BESPOKE FITTINGS
Tailored solutions developed to integrate with architectural features, historic joinery and conservation details — ensuring emergency lighting supports the space without distraction.
SYMPATHETIC
EMERGENCY
LIGHTING FOR
HERITAGE BUILDINGS
FOR ICONIC BUILDINGS
BLENDING WITH THE ARCHITECTURE.
NEVER COMPROMISING WHAT MAKES THESE BUILDINGS IRREPLACEABLE.
WHERE EMERGENCY LIGHTING
MEETS HERITAGE ENVIRONMENTS
Heritage buildings demand a different kind of specification.
Listed buildings, cathedrals, national museums and historic theatres share a common requirement: that every intervention — however minor — must be proportionate, visually sympathetic, and where possible, reversible.
A poorly specified exit sign in a Grade I listed interior can undermine years of careful conservation work. The wrong luminaire in a Victorian gallery can compromise a planning application.
Philip Payne’s emergency lighting for listed buildings and heritage environments have been trusted for over fifty years — because we design emergency lighting that takes the question of belonging seriously.
Emergency lighting for listed buildings
must do more than meet a standard.
It must integrate sympathetically into the architecture while supporting safe, efficient operation.
KEY CAPABILITIES:
PRODUCT LONGEVITY
Some Philip Payne product lines have remained in production — re-engineered but formally consistent — for decades. In listed buildings where future replacement work must match existing installations, this continuity matters.
RETROFIT AND UPGRADE OPTIONS
Designed to work within existing historic buildings, allowing systems to be upgraded with minimal disruption to fabric, finishes and ongoing operations.
AUTOMATED COMPLIANCE TESTING
Specto-XT wireless automatic testing removes the need for costly manual testing programmes — essential in buildings where physical access is difficult, scaffolding expensive and disruption to the public unacceptable.
EMERGENCY LIGHTING TO
SUPPORT HERITAGE AND LISTED BUILDINGS
We have a number of listed building emergency lighting ranges that deliver a discreet, design-led solutions that work across front of house, circulation routes and sensitive interior spaces.
For the Royal Opera House, we designed a luminaire specifically for the building: the 250FW conceals its gear housing within the wall, leaving the legend panel floating against the decorative scheme, colour-matched to the surrounding environment.
For St Paul’s Cathedral, the 250FC blade luminaire has been re-dimensioned and re-engineered over time while retaining the same essential design — so that new and existing luminaires remain visually coherent across successive phases of work.
JUST A FEW OF OUR
EMERGENCY LIGHTING RANGES
ARDEN
The UK’s first emergency exit signs made from sustainable British timber. FSC-certified, British-made, and available in natural oak and a range of stained finishes — for interiors where plastic and aluminium would be an intrusion.
OLTON
Philip Payne’s design-led exit sign family for the UK’s most discerning interiors. Available in Cylinder (organic, soft schemes) and Square (crisp, architectural geometry) variants — both wall and ceiling, recessed and surface. Extensive metallic and solid finish palette with custom options available. DALI and Specto-XT compatible.
HENLEY
Precision aluminium extrusion body, CNC-machined end caps, 8mm acrylic legend panel. Eight standard finishes — from Black and White to Antique Brass and Penny Bronze — with RAL and bespoke options. Manufactured from 60% recycled material. For premium retail, civic and hospitality interiors where the exit sign is part of the interior design, not an interruption to it.
TYKE
Compact, powerful and discreet — TYKE delivers compliant emergency illumination through a minimal ceiling aperture. Five optical distributions (Discreet, Spot, Area, Corridor+ and Corner) for optimal coverage across open-plan floors, escape routes and stairwells. 60% reduction in embodied carbon. Available in white, black and any RAL classic colour.
FOUND IN SOME OF THE UK'S MOST
SIGNIFICANT HERITAGE BUILDINGS
Philip Payne emergency lighting has been specified across a wide range of listed buildings, cathedrals, national museums and heritage venues throughout the UK — each presenting its own conservation requirements, each demanding a response appropriate to the building.
RELEVANT LEGISLATION
& STANDARDS
Emergency lighting in listed and heritage buildings must satisfy both fire safety legislation and conservation requirements. Our specification team can advise on product selection that addresses both.
- Regulatory Reform (Fire Safety) Order 2005
- Planning (Listed Buildings and Conservation Areas) Act 1990
- Historic England Advice Note — Emergency Lighting in Historic Buildings
- BS EN 1838:2024 — Emergency Lighting
- BS EN 50172:2024 — Emergency Escape Lighting Systems
- BS 5266-1:2025 — Emergency Lighting Code of Practice
- BS EN 62034:2012 — Automatic Test Systems
- BS 5499-4:2013 — Safety Signs
- SLL Lighting Guide 12: Emergency Lighting (LG12)
DISCOVER MORE
Speak with our team about a sympathetic, compliant emergency lighting approach for your heritage project.