Roofers on a slate roof along a limestone village street

Roofers in Ampney Crucis

Roof repairs, careful re-covering, chimney and lead work for Ampney Crucis houses, from the cottages by the Holy Rood churchyard cross to the farmhouses and newer homes along the Ampney Brook.

Get a quote Call 01793 626096

Ampney Crucis roofs, from churchyard cross to brookside

Old cottages around a village churchyard — By the churchyard cross

The Church of the Holy Rood has a Saxon foundation and some Norman work, and the fifteenth-century cross in its churchyard, whose head was found in the tower in 1860 and put back, is Grade I listed like the church. Houses beside them are the oldest in the village, and some will be listed in their own right. Roofs of this age are pitched steeply, built on timbers cut by hand, and covered in a material chosen for the building rather than from a catalogue. When the covering is stone slate, it was laid in courses that shrink steadily as they climb, and a repair has to follow that rhythm or it shows. The pegs and battens underneath usually give up well before the stone does, which is why a roof can look fine from the lane and still let in rain.

Large manor house roof with many chimneys — Manor and farmhouse roofs

Ampney Park is a Grade II manor built in the late 1500s and extended in the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries, and the village has farmhouses and outbuildings from the same long span of building. Large roofs on houses like these have many hips, valleys, dormers and chimney stacks, which means many junctions and many places for water to get in. Extensions from different centuries meet each other at awkward angles, and the lead that links them tends to be the oldest metal on the roof. On big roofs we inspect from a ladder at the eaves and by camera at the ridge, because a single missed valley can undo a good repair.

Houses with tiled roofs beside a village brook — Brookside and newer houses

The Ampney Brook runs through the village and feeds the Thames, and houses nearest the water meet damp air, overhanging trees and leaf fall in numbers. Gutters clog, moss spreads across the shaded slopes, and fascias stay wet long enough to soften. Away from the brook, the village has more recent houses, bungalows and extensions with concrete tiles and flat-roofed additions. Their faults are plainer: slipped ridge sections, cracked tiles, worn felt on porches and ageing membranes on flat roofs. A short visit usually finds them, and a modest repair usually answers them. Gutters and fascias on these houses are worth reviewing during the same visit, because a sagging run is often the first sign of wet timber behind it.

From Swindon to the Ampney Brook

Distance: 19 road miles north-north-west of central Swindon
Council: Cotswold District Council
Conservation area: Ampney Crucis, first identified by Cotswold District Council in 1980
Setting: Cotswold village on the Ampney Brook, a tributary of the Thames
Listed landmarks: Holy Rood church and its churchyard cross, both Grade I

Thinking of roof work in Ampney Crucis?

Is a roof beside the churchyard cross treated differently?

It can be. If the house is listed, or stands within the conservation area, materials and methods are agreed with Cotswold District Council before work begins.

Why do brookside roofs need gutters checked so often?

Overhanging trees drop leaves into the gutters, and damp air keeps debris wet. Blocked outlets then force water under the lower courses of the roof.

Can lead on an old Ampney Crucis chimney be repaired?

Often yes. Cracked or lifted flashings can be refixed or renewed in the right lead code, and the stack pointing is checked at the same time.

How do you tell a stone roof is tiring?

Torch showing a water-stained rafter beneath slates in a loft

Two roof windows in an unfinished loft with exposed rafters

The short answer

Look for stones that have slipped or dropped into the gutter, daylight or damp patches in the loft, and a roof line that has gone wavy. Fixings, battens and any felt beneath usually give way before the covering itself does, so the stone is seldom the culprit.

Where a house in Ampney Crucis carries a stone slate roof, the surface can look tired for years while the structure beneath stays sound. The skill lies in telling cosmetic age from real trouble.

What does age do to stone slate?

Stone slates weather, take on lichen and soften at the edges, and none of that is a fault. What does matter is movement: stones sliding down their pegs, courses opening up, and gaps showing at the ridge. Cotswold District Council's own technical guidance, written in 2000, records that a Cotswold roof can easily last a hundred years with regular maintenance, and that a common finding at stripping is that a good share of the slates have perished.

What sits under the stones?

Traditional stone slates are hung from pegs, often oak, over timber battens. Pegs rot and battens soften long before the stone does, so a roof can be sound in the stone and failing in what supports it. A loft inspection after rain, looking for fresh staining on battens and rafters, tells us more than any view from the ground. If you can tell us which rooms get damp, and in which wind direction, we can focus the survey on the slope that matters.

Should the roof be repaired or re-laid?

Where only a few stones have gone, they are refixed or replaced with matching stone. If an entire slope is on the move, it is wiser to strip it, sort the stones by size, fit new battens and re-lay everything in its original sequence of courses. Our Cotswold stone roofing page sets out that process in more detail.

Before anything is decided, the survey records your roof in photographs, and the written quote is built on what those pictures show. A roof like this rewards patience, and the loft visit often matters as much as the climb outside.

Is lead on Ampney Crucis chimneys worth saving?

The answer

Frequently, yes. Lead is long-lasting, and sound old lead can be refixed and made good. Where it has split, thinned or been patched with sealant, it is renewed in a suitable code. A chimney flashing is the commonest place a roof leaks, so it is the first place we look.

Chimney stacks on manor houses, farmhouses and cottages are tall, exposed and old, and the lead that seals them to the roof has the hardest job on the building.

Why do chimney joints fail?

Stacks move slightly as the roof structure settles and as masonry weathers. Lead that was tight when fitted cracks along its folds, lifts at its edges or is torn by the weight of moss. Mortar fillets crumble and pointing washes out. Rain then slips under the metal and soaks the wall below, and that is how a small flashing fault turns into a stained bedroom ceiling. By the time the stain appears, the timber behind it may already be wet, so earlier attention is cheaper attention.

How is the right lead chosen?

Lead is sold in numbered codes by thickness, and the code matters. Code 4 is a frequent choice for general flashings, with heavier codes kept for larger or more exposed work such as valley gutters and parapets. Fitting lead too thin is a false saving, because it splits sooner, and a second visit with a ladder or scaffold costs more than the metal ever saved. A stepped flashing, where lead follows a sloping wall, should be cut into the masonry joints rather than sealed with a bead of mastic that will dry out.

Should the pointing, cap and pots be checked too?

While the lead is being renewed, the stack itself deserves a look: pointing, the mortar collar (flaunching) that holds the pots and any cracked cap. Repairing them in the same visit saves a second ladder or scaffold. Our lead roofing page explains lead codes and fixing methods, and the sums for chimney work vary with access, as a high stack can need scaffolding.

Our view

Renew chimney lead properly in the right code, because sealant is a delay, not a repair.

What does a conservation area without an appraisal mean?

Roofer on a stone slate ridge beside a stone chimney

Roofers on a slate roof along a limestone village street

The short answer

It means the village has a boundary but no published character study explaining what the council values. Ampney Crucis's conservation area dates from 1980 and, according to the parish council, has never been appraised. Roof work in matching materials is still straightforward, and anything that changes the look is a matter for the planning officers at Cotswold District Council.

Many villages with a conservation area also have a published appraisal that describes what makes the place special. According to the parish council, Ampney Crucis does not, and a consultation on the area was circulated in March 2026. That leaves homeowners with a boundary and few written guidelines.

What does it change for roofs?

Repairs and re-covering in matching materials do not usually need planning permission, because the outward look of the building stays as it was. Swapping one material for another, altering a chimney, or inserting anything into a slope that faces the lane does call for a word with Cotswold District Council before you commit to a price.

How does the council read a street?

Without an appraisal, the best guide is the surrounding buildings. A council officer will look at what the neighbouring roofs are covered with, how the ridges and verges are finished, and whether your plan is in keeping. Pictures of your roof and of the neighbouring ones help that discussion, and we take them as part of the survey. Bring the same pictures to any pre-application conversation, and note the ridge and verge details of the houses either side. For work involving roof windows, our roof window planning guide is a useful starting point.

What about listed buildings and Building Regulations?

Listed building consent is required before you alter a listed house in any way that bears on its character, and the church and cross are Grade I. A larger re-roof can also bring Building Regulations into play. Cotswold District Council runs its own building control team, and a registered building control approver is a private alternative.

MythA conservation area with no appraisal has no rules for roofs.

FactThe area is still protected, and a plan that alters how a roof looks, or any alteration to a listed building, still goes to the council.

Roofing services in Ampney Crucis

Nearby towns we cover

Questions from the Ampney Brook

Does a house near the Holy Rood cross cost more to re-roof?

Not by default, because price follows access, size and the covering, not the postcode. Houses beside the church may be listed, which can mean matching materials and more care, and the written quote reflects what the survey finds. The church itself has its own approval route through the parish.

Do you travel as far as Ampney Crucis?

Yes. It is well inside the 30 road miles we cover, and Cirencester, Fairford and the nearby Ampney villages are all within easy reach. Our areas page lists every place we work in.

Why does moss return so quickly on brookside roofs?

Shade and damp air suit moss, and it spreads wherever a surface stays wet. Removing it gently, clearing gutters and trimming overhanging branches slows its return. Strong jets can strip the face from older tiles and drive water beneath their overlaps, so we steer clear of it on fragile roofs.

Is it worth repairing a big farmhouse roof in stages?

Often, yes. A survey can rank the work by urgency: leaking junctions and failing chimney lead first, then slipped coverings, then cosmetic items. Stages spread the cost, though scaffolding costs may repeat, so check whether any quote includes it and what a second visit would add.

Ask us about your roof

Tell us what’s happening and we’ll call you back.

Photos of what we find
A written quote
10-year workmanship guarantee

Or call 01793 626096