Ancient Romans in western England bathed in naturally warm spring water of the spa town of Aquae Sulis, now named Bath. Nearly 2,000 years later, the city’s 16th century abbey is now preparing to draw warmth from the still functioning Great Roman Drain to replace the former monastery’s dilapidated Victorian-era heating system.
As part of a $24-million refurbishment, new heating will include water filled pipes buried in the Abbey’s 800-sq-meter floor, which is being rebuilt. “Hundreds of burials over the years have created voids under the floor,” says the Abbey’s project director Alix Gilmer. Stablizing the floor provided “an opportunity to rethink the heating system,” she adds.