West & West were tasked with a full re-wire of the lighting system of St. John the Baptist Church, which consisted of cabling, controls, distribution, and network cabling. All cables have been installed on the surface of the building fabric and painted to reduce the visual impact of the installation. Located in the Cotswold village of Burford, St. John the Baptist Church is a Grade I listed building that dates back to around 1176.

The installation involved intricate rewiring throughout the church. Our team had to avoid crypts under the floor of the church when carrying out the installation and had to work at up to eight metres above the ground while protecting the building’s historic fabric. This meant that any drilling had to be very carefully planned and carried out. As the building had no service voids or risers, a different design approach was adopted for the cabling. To do this, we located control equipment in strategic locations and used a maximum of four cables to run to each control panel. We spent a lot of time with the historic fabric committee discussing and trialling different colour pallets to match the cabling into the stonework. We also commissioned pattresses to which equipment could be secured; these were purpose-made from reclaimed oak to match the aesthetic of the church.

Project Description

LV Electrical Distribution

Throughout the installation, we have retained the existing electrical distribution, and new mode controls have been supplied from local distribution boards to each of the three controls panel.

Lighting control

The 3 mode control panels are all supplied by a 20-amp miniature circuit protective device (MCB) local to each panel. From each control panel, there is a CAT5E cable that connects each panel to create the network. There are also circuit switch lines going out, generally wired in 2.5mm White 5 core FP200 cables. These outgoing switch lines control all lighting throughout the church, with exception of service rooms including the kitchen, vestry, boiler room and tower rooms. There is still local switching.

General lighting system

All lighting has been replaced within the main church and was designed and supplied by Sylvania Lighting. Lighting consists of directional LED lighting mounted on either track or surface in bespoke pattresses.

Emergency lighting system

New twin spot emergency lighting has been installed in concealed locations to maintain a clear and sleek look. All twin spotlights have a 3-hour maintain time. Emergency luminaries have been connected to the local lighting circuits.