Victorian hot house converted to homes

Victorian greenhouses at a school near Tenbury Wells have been converted into eco-friendly homes for teachers.

Abberley Hall has built eight properties incorporating the derelict greenhouses and gardens as part of a £500,000 project.

The houses have been developed in an historic walled garden and feature innovative "green heating systems".

John Walker, headteacher at Abberley Hall, which has about 140 boarding pupils, said: "We have restored part of the old greenhouses to form the new homes.

"They have been designed to incorporate environmentally-friendly ground source heat pumps and water is supplied from a Victorian well which we are bringing back into use."

An archaeological investigation, undertaken as the site is grade II listed, discovered that part of the boundary wall of the garden was heated by hot water pipes fired by a boiler.

"It was fashionable for Victorian landowners to grow varieties of grapes against these 'hot walls', which used a huge amount of power to heat," he added.

"It is ironic that we have now come full circle and have built homes using the latest eco-friendly technology on this site."

Mr Walker added the next stage of the project would include landscaping the gardens and restoring the wall which would be nice because the area had been derelict for more than 50 years.