Heating system
Category
Historic Services / Heating and ventilation
Date
1884 (circa)
Materials
metal & glass
Collection
Tatton Park, Cheshire
NT 1298866
Summary
A historic system comprising of a Calorifier Heating and Hot Water Service; a central boiler plant generated steam which was distributed to steam calorifiers (tanks with central coils running through them) to generate hot water for both the heating system and (separately) for domestic hot water, possibly replacing earlier conventional boilers. There are two calorifier rooms in the mansion at Tatton, clearly identifiable from the stencilled lettering on the glass panels of their doors, which are both labelled 'Calorifier Heating & Hot Water', one at the west end of the service wing basement corridor, labelled "Servants End and Tenants Hall", one under the south west corner of the family wing, labelled "Best End". These two rooms are the possible locations of earlier warm air stoves. Flow temperature thermometer on radiator in entrance hall passage. This system is likely to have been contemporary with the first steam boilers and engine, which therefore dates it to no later than 1884. Archival drawings suggest that Haden & Sons of Trowbridge were responsible for all of the original steam heating system at Tatton, though the steam pipes and two calorifiers at the west end of the basement corridor are shown as additions on the 19th century ground floor plan, whilst those below the south west corner of the family wing are not, suggesting that the latter was installed as a second phase. This calorifier room has a name plate for 'T. Bradford & Co., Laundry, Heating and Cooking Engineers, Manchester, London & Liverpool', who were probably the installers, at least to this extension of the original system (2013 technology report, Ian West & Marilyn Palmer)