The Cathedrals of England: Environmental Performance, Conservation and Exhibitions

Curteis, Tobit

doi:10.1080/00393630.2018.1504470

Cited by 2 publications

(5 citation statements)

References 2 publications

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“…Therefore, it is safe to assume that a lack of heating will not have a detrimental effect upon their condition, given the hundreds of years many have survived without being heated [58]. Due to the design features inherent in most Christian church buildings, Curteis [3] reports broadly similar internal environmental microclimates existing in historic cathedrals of different size and location. Conditions at the west end of the nave are more unstable, and artefacts located in that area of the building are at greater stress due to this being the main door of the church.…”

Section: Hygrothermal and Microclimatesmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Conditions at the west end of the nave are more unstable, and artefacts located in that area of the building are at greater stress due to this being the main door of the church. Smaller churches experience greater instability when large groups of people occupy the space due to a smaller internal volume and complete exchange of air from the entrance door [3]. Historic England also highlights the existence of various microclimates in historic buildings.…”

Section: Hygrothermal and Microclimatesmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…In San Jan Bautista Church, Talamanca de Jarama, Spain, the indoor relative humidity (RH) rises from around 45% to about 70-75% on rainy days, where it remains for around 48 h. During rainy periods the area experiences over 90% relative humidity, with a yearly average of 57.1% [61]. When studying the cathedrals of England, Curteis [3] stated that typical churches have 85% RH at 10 • C. Furthermore, winter typically sees lower RH during the period the heating system is operative. With high relative humidity comes the potential for mechanical stress, mould growth and degradation in susceptible items.…”

Section: Hygrothermal and Microclimatesmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Where space heating is used in historic churches, it often focuses on human thermal comfort rather than the building and artefact requirements, inducing large fluctuations in temperature and relative humidity [2]. Space heating systems attempt to condition large volumes of air in the church in an often futile effort to meet modern comfort expectations [3]. Despite construction utilising high thermal mass materials, the sporadic nature of church services results in an environment which is often below human comfort levels [4].…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Historic Churches and Their Hygrothermal Environment: A Review of Criteria Related to Building Fabric, Artefacts, Artwork and Occupants

et al. 2022

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Regarded as important cultural heritage, historic churches have been utilised over hundreds of years for worship and community benefit. Simple on/off space heating systems are installed in many churches to increase human comfort. However, the conservation of the important historic artefacts and artwork contained within may not have been fully considered. This review attempts to appraise the standards in place for artefacts and artwork. A consensus of 15–25 °C and 40–65% relative humidity is established as safe from the standards reviewed. Consideration is given to the environment within the church to understand if such exacting conditions can be met. The review finds that the conservation and preservation of artefacts and buildings are aligned goals, although striving to meet specified target ranges for artefact types is not fully compatible with historic churches. The stability of the internal environment is clearly an important factor in conservation and benefits human comfort expectations. Churches may contain microclimates throughout the building, complicating the use of target ranges for artefacts, artwork and comfort. The findings of this study can assist historic churches in managing the change, alteration or installation of heating systems.

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Section: Hygrothermal and Microclimatesmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Hygrothermal and Microclimatesmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Hygrothermal and Microclimatesmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

See 2 more Smart Citations

Historic Churches and Their Hygrothermal Environment: A Review of Criteria Related to Building Fabric, Artefacts, Artwork and Occupants

et al. 2022

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“…Compared to archival buildings, indoor climates in museum galleries with objects on display are frequently researched. In exhibition galleries, the indoor climate parameters can be disturbed by visitor presence acting as a heat and moisture source [1] and in archives, thermal and hygric inertia of the stored objects could be of influence [2]. The current paradigm on environmental conditions in archives includes the preference for a low temperature (T) and a relative humidity (RH) that is more or less stable around the midrange [3][4][5].…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Indoor Airflow Distribution in Repository Design: Experimental and Numerical Microclimate Analysis of an Archive

et al. 2021

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The majority of cultural heritage is stored in archives, libraries and museum storage spaces. To reduce degradation risks, many archives adopt the use of archival boxes, among other means, to provide the necessary climate control and comply with strict legislation requirements regarding temperature and relative air humidity. A strict ambient indoor climate is assumed to provide adequate environmental conditions near objects. Guidelines and legislation provide requirements for ambient indoor climate parameters, but often do not consider other factors that influence the near-object environment, such as the use of archival boxes, airflow distribution and archival rack placement. This study aimed to provide more insight into the relation between the ambient indoor conditions in repositories and the hygrothermal conditions surrounding the collection. Comprehensive measurements were performed in a case study archive to collect ambient, local and near-object conditions. Both measurements and computational fluid dynamics (CFD) modeling were used to research temperature/relative humidity gradients and airflow distribution with a changing rack orientation, climate control strategy and supply as well as exhaust set-up in a repository. The following conclusions are presented: (i) supplying air from one air handling unit to multiple repositories on different floors leads to small temperature differences between them. Differences in ambient and local climates are noticed; (ii) archival boxes mute and delay variations in ambient conditions as expected—however, thermal radiation from the building envelope may have a large influence on the climate conditions in a box; (iii) adopting night reduction for energy conservation results in an increased influence of the external climate, with adequate insulation, this effect should be mitigated; and (iv) the specific locations of the supply air and extraction of air resulted in a vertical gradient of temperature and insufficient mixing of air, and adequate ventilation strategies should enhance sufficient air mixing in combination with the insulation of external walls, and gradient forming should be reduced.

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The Cathedrals of England: Environmental Performance, Conservation and Exhibitions

Cited by 2 publications

References 2 publications

Historic Churches and Their Hygrothermal Environment: A Review of Criteria Related to Building Fabric, Artefacts, Artwork and Occupants

Historic Churches and Their Hygrothermal Environment: A Review of Criteria Related to Building Fabric, Artefacts, Artwork and Occupants

Indoor Airflow Distribution in Repository Design: Experimental and Numerical Microclimate Analysis of an Archive

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