Faith House in Tufton Street, Westminster is an attractive grade II listed building with a fascinating history.

Designed by the renowned Edwardian architect, Sir Edwin Lutyens, Faith House was built as the Church Institute for St John’s between 1905-07. It was subsequently taken over by the Society of the Faith, an Anglo-Catholic organisation that still uses the building today.

This Neo-Georgian building is built of dark red brick with stone dressings and a pantile roof. It consists of a basement, a ground floor and two upper floors. The top floor is a dormered attic. The main ground floor room has an aisled, church-like interior and features a groin-vaulted central area. Illumination of the room comes from ‘clerestory’ style windows in the central area, as well as windows to light wells at the rear of the building.

Working with Shenstone & Partners Architects, we were commissioned to install 40 glazing units. These were a mixture of vertical sliding sash and specialist-shaped slimline units. Due to the busy, central London location of the building, the glazing would provide extra acoustic protection from outside noise.  The presence of air conditioning in this older building also meant the glazing had to be fitted with ventilation in mind. When AC is used in period buildings it can lead to increased humidity and problems with damp, so natural ventilation needs to be maintained.

As is frequently the case in buildings built for ecclesiastical use, the size and height of the windows required telescopic towers and triple ladders. Because of the safety implications of this kind of work, a team of 3 had to be on site throughout.

Another factor was the building’s ongoing use, which meant the installation had to be completed during the early hours of the morning. This was something we were able to accommodate and was similar to the installation process at the York Railway Station ticket office that we recently completed. Our team worked over four days, between 1 am and 6 am to get the job done in a professional and timely manner.

Church buildings present particular challenges when it comes to windows but it’s something we relish. Other ecclesiastical work has seen us installing secondary glazing to a church built in memory of a Ugandan Bishop in Hove, an apartment conversion in the iconic All Saints Church, Hawkhurst, helping congregants enjoy more comfortable services at the Carver Church in Windermere, and restoring a beautiful church Capel Nant near Abersoch.

Whatever the nature of the building, our team relishes the opportunity to help ensure their future use and enjoyment.

It was great to take time out to join in the national celebrations. With his previous support for historic buildings and sustainability, King Charles III clearly shares some of the same values as Storm Windows. We look forward to continuing our work as we help to give new life to old buildings and preserve iconic properties for generations to come.

To find out more about the benefits of our secondary glazing units, please click here.