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St Peter & St Paul is a Grade I listed church in the village of Great Bowden, Leicestershire. Parts of the building date back to the 13th century, and it still features sections of an impressive 15th-century fresco. It’s a stunning space, but like most historic buildings, it brings strict limitations around cabling, fixtures, and visual impact.
First Contact and Proposal
The church reached out to Hybrid AV in the summer of 2023. They wanted to turn the space into a more versatile venue with modern audio-visual capabilities. We carried out several site visits, demonstrated suitable equipment, and developed a full proposal that met their technical needs while respecting the building’s heritage.
Equipment Installed
Visual Equipment
We selected a bespoke wooden equipment desk with an integrated rack and finished it in walnut to complement the church interior. We matched this with a custom walnut shelf to hold the Barco 8K laser projector and ultra-long-zoom lens.
The church wanted the main projector screen hidden between the arches when not in use. To achieve this, we installed a smart double-drop 3-metre electric screen that retracts cleanly out of sight.
We also supplied two 50-inch Samsung repeater screens on articulated arm mounts to give the side-seated audience a clear view. These screens, along with the projector, ran on KDS-17DECKDS 17DEC 4K60 4:4:4 AVoIP encoders and decoders with Dante.
Audio System
For the audio system, we installed six Martin Audio CDD8W 8″ 2-way passive loudspeakers and an SQ5 48-channel 96kHz digital mixer. We paired this with four EW100 G4-GB lapel/handheld microphone systems using ME2/835S mics on Channel 38.
We ran all audio over Dante, which kept cabling to a minimum and gave the system plenty of future-proof flexibility. An iPad-based control interface handled microphone levels and system adjustments.
Because the church is Grade I listed, cable routing played a major role in the planning. We used specific cable types and took full advantage of Dante and AVoIP to minimise the number of visible runs and avoid any unnecessary intrusion into the historic fabric.
Live Streaming
The church asked for a reliable live-streaming setup, so we installed a Blackmagic ATEM Mini Pro paired with a high-spec gaming PC. We added a PTZOptics Move SE 30x camera and joystick controller to give them smooth, flexible broadcast control.
Installation Phase
Managing approvals became a key part of the process. The church had to work through a large internal committee as well as Historic England, which ultimately set the rules on what we could install and how it needed to be integrated. We supported the client throughout and kept the project moving.
We started work at the beginning of December 2024. The church wanted everything ready for their busy Christmas productions, so we worked efficiently and completed the installation on 17 December. Once everything was in place, we spent two days delivering group training so the team could use the system confidently.
The project now sits under warranty, and we continue to support the client by phone and video for the next 12 months.