1980s estate houses with brown concrete tile roofs

Roofers in Ashbury, Oxfordshire

Roof repairs, re-roofing, chimneys and leadwork in Ashbury, from the listed buildings around the Grade I church and on to the later houses that sit beneath the chalk escarpment.

Get a quote Call 01793 626096

Ashbury's roofs, from church to escarpment

A village church beside older stone and brick houses — The village core around St Mary's

St Mary's parish church is Grade I listed, Norman in origin and rebuilt in the thirteenth century, and Ashbury Manor House, Grade II*, dates from the fifteenth century. Its porch gained a brick upper storey in 1697, which is a reminder that buildings here were altered and added to over centuries. Roofs on houses like these are rarely one simple plane. They have junctions between old and later work, valleys where one roof meets another, and chimneys that rise through thick walls. We look at those junctions first, because water finds the point where two periods of building meet.

Cottage roofs with chimney stacks along a lane — Cottages, farmhouses and the lanes between

Away from the church, the village is a spread of cottages, farmhouses and converted outbuildings along its lanes. The council's conservation area map draws a boundary of about ten hectares, and the houses outside that line are not protected in the same way. Old cottage roofs carry the usual age-related faults: tiles that have lost their nibs and slid, battens that have softened, and lead at chimneys that has split along its folds. A tile roof of this kind can often be stripped, re-battened with new underlay and re-covered with its own good tiles, saving the covering while renewing what supports it.

Brick houses with tiled roofs on a modern close — Newer homes on the plain

The parish runs from the chalk escarpment in the south down to an alluvial plain in the north, and the village has its share of newer housing as well as old cottages. Roofs of this kind were built with felt, battens and concrete or clay tiles to the standards of their day, and they bring their own work: ridge tiles that have loosened, verges where the cement has cracked away, valley linings of lead or felt that have worn through, and flat roofs on garages and kitchen extensions. Because most of these houses are not listed, the repair comes down to picking the most modest fix that keeps the rain out, and that begins with a clear photograph of it. Gutters and fascias on these houses deserve checking on the same visit, as a blocked outlet can undo a good roof repair.

From Swindon to the Vale's western end

Distance: 9 road miles east of central Swindon
Council: Vale of White Horse District Council
Conservation area: Ashbury, designated in 1970
Setting: Chalk escarpment edge of the Vale of White Horse, within the North Wessex Downs
Council: Vale of White Horse District Council

Ashbury roof questions

Is St Mary's church roof work covered by the council?

No. St Mary's is a Church of England parish church, so its roof is dealt with through the faculty system and not through the district council's listed building consent. Listed houses nearby are a different matter and do come under the council, so check before work begins.

Why does Ashbury answer to an Oxfordshire council?

The village was in Berkshire until the Local Government Act 1972 moved it into Oxfordshire. Planning and building control now sit with the Vale of White Horse District Council.

Does the escarpment change how a roof is fixed?

Not the rules, but it is a reason to be careful with ridges, verges and eaves fixings. Open ground below a chalk edge gives the wind a clear run at the roof.

What does an old Ashbury house need on its roof?

Weathered brick chimney stack with eroded joints and cracked pot

Roofer repointing a stone chimney stack above lead flashing

The short answer

Usually a careful repair rather than a new roof. Houses with fifteenth-century or seventeenth-century parts have several roof planes, valleys and chimneys, and most leaks start at the junctions between them. Fixing those, and renewing battens and underlay where they have failed, often keeps the covering.

Ashbury Manor House has a fifteenth-century core and a porch whose brick upper storey was added in 1697. The house is a good picture of what happens to old buildings: they grow. Each addition brings another roof, and each join between roofs is a place a leak can start.

Why do valleys and junctions leak first?

A valley is the angle where two roof slopes meet and run water down between them. In older houses it may be lined with lead, felt or a mortar-bedded tile, and it gathers the run-off from both slopes, so it works harder than the plain tiling beside it. A cracked valley lining can drip into a bedroom for months before anyone traces it back. We open up the valley, check the lining and the tiles either side, and repair or renew only that run.

Why does lead at an old stack split?

Chimney stacks on old houses are tall, and their flashings are cut into joints between stones or bricks. Lead at a stack lasts for decades, but it splits where it has been folded repeatedly, and where mortar around it has crumbled the lead can lift. Re-fixing the lead and re-pointing the joint is light work if the problem is found early, and it turns into a stained ceiling and a plaster repair if it is left through another winter. A stack that leans, or bricks that crumble when touched, is a different conversation, and we raise it plainly once we have looked at it from the ladder.

Are the battens and underlay still sound?

Modern underlay was not available when many old roofs were built. If a roof has been re-felted at some stage, the felt may be torn or perished, and battens beneath tiles can have softened. A soft batten gives under a thumb or a screwdriver tip, while a sound one stays firm; the survey checks several along each slope.

Our lead roofing page covers valleys, flashings and soakers in more detail. Photographs from the survey show each of these places close up, so the written quote can point to the exact spot behind its price, and you can decide what to do with the roof itself in view.

Should Ashbury roofs be fixed for the escarpment wind?

The answer

Yes, with care. The village lies below a chalk escarpment inside the North Wessex Downs, and open land gives wind a clear run at ridges, verges and eaves. The sensible response is sound fixings at the roof edges and a covering that is tight to its battens, not a heavier roof.

Ashbury's land rises from an alluvial plain in the north to a southern chalk escarpment. We do not quote wind speeds for a place, but a house at the foot of open downland is a reason to take edge fixings seriously.

Where does the wind lift a roof?

Wind lifts a roof at its edges: the eaves, the verge, the ridge and the hips. Tiles at the edge are held by clips, nails and the weight of the tiles around them, and when any of those fail the tile above is the next to go. A verge is the roof edge over a gable wall, and a loose one lets wind under the tiles along the whole gable. Re-fixing it with mechanical fixings is better than another coat of mortar.

Why do tiles slip out of line?

Tiles lift and slip when the nails holding them have rusted or the battens beneath are no longer gripping. A tile that has slid out of line often points to a fixing failure along that course, not a single slipped tile. We check the course either side before deciding.

Should a heavier covering be used to stop wind damage?

Do not add weight to fix a wind problem. A heavier covering means the rafters have to be looked at first, and it can change the building control position. Our page on tiles lifting in wind goes through the causes and what a proper repair involves.

The best protection is regular attention: a look after storms, a clear gutter, and a quick word to us if a tile is on the lawn.

Wind faults and the usual repair

Fault	Where it shows	Usual repair
Loose ridge tiles	Along the apex of the roof	Re-fix with mechanical fittings
Cracked verge pointing	Edge of a gable	Re-bed the verge and fix it
Slipped tiles	Across a course	Re-clip and replace broken tiles
Lifted flashing	At a chimney or wall	Re-fix or renew the lead

Does Ashbury's conservation area affect a re-roof?

Rolled lead roof covering over a bay above white windows

Industrial units with grey metal roofs beyond a roof under repair

The short answer

Possibly. Ashbury has a conservation area, designated in 1970, and several listed buildings. A matching repair seldom needs consent, but swapping to a different covering, adding a roof window or altering a listed house deserves a call to the Vale of White Horse District Council first.

Ashbury's conservation area was designated on 3 February 1970, according to the Vale of White Horse District Council's map, and it covers about ten hectares. The village also has the Grade I church, the Grade II* Manor House and listed houses beyond them. Ashdown House, built around 1660 and Grade I listed, stands about two miles south and outside the village.

What can change inside the boundary?

Re-covering a roof in the same material usually needs no planning permission, which is why matching repairs are rarely an issue. A change of material is different, because the council looks at what a conservation area is meant to protect. Asking before work begins is cheaper than undoing it afterwards. The council can say what it expects to see on a roof in the boundary.

Who approves work on listed houses and the church?

Where a house is listed, changes that touch its special interest need listed building consent from the district council. St Mary's, being a Church of England building in current use, comes under the ecclesiastical exemption and the faculty system instead, so its roof is a matter for the parish and the diocese, not for a householder or for us.

When is building control approval needed?

The Vale of White Horse shares a building control service with South Oxfordshire, called Southvale. Approval is needed once a re-roof reaches 25 per cent or more of the building envelope, or 50 per cent or more of the roof. We explain the consent route, and on a notifiable job the paperwork is ours to file. The planning rules for roof windows and dormers are in our skylights section.

If you are unsure whether your own house is in the boundary, the council's map shows it.

Our view

Match the covering, ask the council about anything else, and keep the survey photographs.

Roofing services in Ashbury

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Questions from below the escarpment

Can the tiles on an older Ashbury cottage be saved when the battens have gone soft?

Often, yes. The covering is stripped by courses, the soft battens and torn underlay are replaced, and the sound tiles are laid back with new ones matched in to cover any breakages. That keeps the look of the roof and spends the money on the part that failed.

Do you work out towards Wayland's Smithy and the farms beyond Ashbury?

Yes. Wayland's Smithy lies about a mile east of the village, and the farms, cottages and barns around it fall inside the area we cover. Call us or send photographs through the form, and a survey of the roof can be booked in. The written quote follows the survey.

Which council deals with building control in Ashbury?

The Vale of White Horse District Council, through its shared Southvale service with South Oxfordshire. A registered building control approver is the private option. Which route fits depends on your roof, and the quote records whether the job needs an application at all.

Can you repair a flat roof on an extension at the back of an Ashbury cottage?

Yes. A flat roof behind a cottage might be covered in felt, fibreglass or rubber sheet, and the right repair depends on which, on the state of the deck, and on whether water sits in the middle after rain. Standing water usually means the falls are wrong, which a patch will not cure. The survey sorts out whether you need a repair or a new covering.

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