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Baildon enFolds the community

The eco-built Fold at Baildon Methodist Church was on show on Saturdays in February. 51 visitors from throughout Yorkshire were given tours by skilled guides. There was delight in the warm, quiet experience in this, the first building on church premises in Britain to be built to standards similar to those of a Passivhaus. The Fold has never been heated: yet everyone felt warm. There is no thermostat; the air is completely changed when the CO2 monitor reaches 1000 parts per million. Energetic Scouts can bounce on the floor of the Upper Fold: the floor insulation is so thick that those underneath can meditate in silence. Baildon Preschool now meets daily in the Lower Fold. From March, the Home Farm Trust will meet on each weekday in the Upper Fold.

The Fold showing the car charging points 

The tours were much appreciated. They began with a presentation showing how Baildon Church, a triple-certificated Eco-Congregation, erected this building as part of a new evangelism, demonstrating how the Methodist Church is not just wringing its hands over global heating: it is acting to preserve the beautiful and necessary diversity of God’s creation.

Pre-school interior view

Several participants on the tours were intending to build their own Passivhaus. One person said she was very sensitive to buildings: she reiterated how very happy she felt in the Fold. If any group would like a tour, just contact John A.

Baildon Methodist Church celebrates its distinguished history since 1746. It plans, exulting, for its future.

John D A, Baildon

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