Delivering sustainable heating solutions to Lancashire's 700 year old Grade I Listed hall

As Samlesbury Hall celebrates its 700^th year anniversary, the team are delighted to have a brand new, efficient energy system in place to keep those visiting the Hall in the cooler months warm.

Samlesbury Hall is known for delivering incredible events, experiences and weddings from its impressive Tudor-style hall in South Ribble.

Its position as a vital visitor attraction in the county means that it needs to be welcoming, inviting and, most importantly, warm. Temperature is not only important to making it comfortable for visitors but helps maintain the historic contents and structure of the building.

Previously heated by an inefficient oil boiler in the basement, which was not sustainable and posed fire risks to the Grade I listed manor house, the heating system wasn’t future-thinking.

The team wanted to adapt to a new system to make their operations greener and safer. They enlisted the help of the Lancashire County Council’s Low Carbon Heat Grant Programme to develop a new approach.  This pilot programme aimed to help businesses across the county to transition to cheaper-to-run heating methods.

Now home to a new state-of-the-art hybrid air source heat pump, the team at Samlesbury Hall can monitor the heating more effectively and choose between different amounts of electricity or gas to heat with.

The system was chosen due to the restrictions of building. It is located outside of the main hall, providing a safer solution which doesn’t put the impressive structure, which dates to 1325, at as much risk from fire. Not only is it more carbon efficient to support the environment, but it was delivered by Lytham based Global Energy Systems, keeping the work local to support business growth and economy.

By utilising heat from the air and moving it efficiently into the building and giving the custodians the hybrid option of using electricity or gas they can choose the most cost-effective method of heating at the time – a vital approach to a not-for-profit based organisation.

The project is being monitored to determine savings and provides a system which has a projected lifespan of 20 years, in which it will save an estimated 2,600 tonnes of carbon dioxide emissions. The finishing touches were completed in March 2025 and the system is fully operational.

Lauren Machin, Hall Director, comments: “The new heating installation is not only easier to use but it’s safer, more environmentally friendly and makes the Hall an extra cosy place to visit during the winter when we have lots of exciting events on – for example our legendary Christmas Fair at the end of November.”

The project at Samlesbury Hall is just one of a number delivered by the pilot programme, with new air source heat pumps currently being piloted in Preston and Longridge. The project in Longridge has seen one company recycling the waste heat generated from refrigeration units into the office spaces to keep the staff areas at optimum temperature levels. Two projects in Colne and Thornton-Cleveleys were also supported using far infra-red heating where infra-red heat, found in sunlight but without harmful UV, warms staff using sensors to efficiently heat just the people rather than the entire space.