Mosaic Conservation Chedworth Roman Villa

Monitoring and control experts Hanwell Solutions have recently been part of an innovative piece of conservation instigated by The National Trust at their oldest building, the 4th century Romano-British villa at Chedworth, Gloucestershire.

The villa, originally unearthed in 1864 by a Victorian gamekeeper on the site which is near Cirencester, boasts many early household innovations such as bath houses, underfloor heating and flushing toilets.

In 2012 the Trust completed a major project to provide a conservation shelter to cover newly discovered mosaics. As part of this work The Trust has had a 21st century environmental control system installed which suited the conditions required to preserve the site but also recognised the Trust’s own goal to adopt a more Eco friendly approach to their building management plans. The system works in several stages to check external airflow quality before it is brought into the building to control the ambient temperature. Alternatively, if the temperature inside is too cool then the system will trigger low impact heaters which run off a low energy heat pump. In addition, internal mechanical vents have been used to control the raised CO2 levels which are generated by crowds and can cause stuffiness and stale air.

Hanwell Solutions were chosen to provide the bespoke building control system to assist with their mosaic conservation project because of their unrivalled reputation for providing bespoke monitoring and control systems in the heritage properties around the world.

Hanwell’s Technical Director, Dr Martin Hancock, who worked closely with the National Trust and consulting engineers E3, on the project which took 12 months to complete and install said, “To be chosen to utilise modern technology to protect and preserve two thousand year old technology is a great thrill for Hanwell and adds to our growing portfolio of innovative solutions for the heritage sector”.