Win a FREE STAY at Warksburn Old Church – The 1st Passivhaus church conversion in the world – now a luxury holiday rental in Northumberland

Enter their competition for a free stay here. 

Nestled in the beautiful village of Wark, in rural Northumberland, Warksburn Old Church is the world’s first church conversion to meet  the extremely demanding  Passivhaus standard for energy efficiency. It has been converted from a cold, damp and draughty Victorian church into a luxury NetZero holiday let, perfect for guests looking to enjoy luxurious holidays whilst being mindful of their carbon footprint. 

The church was originally funded 1875 by Sir George Barclay Bruce the eminent Victorian who later became President of the Institute of Civil Engineers. His ICE Presidential Address in 1887 saw the world’s first documented reference to the renewable generation and storage of  electricity key Net Zero technologies which have now been implemented in the building funded by  Sir George a century and a half ago. In his speech, he said: 

“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 ; and 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.” 

Brought to life by Dr Anne and Dr Alan James, this project has been a labour of love for these two longtime sustainability advocates. Speaking of the project, they said:  “We explicitly designed Warksburn Old Church to showcase the ‘art of the possible’. We wanted to create a truly special place, where guests can experience for themselves how radical energy efficiency can be achieved in a building which also delivers the highest levels of luxury, comfort and interior design, and which sensitively preserves its heritage and history.” 

The accommodation is both truly luxurious and contains cutting-edge energy-efficient technologies. These  work unobtrusively in the background to minimise the building’s environmental impact, while the property  provides guests with the style and comfort you would expect from a high-end holiday home. A talented community of artists and makers has contributed to the interior, with hand crafted furniture and artwork all around the building, and the history of the building is  showcased in the entrance hall, where a portrait of Sir George Barclay Bruce looks down into a building which not only realises his vision of clean energy, but now generates more than it consumes over the course of a year. 

Local lead building contractor, David Reed, did a phenomenal job of not only meeting the new build Passivhaus standard recently set, but smashing it out of the park, with a truly astonishing result of 0.19 air changes per hour (ACH) when the final airtightness test was conducted.  That’s about 50 to 75 times more efficient than typical UK housing stock.

Wark sits in the heart of the beautiful North Tyne Valley. A wide range of lovely local eateries are available in nearby Hexham and Corbridge, and two Michelin star restaurants are within a 15 mile radius. It’s a great base to access some of the UK’s most famous sites, including Hadrian’s Wall, Kielder Forest, Hexham Abbey and the Scottish border.

The site is adjacent to the  International Dark Skies Park at Kielder, with observatories available in the village of Wark and Kielder; over the last year, the Northern Lights have regularly been seen from the church too!

The church is now available for holiday lets. Enter their competition for a free stay here. 

Read the recent article from The Sunday Times here.

For more information visit the Warksburn Old Church website.  Check out a 3D tour of the interior here.

Watch the TV documentary: Derelict Rescue, Series 2, Episode 3: The Ultimate Eco Church.  Now streaming for free on Discovery+