God’s House Tower, a late 13th century gatehouse into the old town of Southampton, has had its heating systems modernized with the installation of a diverse selection of Dunham-Bush heat emitters, including fan convectors, hydro-course trench heating and radiant panels, to meet the varying installation requirements of this ancient monument. Dunham-Bush offers one of the UK’s widest ranges of heat emitters, providing an ideal ‘one stop’ solution for James Liston Building Services, main contractors for the project.
The work was part of a £3.1million refurbishment of the building, which has reopened as a unique arts and heritage centre, housing a permanent exhibition on the history of the 700-year old building and two new gallery spaces showcasing specially commissioned contemporary and period art from prestigious local collections.
Dunham-Bush fan convectors provide quick response heating and there is a versatile range of 22 standard models to choose from, each produced in four casing lengths and three coil types, making them suitable for a wide range of commercial applications. AM and BM Series models were installed in the Tower’s entrance and Crawford Room.
Finvector hydro-course trench heating delivers natural convection heating around the room perimeter and produces a warm curtain of air, off-setting down-draught and heat loss to ensure comfortable conditions. This proved particularly suitable for the Tower’s Café, with the added benefit of the system’s anodised aluminium grilles blending unobtrusively with the décor.
Aesthetically pleasing, Evolution radiant panels are designed for a wide range of high wall and ceiling mounting applications, freeing up both floor and wall space. The range consists of one, two, four and six tube panels in nominal lengths of 600-3000mm in various tube configurations. At the Tower they provide heating in the Display Venue and in the first and second floors of the Tower.
Grade I listed and a scheduled ancient monument, God’s House Tower stands at the south-east corner of the town walls and has permitted access to the town from the Platform and Town Quay for centuries. Owned by Southampton City Council, it has previously served as the town jail and housed the Museum of Archaeology. Building work on the tower began in the 13th century and wasn’t finally completed until early in the 15th century.