The ‘Derelict Rescue’ TV documentary about the construction of Warksburn Old Church is available to stream for free here.
The TV show requires a Discovery+ account to stream. If you have an account, it will start automatically. If not, just sign up for a free account. You do not need to sign up for any premium package to watch the programme.
The link works for viewers in the UK and Republic of Ireland. Viewers in other territories may have to search on the Discovery platform for Series 2, Episode 3 of ‘Derelict Rescue’. The programme may not be available in all territories.
We’re thrilled and honoured that the Institution of Civil Engineers has published an article featuring Warksburn Old Church in its “What is Civil Engineering” series about important projects. The article is here.
It was a pleasure to be able to “bring history full circle” with our first-in-world project to convert a former church into a home which meets Passivhaus standards for airtightness, insulation and extreme energy efficiency. In 1875, the building was originally funded by Sir George Barclay Bruce, who served as President of the ICE in 1887 – 1889. He’s holding the architect’s sketch in this hand in the portrait below.
His Presidential Address on 8th November 1887 contains the world’s first recorded reference to the renewable generation and storage of electricity. In 2024, Sir George’s vision came to life in the very building he funded a century and a half earlier: the completed Warksburn Old Church Passivhaus now produces more energy than it consumes over the course of a year.
Sir George Barclay Bruce. President of the Institution of Civil Engineers 1887 – 1889. Portrait by kind permission of Westminster College Cambridge.
Electricity is to us now light, heat, and power. Our streets and beacons shine with it, it signs and speaks for us around the world, across the desert, and beneath the ocean. When we shall have learnt the way of storing up in a more efficient and financially successful manner, the unemployed forces of nature such as the winds and streams and tides, which can be so readily converted into electrical energy at trifling cost, then will it become a factor in the world’s life compared with which the present is as nothing.
George Barclay Bruce – Presidential Address to ICE 8 November 1887
For more information about the historical connection to Sir George Barclay Bruce, and his remarkable anticipation of renewable energy please see this page.
Thanks to everyone who visited Warksburn Old Church during the Passivhaus Trust Open Day event from 08 – 10 November. This followed on from the June Open Day event, when we were overwhelmed with interest, with people from all over the country coming to Wark to view the building works in progress during the our world-first project to convert a former church into a home meeting Passivhaus standards.
The autumn 2024 PHT Open Days event, from Friday 8th to Sunday 10th November 2024 enabled us to show visitors around stunning home that resulted from the rebuild, which is now open for bookings as a unique and spectacular holiday rental property, inviting guests to experience Passivhaus living in Net Zero Luxury for themselves.
Book a stay at Warksburn Old Church
Ahead of the Open Day, we had had some great media coverage, so visitors could take a look at the TV documentary which followed the conversion project, and read the Sunday Times article. All the project certifications were also completed before the event, so visitors could check out Warksburn Old Church on the Passivhaus Trust website and the International Passive House Association database.
It has been a pleasure AirTV, the production company who made the Derelict Rescue documentary about Warksburn Old Church.
The ‘Derelict Rescue’ TV documentary about the construction of Warksburn Old Church is available to stream for free here.
Air TV released the following details ahead of the show’s first broadcast on Monday 21 October 2024.
Derelict Rescue is a series where Britain’s bravest homebuilders tackle the most run down, abandoned buildings. Series 2 is now showing on Mondays at 9pm on HGTV.
Episode 3: The Ultimate Eco Church
Episode three of Derelict Rescue takes us to the picturesque village of Wark in Northumberland, where Alan and Anne James are on a mission to convert a 19th Century Church into a 21st century Passivhaus– the gold standard in sustainable living.
They’ve given themselves just sixty weeks to turn a cold, draughty church that leaks heat into a luxury holiday let, that will be so well insulated it will require little or no heating.
It’s a hugely ambitious project. But if they succeed, this will be the first time in the world a former church has been converted into a home which meets the rigorous Passivhaus standard.
Yesterday afternoon was one of those glorious days of autumn sunshine. With the sun low in the afternoon sky, that’s perfect conditions for the stained glass windows at the west end of Warksburn Old Church. The close up face at the top of this post represents Lady Helen Norah, wife of Sir George Barclay Bruce, in one of the feature windows by the eminent Victorian stained glass masters, Charles Eamer Kempe. The image below represents their daughter, Anne Louisa.
Annie Louisa Barclay Bruce – Stained Glass by Charles Eamer Kempe
We have had many enquiries about the upcoming Derelict Rescue TV documentary about Warksburn Old Church, which will be broadcast on Monday 21 October 2024 at 9pm on HGTV. Please feel free to share the information below on your socials.
We’re pleased to release this little ‘sneak preview’ video slideshow, showing some of the details of the interior design and artwork at Warksburn Old Church. The video embedded below is in .mov format. If you wish to open or download a copy in .m4v format, please click here to open the video in a new window.
