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Edwardian brick villas with clay tile roofs and decorative ridges

Roofers in Burford

Burford climbs from the River Windrush to a wide High Street of tall, closely packed houses, and its roofs reward careful, patient work that respects what is already there.

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Burford's roofs, from Windrush to High Street

Tall terraced houses on a wide high street
The High Street and the Tolsey

A Planning Inspectorate decision describes a predominance of densely packed three-storey buildings lining the wide High Street, with the side streets largely two-storey and less grand. The Tolsey, midway along the High Street, was once the focal point for trade and is now a museum. Tall, terraced buildings like these mean steep access, shared party walls and valley gutters between neighbours. A roof three storeys up is not a quick ladder job: it needs scaffold or a tower, a plan for the pavement and traffic, and a careful look at the chimneys, parapets and lead that sit along the roofline where wind and rain concentrate. Nothing about the survey is rushed, and nothing is guessed from the pavement.

Steep roofs on old stone-built houses
The wool-town buildings

Burford is a town on the Windrush in the Cotswold hills, important for its wool trade between the fourteenth and seventeenth centuries. Its Grade I listed Church of St John the Baptist is described as a so-called Cotswold Wool Church, a sign of that medieval prosperity. Houses from the wool era and after often have steep pitches and old roof timbers that have settled with age, and stone-built gables that rise above the slope as parapets or copings. Those details catch rain on their upper surfaces, so a failing joint at a gable top is one of the details we check at the start of a survey. Where the covering is stone slate, it is heavy and ranked by size from heavy eaves stones down to light ones below the ridge. Where it is not, the same discipline applies: find out what is on the roof before deciding what to do with it, and photograph it before a single piece is lifted.

Terraced cottages on a quieter side street
Side streets, the Windrush edge and newer homes

The conservation area takes in most of the market town, including the crossroads of the High Street with Sheep Street and Witney Street, the parish church and part of the countryside beside the Windrush. Away from the centre, roofs are lower and plainer: terraced cottages, outbuildings, garages, extensions and later houses with tile or slate. The trouble they cause is quieter but still real. Felt fails on a flat extension roof, ridges lose their bedding, and valleys clog with leaf litter from the gardens behind them. A small fault at one of these joints can run for a season before it shows indoors, which is why we open the junctions on survey.

Where the Windrush meets the wool town

Map showing Burford and central Swindon. 20 road miles north-north-east of central Swindon.

Distance
20 road miles north-north-east of central Swindon
Council
West Oxfordshire District Council
Council
West Oxfordshire District Council
Conservation area
Burford, designated in 1970
National Landscape
Cotswolds

Burford roof questions

How do you get to a roof on Burford High Street?

Usually by scaffold or tower, agreed in advance. Three-storey frontages, shared walls and a busy pavement mean the access plan comes before the date.

Is a Burford stone roof worth keeping?

Often, yes. Stone slate can last for generations with upkeep, and the stones usually outlive their pegs and battens. Re-fixing beats replacing in most cases.

Does the Cotswolds National Landscape limit my roof work?

Not for matching repairs. It limits some alterations, and West Oxfordshire District Council decides planning questions, not the landscape body.

Q1

How do you repair a Cotswold stone roof in Burford?

Reclaimed Cotswold stone slates sorted by length beside a limestone wall
Reclaimed Cotswold stone slates sorted by length beside a limestone wall
Brick and limestone cottages around a small village green
Brick and limestone cottages around a small village green

The short answer

By keeping the stone and renewing what holds it. Where a Burford roof is covered in stone slate, we re-fix slipped stones, replace failed pegs and battens, and lay the covering back in its sorted courses. Swapping it for another material is rarely the right answer.

Not every Burford roof is stone, and we never assume. Where one is, the repair follows the traditional pattern described in the technical advice Cotswold District Council wrote for owners of stone slate roofs. It dates from 2000 and is traditional guidance rather than a current rulebook, but it still explains how such roofs go together.

How is a Cotswold stone roof laid?

Cotswold stone yields far more small slates than big ones, and that is why these roofs are built in graded courses. Along the eaves, a double row of the longest slates, around 600 mm, takes the water; each row above is shorter, until the shortest pieces cap the slope. Every slate is hung over a batten and held by a wooden peg, traditionally of oak, driven through a hole near its head. Understanding that pattern matters, because a patch that ignores it stands out and sheds water badly. Our Cotswold stone roofing page goes into the method in depth.

Can the timbers carry all that stone?

Stone slate is a heavy covering, roughly 1000 kg for every 10 square metres in that same guidance. A load like that is part of why the frame beneath has to be sound. The timbers beneath have carried that load for a long time, so rafters, purlins and wall plates get a close look before any stripping, and you are told if the structure needs attention. A change to a lighter or heavier material alters the loading and can bring in Building Regulations.

Where does replacement stone come from?

The English Heritage policy reproduced in that advice prefers newly quarried slates and confines reclaimed ones to their original building, which stops one roof being robbed to mend another. Sandstone and limestone slates are not to be swapped for each other. Our replacement stone is named in the paperwork, with its source, before it is laid.

A yearly look from a ladder, and a gentle clear of moss, is where long life starts.

Q2

What does the 1970 conservation area mean for my roof?

The answer

Burford's conservation area, designated in 1970, covers most of the market town. Repairs that keep the roof looking the same, on an unlisted house, rarely need permission. Changes to appearance, new openings or work on a listed house are where West Oxfordshire District Council should be asked first.

Burford is one of those towns where nearly every street falls under some form of protection. That sounds restrictive, yet most roofing work goes ahead without any application.

Which streets does the conservation area take in?

According to the inspector's description, the conservation area takes in most of the market town: the High Street crossroads with Sheep Street and Witney Street, the parish church and part of the countryside beside the Windrush. Whether your own address is inside the boundary is easy to check with the council, and worth doing before you ask anyone to quote.

Does a Burford re-cover need consent?

Laying back what is already there, in the same style, rarely needs a planning application, even within a conservation area. The council's Article 4 page does not list Burford, though if you have any doubt, a quick question to the planning team settles it. Changing the material, or altering what can be seen from the street, is another matter and deserves a conversation first.

How do the Cotswolds and listing fit in?

The town also lies within the Cotswolds National Landscape. The landscape body offers advice only; each planning decision is the council's. Listed buildings follow their own consent routes. An Anglican church in use is handled through the church's faculty system, whereas a listed house needs listed building consent for roof alterations that affect its character.

For roof windows and similar openings, our roof window planning page lays out what the rules allow, so we do not repeat them here.

If you are weighing up a change, send a photograph of the roof and the elevation that faces the street, and we can describe the roofing side of the job.

MythA conservation area bans new roofing in Burford.

FactMatching repairs go ahead routinely; it is changes to material and appearance that need the council's view.

Q3

What does scaffolding add to a Burford roof job?

Roofer on a scaffold tower working on a brick chimney stack
Roofer on a scaffold tower working on a brick chimney stack
Roofer repointing a stone chimney stack above lead flashing
Roofer repointing a stone chimney stack above lead flashing

The short answer

On tall High Street frontages it is often the largest single cost. Published guides put a two-storey house scaffold at around £850 to £1,200, and a pavement licence at £50 to £200. Check that any quote you receive says whether scaffolding and VAT are included.

On a Burford High Street house, the question of how to reach the roof can shape the whole job. Three-storey frontages, a pavement that serves shops and visitors, and chimneys set well back from the edge all feed into the access plan.

Why is scaffold unavoidable on the High Street?

A ladder will not do for a roof three storeys up. Scaffold or a tower gives a safe working platform, protects passers-by, and lets stone, slate or lead be carried up without risk. On a street used by residents, delivery drivers and visitors, we agree working hours and the layout with you before the date is fixed. Materials are delivered at quiet times where we can, and the pavement is kept open to pedestrians wherever the scaffold design allows.

What do published guides say scaffold costs?

MyBuilder, updated in August 2026, gives around £850 to £1,200 for a two-storey house, £400 to £900 for high-level chimney scaffold, and £50 to £200 for a pavement licence. Those are national typical figures, not Skyline prices, and a High Street frontage can sit above them.

What should a scaffold quote state?

With two quotes side by side, check whether each total includes scaffolding and VAT. A total that leaves them out can look cheaper than it is. The total we quote is in writing, comes after the survey, and is backed by photographs of your roof.

When can a ladder do the job?

A single slipped slate at a low eaves can sometimes be reached from a roof ladder, and a small repair there should not carry the cost of a full frontage scaffold. Our roof repairs page explains how we decide, and we will not recommend scaffold where it is not needed.

What it typically costs

  • Two-storey house scaffold£850 to £1,200
  • Weekly domestic scaffold£300 to £900
  • High-level chimney scaffold£400 to £900
  • Pavement licence£50 to £200
National typical figures. Your written quote follows the survey, and the frontage, height and street access set where it falls. MyBuilder scaffolding cost guide, updated 21 August 2026.

Roofing services in Burford

Nearby towns we cover

Questions from the Windrush valley

Are Burford's roofs on the High Street stone or tile?

It varies from building to building, and we do not assume. Some are stone slate, others tile or slate laid in later centuries. We identify the covering on survey and match it, whether that means re-fixing stone in graded courses or sourcing matching clay tile.

Do the Tolsey and the church need special roofing care?

They are public and parish buildings and are handled by their own owners and trustees. What they show is the town's standard: respect for the original material and method. We apply the same approach to a house or shop on the High Street.

Can you get chimneys repaired on a tall Burford house?

Yes. High chimneys usually need a scaffold or tower, so we plan that with you first. We check the pointing, flaunching, lead flashings and flue lining, and tell you which faults are urgent and which can wait.

Do you cover villages near Burford as well?

Yes. We work across the area within thirty road miles of Swindon, and the Windrush valley villages around Burford fall inside it. Send us the address and how the property is approached, and the survey is arranged accordingly. The areas page names every place in range if you are unsure about a nearby hamlet.

Ask us about your roof

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

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