cooper who will represent the Lifts Group of CIBSE on the Heritage Group. Acting on information given to the Group, David visited the National Trust property of Tyntesfield House and made an exciting discovery of a water hydraulic lift installed by R Waygood & Co dating from the 1880’s and still virtually in its original condition. A report and assessment of the Lift was prepared for The National Trust and a copy can be seen on the Group Website. 

Group projects continued during the year including 1) IES Presidents 1909 - 1977, 2) the search for Victorian cast iron Street Furniture, 3) ornamental drinking fountains, 4) small towns gas making plants and 5) the heating and ventilating of Victorian Prisons and Asylums.


The Heritage Group continued to visit more properties of The National Trust during the year. Properties checked out this year considered to have historical equipment or systems were Sunnycroft, Charlecote House, Dudmaston Hall and Tyntesfield House. Many interesting historical engineering items were found in the buildings and webpages about the discoveries made have been added to the Group Website. 


Research has continued into a number of ongoing projects including,

[1] The life and works of the Victorian Engineer, Wilson Weatherley Phipson. MICE.

[2] Preparing publications in conjunction with The National Trust and English Heritage.

[3] Let there be Light.  Research into the history of the IES

[4] Building Engineering Services Heritage Revisited.

[5] The family and firm of Renton Gibbs & Co Ltd Liverpool

[7] The search for Churches and Chapels with Victorian and Edwardian heating, ventilating and lighting systems.

[8]   Dr David Boswell Reid MD, his life and works.





A major effort has been made this year to add many more electronic books in a pdf program format to the website. It has also been rewarding to find that members of the Group on their site visits are continuing to make exciting discoveries of historical heating, ventilating equipment and gas lighting systems dating back to the Victorian and Edwardian eras.

The Group is pleased to find that members of the public are using the website to ask questions and gain information about historical engineering services, and also to be told by people how useful they found the Heritage Group website.



CIBSE Heritage Group
Annual Report 2009

The Committee met 4 times during the year. It was decided to chose a different venue for one of the meetings so the Merseyside area was selected where several Committee members live. This meeting included visits to three important Liverpool heritage sites.
 
1) St Georges Hall - where Vice Chairman Neil Sturrock provided a guided tour around the engineering services areas of this Listed building.





2) The Town Hall  - two late 18th century ornamental warm air stoves of probable French origin were photographed.




 
3) Mersey Tunnel ventilation system - the Group was taken on a guided tour of the ventilation equipment and control systems.

The Group was pleased that Emmanuelle Gallo from Paris was able to attend the three heritage visits at Neil’s invitation. Emmanuelle is an Architect & Doctor in art history, with particular interest in the history of architecture & technology.
 







The Group's Vice Chairman Dr Neil Sturrock was honored at the Presidents Awards Dinner held at the Tower of London this October, by the presentation of the Institution's Silver Medal for "Services to the Institution".



Numerous visits to Churches were made during the year in the continuing search for historical items of H&V engineering heritage.  Churches visited were in the Counties of Devon, Dorset, Herefordshire, Somerset, Wiltshire and Worcestershire. Many items of historical engineering equipment were discovered. A sample is shown in the pictures below.


Portway Tortoise Stove

Gurney Stove

Musgrave Church Stove


Jobson cast iron Radiator

Ornamental cast iron heater casing





Group member Frank Ferris’s discovery of historical importance in a Somerset church of a rare warm air stove, has now been given a Grade II Listed status by English Heritage
 

The Heritage Group continued to visit and survey more properties of The National Trust during the year. Properties checked out were Thomas Carlyle’s House, Mottisfont Abbey, Knightshayes Court and Chastleton House. Many interesting historical engineering items were found in the properties.




A chance remark made to member Frank Ferris during his visit to Knightshayes Court concerned an abandoned turbine building that had once housed hydro-electric power generation equipment to supply DC electricity to light the rooms in the house.  A further visit discovered that the building still existed and that the majority of the original generating equipment was still in its original position providing a ‘time capsule’ of Edwardian electrical technology. 







The Group was deeply saddened in August to learn of the death of Neville Billington who was an active member of the original Archaeaology Working Party Group during the 1970’s before it became the Heritage Group in the 1980’s. A tribute to Neville was prepared by the Group and can be seen on the Group’s Website under the Hall of Fame webpages
.




Newsletters 20 and 21 were printed and distributed during the year.


Group member Frank Ferris’s two entries George Haden and Wilson W Phipson, for the Oxford Dictionary of National Biography was published during the year.

Further electronic books in pdf program format as listed below, have been added to the website during the year.


CIBSE - M&NW Region 75th Anniversary
J L Mott Iron Works
Wilson W Phipson his acquaintances and friends,
Story of Comfort Air Conditioning
Greenhouse & Conservatory Heating
Illuminating Electrical Society
The Trane Company
Major Consulting Engineers
Sources of Power
Magic of Hot Water
Electricity the Willing Servant


The Group has received in excess of 20 queries from members of the public using the Group’s website to raise queries about and gain information regarding their own historical engineering equipment.

Member Chris Sugg has been contacted by the trustees of Wilton's Music Hall in east London asking for advice about dating their historical heating and ventilating equipment that still exists from the later Victorian period when the Music Hall was in its heyday. A future heritage visit by the Group will be arranged to take place in 2010,
to assist in determining dates and making a photographic record.




CIBSE  Heritage Group 
Annual Report 2010


The Group’s Committee met 3 times during the year. To provide a different meeting venue for one of the meetings it was again decided to convene a meeting in the Merseyside & North West Region areas where several Committee members live. This meeting included visits to two important Manchester heritage sites, Rylands Library and the Town Hall.




An earlier heritage visit and meeting in the Spring was made to Wiltons the oldest Victorian London Music Hall, where a very early example of a Grundy warm air stove was found.





Further survey visits were made to many Churches during the year. The County of Warwickshire proved to have many Churches with interesting historic heating systems and equipment.  One historic discovery in a church was an unusual type of heating system that used rectangular cast iron pipework. Another discovery made in Warwickshire is a cluster of churches with what appears to be a heating system that is based upon a reinvention of the hypocaust underfloor heating system, originally developed by the Romans. This discovery is ongoing and will be investigated in greater detail during 2011.






The Heritage Group continued their visits to National Trust properties during the year to advise them about their historic engineering systems and equipment. Properties surveyed were Dunham Massey, Croome Court, Tyntesfield House and Knightshayes Court. Many interesting historical engineering items were found in the properties.

A second visit to Knightshayes Court to view the water turbine was made with Academics from the School of Archeology and Ancient History, University of Leicester, who are carrying out research for a book to be published, about how Country House owners became the technological innovators of their age.

Many more electronic books in pdf program format have been written by the Group’s Chairman Brian Roberts, which have been added to the website during the year.

Buildings & Transport
History of Piping
Heritage Group Collection
Comfort Makers
Records & Documentation
CIBSE Publications
History of BSRIA
Anniversaries of Famous Firms
Buderus the Family
Heritage Group Photo Library
Town Gas Manufacture
Textile Mills
Hydraulic Power
Sturtevant the Company
Refrig & Air Conditioning History
History of Lighting
Public Health
Radiant Heating
The best 100 Photographs
BSE Cartoons
Carrier UK
Trane Europe
Street Lighting
Electricity Generation
Willis Haviland Carrier
Country House Engineering

Newsletters 22 and 23 sponsored by English Heritage were printed and distributed during the year. Both Newsletters can be viewed on the Group's website www.hevac-heritage.org/newsletters

Neil Sturrock (Vice-Chairman) presented a paper in April at an International Conference (Historic Buildings and Museums) in Milan Italy.  The paper was titled “St Georges Hall Liverpool – A Major Refurbishment and a New Heritage Centre for the World’s First Air-Conditioned Building”.

Further Contact was made this year with Building Services Engineering Heritage enthusiasts in the USA and Professor David Cornelius is now a Corresponding Member. His particular interest is eastern state Penitentiary in Philadelphia. During a very brief visit to the UK in October it was possible for Neil Sturrock to meet him and take him around St George’s Hall.
 
The Group is considering a proposal to prepare a Heritage Group calendar for distribution in 2012, with each of the 12 months displaying photographs showing a separate discipline of historic Engineering Services.

The Group’s website continues to receive important information and photographs about historic equipment with requests for assistance. One such item received was photographs of a highly decorative ornamental warm air stove made by the Musgave firm in their Mannheim factory.




Of particular importance to the Group is where we can assist Student engineers in the UK and in Europe with their research into the history of the HVAC industry. They often need help in understanding what books and other information sources are available to assist when preparing for their academic studies and courses.




CIBSE Heritage Group
Annual Report 2011



2011 has been an important year for the Group with both personnel changes and anniversaries. The Group’s Committee met 4 times during the year with one heritage visit made to Westminster Roman Catholic Cathedral in London.


The Cathedral was about to undergo modernisation to its warm air central heating system, so the Consulting Engineers Max Fordham invited the Group to visit and view and record the existing Haden warm air stoves before their removal.



Westminster Cathedral



Heritage Group in discussion



Side view of Warm Air Stove during removal


Rear view of Warm air stove during removal



The year brought with it many personnel changes. At the AGM Brian Roberts the Group’s Chairman for the past 29 years retired, and was succeeded by Vice-Chairman Neil Sturrock who was appointed Chairman. Geraldine O’Farrell of English Heritage a long serving member of the Group, became the new Vice-chair. Also at the yearly AGM the Group was pleased to welcome onto the Committee Edith Blennerhassett from Dublin, Alec Pelham and Ian Fellingham.

November was the occasion to celebrate the 10th anniversary of the launch of the Group’s website www.hevac-heritage.org  To mark this event the Group has produced its first calendar, sponsored by English Heritage, which depicts twelve different building engineering service disciplines, making the 2012 calendar a must for all engineers interested in the industry’s history.


The website is now arguably the most comprehensive global record of the Building Engineering Services history and its heritage. In confirmation of its position as a major record of the Industry’s history, the British Library has asked for it to be stored in their Web Archive programme, so that it can remain available for scholars and researchers to use in perpetuity.

Investigative work has continued on researching the Mitchell’s Principle Hypocaust Warm Air Heating System for Churches in Victorian England. More Parish churches have been found this year where this underfloor heating system was installed. At present a total of eight churches have been discovered, stretching across the south of England from Herefordshire, Warwickshire, Oxfordshire to Essex and Kent.

Newsletters 24 and 25 sponsored by English Heritage, were printed and distributed during the year. Both Newsletters can also be viewed on the Group's website.

A further 11 electronic books in pdf program format written by Brian Roberts, have been added to the HG website during the year.
Stage Lighting
Potteries & Sanitaryware
Solar Water Heaters
Lightning Protection
Cold Stores
Brewery Refrigeration

Waterworks
Wind Towers
Lighthouses
Exhibitions, Museums,
Collections & Galleries
H&V Engineering Magazine


The Group continues its endeavours to discover historical engineering equipment of heritage importance about to be removed, which can be reclaimed and held by a Museum for public display. One such item a Grundy warm air stove became available during the year, but unfortunately no home for it could be found. So sadly another small snapshot of our engineering history has been consigned to the scrapyard and lost forever.

The Group considered that the retirement of its Chairman Brian Roberts, the longest serving Chairman of any CIBSE Specialist Group, would now be the appropriate time to acknowledge the Group’s predecessor, the Archeology of Building Services Working Party’s early contribution to the success of the Heritage Group.

The 1970's and 1980's (the industry's dark ages) were an extremely tragic period for historical building engineering services when many systems and items of engineering heritage were removed and destroyed due to the ignorance of the owners to appreciate what important industrial heritage they had in their possession. Webpages giving details about the origins and early years of the Group with its valiant efforts to conserve, preserve and record the history of the Industry, have been displayed on the HG website. 


A timeline has been collated and displayed on the website as a .pdf file. It shows the Group’s activities and achievements from its formation in 1973 up to the present day. This will enable past, present and future Group Members to realize what a dedicated and enthusiastic group of engineers can accomplish.  




CIBSE Heritage Group
Annual Report 2012


The Group’s Committee met 4 times during the year including one heritage visit made to the Manchester Museum of Science & Industry. The Group had a personal guided tour by the Curator John Beckerson, which concentrated on the history of the Gas and Electrical displayed items of equipment.




Members of the Group were proud to attend the ceremony when our recently retired chairman Brian Roberts was awarded the Honorary Fellowship of the Institution.

Brian Roberts having stepped down as Chairman still maintains an active involvement with the Group and now acts as the Editor of the group’s Newsletter.


This year’s CIBSE President, Professor David Fisk, invited the Heritage Group to showcase its activities and publications at his Presidential Dinner in October. The invitation was taken up on behalf on the Group by Neil Sturrock, Geraldine O’Farrell and Andrew More who organized the display to raise our profile within the Institution, illustrating the continuing work in preserving and recording our industry’s engineering history.



On display was a selection of :-

o  Books published by the Group to celebrate the industry’s various historic anniversaries.
o    A2 & A3 size posters of manufacturers historic adverts. 
o    Power point presentations.
o    Early design aids and calculators used by Engineers to select equipment










Member Andrew More was

attired in the apparel of IKB

to add a little historic flavour

to the display, and answer

any queries.


The content of the Group’s website attracts many interesting invitations to help organizations with their projects. One such enquiry came from the editors of the Channel 4 Time Team TV Programme who are preparing a future programme about the development of heating and ventilating in Victorian Prisons. The Group were asked to help in providing historical information and our Chairman has recently been filmed talking about this for Time Team in Lincoln Castle Prison.

Another request was to contribute to the heritage significance statement of the 60 year old historical engineering services in the Bristol Council House and the need to have them Listed as part of the Grade II* Listing for the building. Webpages about the building and its engineering services have been added to the website.
 
After the success of the 2012 Heritage Group’s first Calendar sponsored by English Heritage it was decided to go forward with the production and distribution of another calendar for 2013 which has been sponsored this year by 12 firms and consultants who are active in the Industry. This calendar will be celebrating the 40th anniversary of the founding in 1973, of the longest serving Special Interest Group of the Institution.




Newsletters 26 and 27 sponsored by English Heritage, were printed and distributed during the year. Both Newsletters can also be viewed on the Group's website.

The 20 electronic books listed below written by Brian Roberts
in pdf program format, have been added to the website during the year.

Pioneers
Stoves
Bread Making
Chimneys
Air Conditioning in Hong Kong
Saunders & Taylor
Thomas Crapper & Co Ltd
Golden Oldies

Gas Lighting
The Buzaglo Stove
Engineering Illustrations
Royal Festival Hall 1951
G A Harvey
Times Past
Travelling in Comfort
Tunnel & Subway Ventilation

Manufacturing & Commissioning
Business Life of E N Russell
Specifiers Guide to Air Conditioning
Development of the Centrifugal Refrigeration Machine


Neil Sturrock the Group Chairman has continued his research into Victorian Prisons and their heating & ventilating systems. The group was recently made aware of a discovery at HM Prison Chelmsford, that it still has in situ some of its original Haden H&V equipment installed during the 1840’s, when it was known as Springfield Gaol. 

Investigative work continues on researching Mitchell’s Hypocaust Warm Air Heating System for Churches in Victorian England. More churches have been found this year in the south of England that had this underfloor heating system installed.


The National Trust in Northern Ireland who are carrying out restoration of their property Mount Stewart House, invited the Group to advise and identify any items of historic engineering found during the renovation works. Our new member Edith Blennerhassett who is based in Dublin, was able to visit and take many photos of the H&V equipment. 

The Group continues its endeavours to discover historical engineering equipment having heritage importance, now redundant and about to be removed, which can be reclaimed and held by a Museum for public display. One such item, a very early pattern Grundy warm air stove became available during the year. Unfortunately no home for it could be found.

Next year 2013 the Heritage Group, the longest serving Special Interest Group of the Institution is celebrating its 40th anniversary, and ideas to mark this important occasion are under consideration.




CIBSE Heritage Group
Annual Report 2013

40th Anniversary Year

2013 has been an extraordinary year for the Heritage Group, being the Anniversary of the 40th Year since the formation of the Group, the Institution’s longest established Special Interest Group.

To mark this milestone occasion and celebrate the 40th anniversary of the inaugural meeting of the Group, Members met in Dover for a two-day visit to historic Dover Castle to tour its labyrinth of underground tunnels.  These wartime tunnels constructed during WWII and the cold war period would house one of the secret regional seats of government to be set up and become operational in the event of a nuclear attack.

English Heritage now the custodians of this historic site invited Members of the Group to explore the tunnels. Members were taken on a guided tour to view the heating, ventilating and electrical systems and its equipment that provided the artificial environment essential for the living quarters of personnel who had to work and live in these underground tunnels.








The Group’s Committee met 4 times during the year including a combined heritage visit to Apsley House and Wellington Arch, now both Museums of the Duke of Wellington. The buildings are within the portfolio of English Heritage properties. Members were taken on a guided tour by Andrew More of English Heritage a member of the Group.

The Group can now claim its first TV celebrity, when Chairman Neil Sturrock appeared in a Channel 4 Time Team programme about the history of Lincoln Castle Prison. Neil gave historical guidance to Phil Harding about the old ventilation system serving the Cells.
 
At the Presidents dinner in October, Mike Barber the Group’s secretary was presented with the Institution’s Silver Medal, for his services to the Institution and Heritage Group. The citation was read by Chairman Neil Sturrock. Mike’s contribution to the Group has been exceptional, holding the Secretary’s position since the founding of the Group 40 years ago.

The Group’s Vice-Chairman Geraldine O’ Farrell has been instrumental in setting up a Heritage Group Twitter social networking webpage so that interested members of the public can follow recent webpage additions made to the Group’s website.

The Group website remains unchallenged as the most comprehensive global record of the Building Services industry’s Engineering history and heritage. The existence of the Internet and the various Search Engines has made the content of the Group’s website available to any visitor, which attracts many interesting invitations globally to help organizations with their projects. Website photographs and images continue to be requested asking for permission to be given for display on other websites or web-blogs.

After the success of the 2012 & 2013 Heritage Group’s Calendars it was decided to continue with the production and distribution of another calendar for 2014. This calendar has to be the best so far prepared, with the central theme being humour in the building engineering services industry. The selection of the monthly pictures was made by member Brian Roberts, who was able to choose from his vast Heritage Group collection. Thanks go to English Heritage who once again sponsored its publication.



The continuing digitization by the British Library to set up an archive of the national and local Newspapers published during the 18th, 19th and early 20th centuries has made it possible for researchers to do key word searches.  This search method has uncovered more important information by the Group about Wilson W Phipson and Mitchell’s Hypocaust.

The website’s Timeline of the Archeology Working Party/Heritage Group showing its various activities continues to be expanded and now includes Awards made to Members by the Institution during the Group’s existence.



To celebrate the 40th Anniversary, a special 8-page Newsletter edition NL 28, was prepared by newsletter editor Brian Roberts in June, and also NL 29 in December. Both were printed and distributed, and they can also be viewed on the Group's website. Both Newsletters were sponsored by English Heritage.

A further 8 electronic books in .pdf program format written by Brian Roberts and Frank Ferris, have been added to the website during the year.

Oil Heating USA
J&E Hall of Dartford
The Great Ocean Liners
The Comfort Makers
For the greater comfort of Mankind
Ideal Boilers & Radiators Ltd
J Langfield & Co
History of the Thermometer

Neil Sturrock the Group Chairman has continued his research into heating & ventilating systems in Victorian Prisons. The group was recently made aware of a discovery at HM Prison Chelmsford that it still has in situ some of its original Haden H&V equipment installed during the 1840’s, when it was known as Springfield Gaol. 

Investigative work has continued on researching Mitchell’s Hypocaust Warm Air Heating System installed in Churches in Victorian England. An additional three churches have been found this year in Warwickshire that had this underfloor heating system installed.

The Group continues in its endeavours to discover more historical engineering equipment with heritage importance, now made redundant and about to be removed, which could be reclaimed and held by a Museum for public display.


It was thought appropriate in this 40th anniversary year that all the various correspondence files compiled over the years by the Group from its founding in 1973, should be edited and organized for future checking and research where necessary. Many Members volunteered to carry out the file editing.  The final storage arrangements for these files remains under discussion.

The Group’s sincere thanks go to English Heritage for their support in providing both venues for the Heritage Visits in this anniversary year, and for sponsoring both the Calendar and Newsletters making this a memorable year.

The Group continues to raise its profile within the Institution, illustrating its continuing work in preserving and recording our industry’s engineering history.





CIBSE Heritage Group
Annual Report 2014

2014 has been a more reflective year for the Group after the celebrations of the previous anniversary year.

The Group’s Committee met four times during the year including a heritage visit to the Natural History Museum London for a guided tour of the buildings engineering services. The Group was keen to discover whether any of the original heating system designed by Wilson W Phipson during the Victorian Period still remained. Sadly the original installations had either all been updated or removed.



At the President’s dinner in October, Frank Ferris the Group’s Webmaster, was presented with the Institution’s Silver Medal, for his services to the Institution and Heritage Group. Chairman Neil Sturrock read the citation.

Continuing the success of the earlier Heritage Group’s Calendars it was decided to keep calm and carry on with the production and distribution of another calendar for 2015. The central theme of the years calendar, being pioneers who shaped the building engineering services industry. The selection of monthly calendar pictures was made as in previous years, by member Brian Roberts, chosen from his vast Heritage Group collection.



Newsletters NL 30 & NL31 were prepared by editor Brian Roberts for June and December. Both were printed and distributed, and can also be viewed on the Group's website.

Twenty more electronic books in PDF format written by Brian Roberts and Frank Ferris, have been added to the website during the year.

Vice-Chair of the group Geraldine O’Farrell ensures that all updates to the Group Website are shared with on-line Twitter. The group’s website (@CIBSEHeritage) now has approaching 90 Twitter followers.

The various correspondence files compiled over the years by the Group from its founding in 1973, have now been edited and organized for future research when necessary. It was decided by the Group’s Committee that these Correspondence, Newsletters and Minutes of Meetings files would best be conserved, being deposited with a record office. The London Metropolitan Archive was chosen as the depository and the majority of the files have now been placed on deposit with them. 


Members of the Group have continued their historic research activities during the year as follows.

Michael Barber and Neil Sturrock visited Beaumaris Gaol (Anglesey) in June to investigate the apparent anomaly of the ventilation stack on a prison that predates Pentonville. A further visit is planned. Neil has also been acting as consultant to Lincoln in relation to a proposed historical representation of a 19th Century Prison Cell in Lincoln Castle Gaol.

Frank Ferris has continued to carry out further surveys of historic engineering services in National Trust properties advising on any equipment found that has heritage value.

Many more Churches have been visited throughout the year by Frank Ferris, in the quest to discover more information about Mitchell’s Principle and its connection with the Hypocaust warm air Church heating systems, installed during the Victorian period.  All heating and ventilating equipment found in Churches, that has historic and heritage value is recorded and added to the Group’s Website.

The search has continued by members during 2014, to find the elusive image of the eminent Victorian Consulting H&V Engineer, Wilson Weatherley Phipson.

Following a request from the CIBSE Journal, the Heritage Group has agreed to prepare a number of short articles for the Journal about pioneers of our industry and landmark buildings. The first of these, about Dr David Boswell Reid, has already been written, but not yet published.

The Group’s thanks go to English Heritage for again sponsoring the Calendar and both Newsletters.



CIBSE  Heritage Group
Annual Report  2015


The Group had an industrious year convening five Committee Meetings and combining three of them with visits to Heritage locations.


The January Meeting and visit was to the University of Liverpool Engineering Department and their new Energy Centre, which has been installed in the original Main Boiler House of Liverpool Royal Infirmary. The heating and ventilation systems were designed by W W Phipson and were described in the CIBSE Journal in May 2015. Phipson also designed the systems in the Victoria Building of Liverpool University and members were shown some of the original Phipson drawings from the University Archive.


A Committee Meeting and the Group’s AGM were held at Balham in March.


Dublin was our venue for the May Meeting that included memorable visits to tour and view several historic locations, Kilmainham Gaol; the Mansion House; the National Botanic Gardens of Ireland and Trinity College. These visits were organized complete with guided tours of the various building’s engineering systems, by Edith Blennerhassett our Dublin Member. The Group’s thanks go to Edith, the Dublin Branch of CIBSE and Arup Dublin.




Kilmainham Gaol

The Mansion House


The Botanic Gardens


Trinity College

Whilst in Ireland, Group Members Edith and Frank Ferris visited Northern Ireland to view a recently discovered 1830's G&J Haden warm air heating system installed in Brownlow House Lurgan. The heating system was discovered during building works to house the new Eisenhower Museum. The visit also included a tour of the NT property The Argory which houses an old Perkins iron furnace and an Acetylene Gas making plant. 



Brownlow House

The Argory

A Committee Meeting was held at Balham in September when the Committee’s newest recruit, Dr Henrik Schoenefeldt of the University of Kent, gave a presentation outlining the research work he is engaged in looking at the early operation of the systems installed in the Houses of Parliament in the 1840s and 1850s.

The December Meeting and heritage visit was to the Maybrey Reliance Foundry in Belvedere Kent. This foundry makes specialized castings for specific engineering equipment, however, its origins can be traced back to the Hatcham Iron Works which, under George England and, later, Robert Fairlie produced locomotives from as early as 1849.

 

The Heritage Group has embarked on a venture to produce a number of articles for the CIBSE Journal and three of these have been printed in 2015. The first two looked at the lives of the two earliest and most prolific building services engineers of the 19th Century, Dr David Boswell Reid and Wilson Weatherly Phipson. The third article described Reid’s most successful system, that at St George’s Hall in Liverpool. Further articles are planned to include more on the work of Phipson, the history of radiators and a history of the systems in the Houses of Parliament amongst other topics.  


The production of the Heritage Group’s Calendar continued with the printing and distribution of a calendar for 2016. The theme of the year’s calendar was an eclectic mix of the disciplines that comprise the building engineering services industry. The selection of monthly calendar pictures was made as in previous years, by member Brian Roberts, chosen from his boundless Heritage Group collection.

 



Newsletters NL 32 & NL33 were prepared by editor Brian Roberts for June and December. Both were printed and distributed, and can be viewed on the Group's website.

A number of Electronic Books in PDF format written by Brian Roberts and Frank Ferris, have been added to the website during the year.


Vice-Chair of the group Geraldine O’Farrell ensures that all updates to the Group Website
are shared with on-line Twitter. The Group’s website (@CIBSEHeritage) now has over 120 Twitter followers.

 

The Group’s Website provides a valuable national resource for many people carrying out Engineering research and/or endeavouring to identify and date historic building engineering equipment.


Members of the Group have continued their historic research activities during the year including the following -


The entry for Thomas Tredgold (1788 – 1829) in the Dictionary of National Biography was considered to ignore the many attributes of Tredgold during the last nine years of his life. The entry for Tredgold has been rewritten by Frank Ferris to correct these omissions and the new narrative will be offered to the Oxford DNB for its inclusion.

 

FJF carried out further surveys of historic engineering services in National Trust properties advising on any equipment found that has heritage importance.

Churches have been visited throughout the year by Frank Ferris, including two more churches that had Mitchell’s Principle Hypocaust warm air heating systems installed during the Victorian period.  It is hoped that during 2016 one of these churches will enable the routing of the underfloor flues to be plotted on layout drawings, giving a greater understanding of the design principles of the Hypocaust system.

 

Any heating and ventilating equipment found in Churches, that has historic and heritage importance is recorded and added to the Group’s Website.


The search by Members continued during 2015 to discover that elusive image of the eminent Victorian Consulting H&V Engineer, Wilson Weatherley Phipson. Brought to light during this search were the design and contract drawings of Mount Stuart, Isle of Bute, Scotland, heated by Phipson. The drawings were digitally photographed, copied and recorded to a DVD.

The Group’s thanks go to Historic England for again sponsoring the Calendar and both Newsletters.




CIBSE  Heritage Group
Annual Report  2016
The Group had a quieter year convening four Committee Meetings combining one of them with a visit to a Heritage building.

The Committee Meeting and the Group’s AGM were held at Balham in March.

The Group visited the Royal Albert Hall in London for their May Committee Meeting. The Meeting was held in the Prince of Wales room. The Group was given a guided tour of the RAH including the various basements, floor levels and corridors of this prestigious Victorian building, including the precarious roof space.



The Group was keen to discover whether any of the original heating & ventilating system designed by Wilson W Phipson still remained, but sadly the original H&V installations had either all been updated or removed. However, the RAH archivist was able to provide copies of the original contract between Phipson and the Hall. Also made available was a plan layout prepared by Phipson of his original H&V installation.
 
2016 was the 200th anniversary year of the Haden brothers George & James establishing their firm in Trowbridge Wiltshire. To recognize and celebrate this anniversary a special edition of the newsletter NL34 was published, that showed a potted history of G N Haden & Sons.

Committee Member Henrik Schoenefedlt introduced six of his Post grad students to the Group's July meeting. As part of their degree course each student is researching the engineering history of a particular heritage building in the UK. The Students each gave a visual presentation to the Group including a short lecture about their findings.

The Heritage Group’s Calendar continued apace with the printing and distribution of the calendar for 2017. The theme of the year’s calendar is an assortment of early heating stoves and other examples of engineering history. The selection of monthly calendar pictures was chosen as usual by member Brian Roberts.








During August a new book titled
"Technology in the Country House"
by Marilyn Palmer & Ian West was
published by Historic England
& National Trust. Committee Members
Brian Roberts, Frank Ferris &
Paul Yunnie were pleased to have
had input into the research for
this book.   

 

Further Electronic Books in PDF format written by Brian Roberts and Frank Ferris, have been added to the website during the year.

Vice-Chair of the group Geraldine O’Farrell ensures that all updates to the Group Website are shared with on-line Twitter. The Group’s Twitter site (@CIBSEHeritage) now has over 125 followers.

The website homepage link titled 'Pioneers who created the Built Environment' has been extended to provide a number of webpages with links to many of the industry's Pioneers.

This has been a very busy year for member Brian Roberts who has prepared the Group's 2017 Calendar, 3 Newsletters NL34, 35 & 36 plus an 80th anniversary booklet for the CIBSE Scotland region. All publications have been printed and distributed, and can be viewed on the Group's website. The Group's grateful thanks go again to Brian who as Archivist to the Heritage Group's historic collection makes this possible.

Churches have been visited during the year by Frank Ferris, including revisiting a Herefordshire church that had a Mitchell’s Principle Hypocaust warm air underfloor heating systems installed, to try and follow the routes of the underfloor ducts. During 2016 one of the other churches with the Hypocaust underfloor system had the floor surface taken up which allowed photos to be taken of the underfloor ducts showing their size and routes.

At the commencement of the October meeting, group member David Drewe was presented by Chairman Neil Sturrock with the Institution’s Bronze Medal, for his services to the Heritage Group. The citation was read by Chairman Neil Sturrock.

The Group’s thanks go again to Historic England for sponsoring the Calendar and Newsletters.
  



CIBSE  Heritage Group
Annual Report  2017


The Committee did not arrange any visits during 2017, for various reasons. All five Committee Meetings and AGM were held at Balham HQ. It is proposed that a visit to the historic Salomans Estate will be organised for early in 2018. Sir David Salomans was one of the earliest pioneers of electricity use in the home.


The Group was pleased to welcome some young blood to our meetings this year in the form of Sam Johnson from University of Cardiff and Tim Taylor of W S Atkins. The average age of our Committee has been increasing for too long. Tim was short-listed for the Ken Dale Travel Bursary Award this year but was not successful. Ken Dale had been one of the driving forces for the formation of what was to become the CIBSE Heritage Group. We also welcomed Keith Dodd onto the Committee.

Committee Member Henrik Schoenefedlt introduced six of his Post grad students at the Group's December meeting. As part of their degree course each student is researching the engineering history of a particular heritage building in the UK. Each Student gave a visual presentation to the Group including a short description about their findings.

Further Electronic Books in PDF format written by Brian Roberts and Frank Ferris, have been added to the website during the year.

During the year a number of churches and chapels with historic heating systems were visited by Frank Ferris. Two chapels in South Wales were visited by Frank Ferris and Sam Johnson. Both these Chapels were considered at risk and have been acquired by The Welsh Religious Buildings Trust. Frank has offered to act as Engineering Advisor to the Trust.


The Houses of Parliament have figured quite largely this year in the work of the Group and this was reflected in the fact that our June 2017 Newsletter concentrated on that building. Andrew Piper of the Parliamentary Works Directorate gave the Committee an update on the progress of the plans for major refurbishment and Henrik Schoenefeldt reported on his research into the original and subsequent historic heating and ventilation systems.


Vice-Chair of the group Geraldine O’Farrell ensures that all updates to the Group Website
are shared with on-line Twitter. The Group’s Twitter site (@CIBSEHeritage) now has over 225 followers.


This has been another busy year for member Brian Roberts who prepared the Group's 2018 Calendar and Newsletters NL37 & 38. The theme of the year’s calendar was showing some of the historic buildings and engineering equipment visited by the Group during its 40 year history. All publications have been printed and distributed, and can be viewed on the Group's website. Grateful thanks go again to Brian who as Group Archivist retains the Heritage Group's historic collection that makes this possible.