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 Power Point computerised format for the presentation.

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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 SirGoldsworthy 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 now its Homepage 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 honoured 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 honoured 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, 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 honoured 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 back to top

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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 wee 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 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 back to top

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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 and 2) The Royal Engineers Museum in Gillingham Kent. At the Trust’s HQ the Group was updated on their Database which will include all items of engineering that exist within their properties. 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.

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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 honoured 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 Group during the 1970’s and 1980’s including being its Chairman for several years. 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.

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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.

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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 churches have been found this year in the south of England where this underfloor heating system was installed. At present a total of eight churches have been discovered, stretching from Herefordshire across to Essex and Kent. Newsletters 24 and 25 sponsored by English Heritage, were printed and distributed during the year. Both Newsletters can 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. 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 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.

Knowledge of the past is as essential to an industry as memory is to a healthy person. We must have an understanding of how we have arrived at where we are, for without that we have no means of knowing or deciding where we are going.

History Matters - Pass it on back to top

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