Clay tile and slate rooftops of brick market-town terraces

Roofers in Chirton

Roof repairs, replacements, chimneys and flat roofs for Chirton and Conock, from the brick and timber-framed houses near St John the Baptist to the newer homes at the southern edge of the Vale of Pewsey.

Get a quote Call 01793 626096

Chirton roofs below Salisbury Plain

Old brick house beside a village church — The church and the old village

St John the Baptist's church was listed Grade I in 1962 and carries twelfth-century masonry, a south doorway of about 1175 and a restoration by William Butterfield in 1850. Around it, the older houses are a mixture. Yew Tree Cottage dates from the 1600s and is timber-framed, and The Old Vicarage, from about 1800, is brick. Roofs on buildings of this age have been renewed more than once, and the evidence is in the pitch, the eaves and the patchwork of coverings. A roofer working here reads the building first. How has the frame moved, have earlier repairs done harm, and what was the covering originally meant to be? Those answers shape the job before any tile is lifted.

Limestone manor house roof with chimneys — Conock and the manor estate

The hamlet of Conock has Conock Manor, a Grade II* house from about 1700, enlarged between about 1817 and 1820 and encased in limestone ashlar, standing in parkland laid out around 1820 and registered Grade II in 1987. Conock Old Manor is brick with stone quoins, largely rebuilt in 1753. Estate buildings and cottages near houses of this standing tend to have careful slate or tile coverings and detailed lead work around stacks, parapets and valleys. Where lead is old, the usual problems are cracking at the folds, thin patches and sealant used in place of a proper dressing. Tall buildings also raise questions of access, and scaffolding can become a large share of the cost, which is why we flag it early in the written quote.

Modern tiled houses at a village edge — Later houses on the Vale edge

Chirton lies on the southern edge of the Vale of Pewsey, with the parish running south onto Salisbury Plain. The War Department bought downland here in 1899 and 1900, and the Stert and Westbury Railway opened in 1900, so the village has twentieth-century layers as well as old ones. Newer houses, bungalows and farm buildings are generally covered in concrete or clay tile, and porches, garages and rear additions often have flat roofs of their own. They are ordinary roofs that need ordinary, careful attention: ridge bedding, cracked tiles, blocked valleys and felt roofs reaching the end of their life are the usual jobs, and a fair number of them are finished in one visit.

From Swindon to the Pewsey Vale

Distance: 23 road miles south-south-west of central Swindon
Council: Wiltshire Council
Conservation area: Chirton Conservation Area, on Wiltshire Council's register
Council: Wiltshire Council
National Landscape: North Wessex Downs

Chirton roof questions

Does Chirton's conservation area affect re-roofing?

A matching covering rarely does. A change of material or look might, so ask Wiltshire Council before choosing something different from what is there. The register entry for Chirton is a useful starting point for checking your boundary.

Can you repair lead on a manor house roof?

Yes. We inspect the folds, joints and flashings, re-dress sound lead, renew anything that has split, and pick the lead code to suit each position.

Is a timber-framed cottage suited to modern underlay?

Usually, with care. A vapour-open underlay lets old timbers dry out, and we survey the frame before deciding what it can carry. Heavier coverings need a closer look at the rafters than lighter ones, and the survey records which applies to yours.

What should a Chirton survey look at first?

Timber roof trusses on a new brick house behind scaffolding

Roofer on a scaffold tower working on a brick chimney stack

The short answer

The junctions and the structure come before the covering. In an old Wiltshire village, the frame, the wall tops, the lead and earlier repairs reveal more than the tiles. We photograph each fault on your own roof and write up what is wrong and the smallest job that fixes it.

Chirton mixes brick, timber frame and limestone ashlar, with houses ranging from the seventeenth century to the twentieth. A survey here begins with the building, not with a price list, because the same symptom can have very different causes on different walls.

Has the timber frame moved?

Timber-framed buildings settle, and roofs on them do too. We look for sagging ridges, open joints at the wall plate and tiles that no longer lie in a straight course. Gentle movement is usually harmless and part of the building's character. A sudden change, or daylight visible through the roof boards, is a different matter, and it tells us the repair needs to start with the timber, not the tile.

Do earlier repairs help or hinder?

Old roofs collect fixes. Cement fillets, sealant bands and mismatched tiles are common finds. Some are sound and can stay; others trap water behind them and speed up decay. The photographs we send show each one, so you can judge the evidence yourself and compare it with our recommendation.

Where does the lead stand?

Lead sheet is graded by code, with heavier codes for harder-working positions. We check thickness and condition at chimneys, valleys and parapets, and our lead roofing page explains the codes. For the repair work that follows, our roof repairs page sets out the approach.

Once we have been up, the photographs reach you with the written quote. If the roof is sound apart from a few points, we price only those points and tell you plainly that the rest can wait. Site clearance and waste removal follow the work, and our workmanship guarantee runs for 10 years, in writing.

How are limestone and brick manor roofs kept watertight?

The answer

By looking after the details where water collects: lead gutters, parapet linings, valleys and stack flashings. A slate or tile field lasts well if it was fixed properly, while the hidden metalwork around it decides whether the building stays dry. We repair that metalwork before it fails, not after a ceiling has stained.

A grand house such as Conock Manor is a different proposition from a village cottage, but the principle is shared: water leaves by gutters and valleys, and those are the weak points. On a tall building they are also the hardest to reach, which is why they are neglected.

Why do hidden gutters fail first?

Behind a parapet or between two roof slopes, lead-lined gutters carry heavy flows. They block with leaves, sag where the boards below have rotted, and split at the laps. Because they are out of sight, faults can run for years before anyone notices. Clearing them costs very little next to the damage they cause, and a gutter checked each autumn seldom needs more than that.

What about the stone and ashlar walls?

Limestone ashlar is finely jointed, and the stone is often softer than people expect. Poor pointing or rigid cement can damage the stone around it, so repairs near walls are done in lime mortar with a light touch. Chimneys on such houses can be tall and exposed, and our chimney repairs page covers the checks we make before any stack is touched.

Is the covering itself the problem?

Rarely, if it was well fixed. Slates fail at their nails and old tiles by frost, so we sample several areas of the roof, high and low, before recommending a re-cover. A roof that is largely sound but has a failing valley needs a new valley, not a new covering.

Work at this level benefits from a long look and a measured written quote, since scaffolding access can be the largest single factor on tall buildings. Whoever quotes, check that the figure includes VAT and any scaffolding.

Our view

Fix the gutters, valleys and flashings first, because the covering is rarely what fails.

Who actually decides on roof work for a Chirton house?

Rolled lead roof covering over a bay above white windows

Roofer repointing a stone chimney stack above lead flashing

The short answer

Planning rests with Wiltshire Council, while notifiable roof work goes through its building control team or a registered building control approver. Chirton has a conservation area and lies in the North Wessex Downs National Landscape, and listed buildings need listed building consent for changes to their character.

Most roof work needs nobody's permission. Swapping a handful of tiles or renewing a flashing falls under maintenance. A few situations are different, and knowing them before quotes arrive saves confusion.

Does a Chirton re-roof need Building Regulations approval?

Under the Planning Portal guidance, an application is not normally needed below 25 per cent of the total building envelope and 50 per cent of the roof. Past those figures, approval applies, and extra insulation may be required. Should the new covering come out 15 per cent or more above the old in weight, approval is needed too. We outline the position for your house and make the notification through Wiltshire Council's building control team or a registered building control approver.

What do the conservation area and the National Landscape change?

Chirton Conservation Area is on Wiltshire Council's register, and the village is part of the North Wessex Downs National Landscape. The landscape partnership only advises; the council makes the planning decisions. Matching repairs do not usually need planning permission, but a change of covering might, so a call to the council first is sensible. For roof windows, see our skylights page.

What if the building is listed?

The village church is Grade I, and Conock Manor is Grade II*. Changes that affect a listed building's character need listed building consent. The church, being Church of England and in use, goes through the faculty system instead. We start from identical material and method on any listed house.

Tell us the address and send photographs, and we will say which of these questions applies to your roof. Conservation area, National Landscape and listing checks are all things we raise at the start, not after the quote, so nothing arrives as a surprise halfway through the job.

MythLiving in a conservation area means a roof repair always needs an application.

FactA matching repair seldom needs a planning application; changing how the roof looks is what attracts the council's attention.

Roofing services in Chirton

Nearby towns we cover

Questions about Chirton and Conock roofs

Why would a brick house from about 1800 leak at the chimney?

By that age, lead flashings and the mortar around the stack have usually been through two centuries of weather. Cracks open, lead lifts and rain finds the gap. The fix is to re-dress the lead and repoint the stack, not to smear sealant over the top, which hides the fault for a season and lets the damp keep spreading underneath.

Can a 1600s timber-framed cottage in Chirton take a new covering?

Yes, if the frame is sound. We assess the rafters and wall plates, choose a covering that suits what they can carry, and flag whether consent is needed. Listed cottages need listed building consent for changes of material, so that conversation comes before any quote is finalised.

Do you cover Conock and the other hamlets around Chirton?

Yes. Chirton and Conock, together with the villages along the southern edge of the Vale of Pewsey, sit within the ground we cover from Swindon. If your address sits at the outer edge of our patch, our areas page names each place we reach.

Should a garage flat roof near the Plain be felt or a single-ply membrane?

Either can work, and neither is a bad choice in itself. Felt suits a small, simple roof, while a single-ply membrane such as EPDM, which is a synthetic rubber sheet, copes better with awkward shapes and fewer joints. The deck and the falls decide, and we check both before recommending one.

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