PARISH  CHURCH of 
St. ANDREW'S

  CHEDDAR - SOMERSET


The original church dates from the 13th century

The heating system probably dates from after the Victorian restoration in the period 1880 to 1890 and was installed by the Bristol heating firm of A H Skinner & Co.  He was the son of Vincent Skinner who installed the heating systems in several Bristol churches including St Mary Redcliff.

Their name plate as shown below can still  to be seen in the Church



The wet heating system comprises a mixture of vertical tubular radiators, cast iron pipework, cast iron header fittings and CI hospital pattern sectional radiators.

The shape of the cast iron pipe fittings shown are of an unusually heavy pattern and were most probably manufactured in Skinner's own iron foundry works in Stokes Croft, Bristol.


These different sizes and shapes of  cast iron header boxes are used to enable the double pipe work runs to change pipe size, position
and direction, as it is quite possible that suitable wrought iron pipe fittings were not manufactured at the time of the installation.

Several floor gratings can be seen in a side aisle indicating the probability that a warm air stove was installed in the church that pre-dated the wet heating system.

On the Victorian restoration works drawing shown below it can be seen that two warm air stoves were fitted below the floor gratings in the aisles of the church. The dotted outline of two flues are clearly shown routed to the tower.



CIBSE  HERITAGE GROUP
MARCH  2002