Brick end-of-terrace gable beside a limestone house, slate roofs

Roofers in Bishopstone

Roof repairs and re-covers in Bishopstone, the spring-line village in a coombe below the Lambourn Downs: slated houses and outbuildings, chimney stacks and lead beside thatch, and the flat roofs of modern extensions.

Get a quote Call 01793 626096

Bishopstone's roofs, from thatch to slate

Thatched cottage row with chimney stacks — Thatch in the coombe

The council's conservation area appraisal says the traditional roof covering here is thatch, which still predominates in the village, and it records 24 listed vernacular cottages, most built of stone with thatched roofs. Local materials are listed as thatch and local chalkstone, often with orange-brick dressings. Thatch is a thatcher's craft, and we do not pretend otherwise; the parts that fall to a roofer are the brick stacks standing up through the straw, the lead and flashing round their bases, the gutters and drainage at the eaves, and any slated or tiled additions. Stone walls under thatch also need their eaves kept dry, so the drainage matters more than it looks. A leak beside a thatched stack is often a failed flashing or cracked stack head, not the straw.

Welsh slate roof on a brick building — Welsh slate and orange brick

The appraisal explains that Welsh slate arrived with the canals and railways and replaced some thatch on later buildings. The result is a village where red brick and slate sit beside chalkstone and straw. The Church of England school dates from 1849 and The Old Mill from 1818, so the village has two firm dates to compare against the roofs that survive on them. Slate roofs of that vintage show a common set of faults: nails rusted through so slates slide, lead worn at chimneys and abutments, and valleys that have been patched over the years. Where a run of slates has failed, putting reclaimed Welsh slate back on that one slope tends to keep the building looking whole, which a stripped and wholly replaced roof would not. Brick dressings and slate suit one another, and a mismatched replacement shows from the lane for years.

Church tower above village roofs — St Mary's and the chalk setting

St Mary's church is Grade I listed and built of coursed sarsen with some ashlar. Bishopstone is one of a series of spring-line settlements linked by the Icknield Way, sitting in a small coombe below the chalk downs on clay drift. That setting matters to a roofer in a practical way: a coombe holds damp, shaded roof slopes stay wet, and moss and algae can take hold on tiles and slates. A moss-covered roof is not automatically a failing roof, but heavy growth holds water against the covering and blocks gutters, so we look at what lies under it. The same shade that feeds moss slows the drying of battens and boards, which is why the loft side of a coombe roof gets as much attention as the outside.

From Swindon to the spring-line coombe

Distance: 8 road miles east of central Swindon
Council: Swindon Borough Council
Conservation area: Bishopstone, first designated on 1 May 1973
Article 4 direction: Solar PV and solar thermal equipment, in force from 20 March 2015
Setting: A coombe below the chalk downs, on the Icknield Way

Bishopstone roof questions

Does Bishopstone's Article 4 direction stop a normal re-roof?

No. It removes rights for solar PV and solar thermal equipment across the conservation area, not for roof covering or chimneys. The conservation area itself still applies, so changes of material are worth raising with the council.

Is a Welsh slate roof in Bishopstone worth repairing?

Usually, if the slates are sound and only the nails, lead or a valley have failed. Welsh slate commonly outlasts its fixings, so a repair or partial re-slate keeps the original material on the building and it is a far smaller bill than a new roof.

Who looks after the lead where a chimney meets thatch?

We can: the stack, its flaunching, the lead tray and the flashings around it. The straw is a thatcher's job, so we photograph the stack and agree which of us does what before any work begins.

How does Bishopstone's thatch affect other roof work?

Roofer repointing a stone chimney stack above lead flashing

Blocked gutter full of leaves overflowing down a brick wall

The short answer

It sets the pattern for the village. Thatch is the predominant traditional covering, so a roofer's work here is often the chimneys, lead, drainage and slated or tiled parts around it, planned to protect the straw and never disturb it.

When thatch predominates, every other roofing job in the village is shaped by it. A good repair nearby protects the straw and keeps its character; a careless one can damage it.

What does a chimney stack through thatch need?

A chimney that passes through thatch is a hot, damp and fragile point. The stack needs sound brickwork and pointing, a flaunching (the mortar cap across the top) that throws water clear, and a lined flue in good order, because sparks and heat matter more beside straw than beside slate. The lead tray at the stack's base is the weather seal, and it is commonly the first thing to fail. A cracked stack head can also drop mortar and debris onto the roof below, so the stack is checked from top to bottom, not only where water shows.

Do gutters matter under a thatched eaves?

Water running off thatch is slow, but gutters and drains at the base still need attention. A blocked gutter lets water back into the wall and the eaves, and the damp then travels into the structure. We clear, realign or replace as the survey shows, and on a cottage with a low eaves line that can be a short job with a big effect on the inside walls.

What about the slated lean-to at the back?

Many thatched cottages have a slated lean-to, porch or rear extension. These roofs have their own lifespan and detail, and where they meet the old walls they need lead flashings. A shaded north-facing lean-to in a coombe can stay damp for much of the year, so its timbers and gutter deserve a check at the same visit. Our chimney repairs page explains stack work in detail.

If you are not sure which parts of a roof are thatch work and which are ours, the survey photographs make the split clear, and a thatcher can use the same pictures to quote for the straw.

Is Welsh slate on a Bishopstone house worth repairing?

The answer

Usually. Welsh slate commonly serves for more than a hundred years, and it is the nails and lead that give out before it does. Replacing rusted nails, renewing lead and re-laying sound slates costs far less than stripping the roof, and it keeps the material the conservation area appraisal says belongs here.

Welsh slate reached Bishopstone with the canals and railways, and the appraisal says it replaced some thatch on later buildings. MyBuilder gives 80 to 100 years or more for a well-installed slate roof, and adds that Welsh slate regularly lasts beyond a century, so a roof laid in the 19th century can still be serviceable today.

Which part of a slate roof fails first?

The slate is rarely the problem. Iron nails rust and let slates slide, lead flashings crack at chimneys and abutments, and valleys collect debris and rot the boards beneath. A sliding slate looks like a fault in the slate; it is a fault in the fixing. Re-fixing with copper or stainless nails is the proportionate cure.

Repair, partial re-slate or a full new roof?

A handful of slipped slates is a repair. A slope where the nails have gone across the board is a candidate for stripping and re-laying, sorting sound slates from broken ones and making up the shortfall with reclaimed Welsh slate. A full new roof is the last resort, and it needs a conversation with the council if the material would change. Before any slope is stripped we photograph it, so the pattern of slate sizes can be put back as it was.

What does a slate roof cost?

The chart gives typical national installed rates, so you can see how the three kinds of slate compare. Our slate roofing page covers the method, and the number for your house is set out in the quote.

What it typically costs

Welsh slate£140 to £180 per m², fitted
Reclaimed slate£110 to £150 per m², fitted
Spanish slate£100 to £130 per m², fitted

National figures for a slate roof laid new. Access, roof shape and any repairs to the timbers move the total, and your own figure is set after we have been up on the roof and photographed it. MyBuilder slate roof cost guide, updated 21/08/2026.

Who decides on roof work at St Mary's and the cottages?

Long flat roof on a 1960s brick building being re-covered

Rolled lead roof covering over a bay above white windows

The short answer

Swindon Borough Council decides on planning and listed building consent for Bishopstone, and its building control team or a registered building control approver deals with notifiable work. A church in use follows its own denomination's system, with the Church of England using faculties.

Bishopstone belongs to Swindon Borough, which makes Swindon Borough Council the body that answers planning questions here. The village is a conservation area with an Article 4 direction, and the appraisal records a Grade I church and a run of listed cottages.

What do the conservation area and Article 4 cover?

Bishopstone Conservation Area was first designated by Wiltshire County Council on 1 May 1973, re-designated by Thamesdown Borough Council in 1990, and its appraisal was adopted on 4 April 2006. The Article 4 direction, in force from 20 March 2015, covers solar PV and solar thermal equipment on dwellinghouses and buildings in their grounds. It does not remove rights for roof covering or chimneys, but the conservation area still means a change of material deserves a conversation.

When does a listed building need consent?

St Mary's is Grade I listed, and the village has 24 listed vernacular cottages. If work would change a listed building's character, listed building consent is needed first, whatever the roof is covered with. A church in use follows its denomination's system, which for the Church of England is the faculty process.

When does a larger re-roof need building control?

The Planning Portal's test for building control on a re-cover is less than 25 per cent of the building envelope and less than 50 per cent of the roof. Above either figure approval applies, and so it does if the new covering weighs 15 per cent or more than the old. Swindon Borough Council runs its own building control team, and a notifiable job is notified by us on your behalf.

Our approach

Keep the original thatch, slate and stone in view of the council, repair at the scale of the fault, and settle consent before any scaffold goes up.

Roofing services in Bishopstone

Nearby towns we cover

Questions from the coombe

Why do slates slide on older Bishopstone houses when they look sound?

Usually the nails have rusted through, not the slate. Iron fixings corrode over a century or more and the slate hangs on what is left of them. Re-fixing sound slates with copper or stainless nails is normally the sensible repair, and the survey photographs show which slates have slipped and which ones are still tight.

Do you work on roofs next to thatch in Bishopstone?

Yes, on everything that is not the straw: chimney stacks, flaunching, lead, gutters, slated extensions and outbuildings. We agree the split with you and any thatcher at the start, so nobody works on the wrong part of the roof.

Does moss on a Bishopstone roof mean the roof has failed?

No. A shaded coombe roof grows moss easily, and light growth does little harm. Heavy moss holds water and blocks gutters, so we check the covering beneath it. Removal by hand scraping or gentle washing is usually enough, and pressure washing can damage tiles and slates.

What do you guarantee on a Bishopstone roof job?

The workmanship is guaranteed for 10 years, in writing, and the guarantee sits beside a written quote and the photographs taken on your roof. We aim for the smallest piece of work that puts the fault right, and when the roof is done the site is left tidy with the rubbish removed. Anything that needs consent is explained to you before work begins.

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