The UK has a growing number of churches and chapels that are no longer in regular use. All too often they quickly become neglected, falling into significant disrepair.

Fortunately, with good ideas and careful renovation, old churches can be repurposed for new uses rather than being lost forever. Such is the case with All Saints Church in Swansea.

The historic Welsh church of All Saints, in Swansea opened in 1845, and was built by the celebrated industrialist Grenfell family, whose wealth came from copper mining. The family originated in the St Thomas area of the city, where the church is located. As well as building All Saints, they also invested in a school and houses for their workers.

Due to dwindling congregations, the Church in Wales closed All Saints in 2015. After being sold in 2017, an initial planning application in 2018 to convert the building into a residential property was turned down. Sadly, the building then became a target for vandals, hastening its deterioration.

However, a new planning application has since been approved, and All Saints is now in the process of being turned into a five-bedroom family home.

The church contains a range of monuments and memorials to World War I soldiers, the Grenfell family, and stained-glass windows. The new owners are sensitive to the concerns of the local community regarding the historical fabric of the building and are keen to ensure that key features are preserved and restored. Crucially, the new planning application will protect the overall appearance of the church within its community setting.

Renovating an old building like a Victorian church is a complex operation, requiring a great deal of care and sensitivity. It also requires high degrees of specialist knowledge. This is where Storm Windows, a family-run company specialist in bespoke secondary glazing for historic properties, became involved with the project.

Making historical buildings comfortable and energy efficient

As is common with old churches and chapels, the building is draughty and highly inefficient when it comes to heating. Turning All Saints into a comfortable family residence while protecting its historical fabric presents a unique set of challenges.

Storm Windows were contacted to take a look at the windows in the building. Due to the intricacies of some of the stained-glass windows, the new owners were unsure of what could be achieved. Having worked on previous chapel and church renovation projects at All Saints Church in Hawkshurst, Kent and Capel Nant in Nanhorn, near Abersoch, Storm Windows understood the unique challenges that they could present, as well as how these could be overcome.

Storm Windows Director, Mitchell Reece, completed a survey of the building and concluded that it would be possible to fit energy efficient secondary glazing to the windows that retained their integrity and appearance. The original stained glass is now being carefully restored and brought back to its former glory, with secondary glazing providing added protection.

Accurate paper templates of the windows were created and then taken back to the workshop to ensure a millimetre precise fit. The three panelled altar window presented a unique challenge, with each window section needing to be created separately. These are then joined together using invisible fixings. This window alone is 4.5 metres in height, by 2.5 metres in width.

Storm Windows secondary glazing had to meet the requirements of building regulations while being sensitive to the appearance and needs of the original windows.

Ensuring sustainability with low carbon glass

All Saints will now benefit from the thermal efficiency of ORAÉ® low carbon glass. Storm Windows are the first UK installers of this innovative glazing, 64% of which is made up of recycled glass. The manufacturing plant is powered from a renewable energy source, leading to 42% energy reduction throughout the manufacturing process. The glazing is of exceptional quality and delivers outstanding thermal efficiency when installed.

Storm Windows are pioneers in this field, championing sustainability through careful choice of materials and practices. The company also recycles any leftover glass, returning it to the supplier to be re-used.

The new owners of All Saints Church can now look forward to enjoying a modern, comfortable home in a beautifully preserved and restored community building.