From Village Hall to Family Home: Finding Warmth in a Historic Space

When I first stepped inside the converted church hall that would become our family home, I was struck by its character. This house was once the social heart of the village, a place where people gathered for Brownies and Scouts, tea dances, school lunches, wedding receptions, and milestone birthdays. You can still feel that history in the wooden floors and lofty ceilings, which once echoed with laughter and chatter. Part of the house is also the once caretaker's cottage so it is basically two buildings together which is great but does present some challenges.

As much as we loved the sense of community woven into its walls, we quickly discovered one major drawback: warmth. This beautiful building, designed for gatherings rather than cosy living, is notoriously difficult to heat. The high ceilings send warmth drifting upward, while draughts creep in through doors that were built to welcome crowds. On a cold winter’s day, the space feels more like a chilly community hall than a home and this part of the house is unusable during the winter which is a great shame. That’s why we’ve been looking into long-term solutions such as Ground Source Heat Pump, a modern, environmentally friendly sustainable way to bring comfort to our home with such a unique past.

Why a Ground Source Heat Pump Could Work for Us

The challenge of heating our hall lies in the sheer volume of space. In the past a chimney breast at the far side indicates there was an open fire and there were radiators installed but in this large space, the heat would simply rise out of reach. I dread to think of the cost of multiple radiators heating this space. A ground source heat pump, however, works differently. By drawing steady warmth from the ground a few metres below the garden, it provides continuous, gentle heating that’s far more effective for large, draughty spaces. This is renewable energy so rather than burning fuel like a gas boiler, it draws the heat from the ground and transfers it into your home. It is also extremely efficient, especially compared with a gas boiler.

We particularly like that ground source heat pumps can pair with underfloor heating and solar panels to make our home super environmentally friendly. Imagine stepping onto warm wooden boards in the very hall that once hosted 1940's tea dances or the local pantomime — that kind of comfort would transform the experience of living here - the whole building could feel inviting and evenly warm. We could start to use this large useful space during those winter months for parties and our daughter to play in.

Improving Energy Efficiency

Until then, we’re doing what we can with smaller improvements to give the area a bit more warmth/cosy it up and improve the energy efficiency of the overall house:

Draught-proofing the big double side doors where generations of school children once hurried in for their school dinners.
Adding loft insulation so heat no longer disappears into the rafters. The loft space above the hall is vast and I mean vast. It's a whole other space that could be developed in itself.
Switching the current dodgy old lights to LED bulbs, cutting energy use while brightening the tall ceilings and giving a warmer hue.
Installing smart thermostats so we can heat side rooms individually — the little annexes that once served as meeting rooms or cloakrooms. In fact one of these rooms is now our bedroom!
Cladding the outside of the house with wood and an insulation board layer.
Secondary glaze the sash windows
Having some cosy large rugs on the wooden floor.

These changes help, but they don’t solve the heart of the problem with our grand hall. The hall was built for gatherings, not insulation, and even with rugs, curtains, and draft stoppers, the cold lingers. The windows here can't easily be changed.

In the past, villagers used the rear garden for a bar area and there was a concrete skittle alley. Today, that same outdoor space could provide the room for ground loops or boreholes to support a ground source heat pump. Unlike an air source pump, which can be affected by wind and weather, a ground source heat pump makes the most of stable underground temperatures.

With government grants such as the Boiler Upgrade Scheme helping to offset upfront costs, it’s a project that feels more achievable than we first imagined.

Keeping the Warmth Alive

What draws us to this property is its role in village life. For decades, it was the warm heart of the community — a place where neighbours came together to celebrate, eat, dance, and share their lives. Now, as our family home, we want it to recapture some of that warmth, both literally and figuratively. We don't want to change the building as there were plans prior to my husband purchasing this property for the hall part to be knocked down. I would hate to lose the hall, I feel like a guardian over it. So it is time to warm this space up.

A ground source heat pump offers a way to do just that: to take this once bustling community space and make it a sustainable, comfortable home for the future for our daughter who could one day live in that space as a separate annexe. . The laughter and music may no longer echo across the hall every night, but by keeping it warm and welcoming, we can continue its legacy as a place where people feel at home.