National Trust fits ‘pioneering’ ground source heat pump at Kingston Lacy

New system should help preserve art collection at Dorset country mansion by providing a steady, gentle heat

Over the years Kingston Lacy, which was built to resemble a Venetian palace that has materialised in the English countryside, has been kept warm and dry with open fires and coal and oil boilers.

Now a pioneering" ground source heat pump has been installed to protect the spectacular Dorset country mansion and its collection of paintings by masters such as Velazquez, Titian and Rubens.