Edwardian brick villas with clay tile roofs and decorative ridges

Roofers in Collingbourne Kingston

Roofing in Collingbourne Kingston, from the timber-framed cottages in the conservation area to the brick and chalk-block houses, with the chimneys, lead and outbuildings that go with them.

Get a quote Call 01793 626096

Collingbourne Kingston's roofs, from chalk to chimney

Cottage roof and brick chimney in a village — Timber-framed cottages and their thatch

The Victoria County History records that most of the older cottages and small houses in the village are timber-framed, with daub and plaster infilling and thatched roofs. A frame like that moves gently with the seasons, and the roof above it has to move with it. Thatch is specialist work for a thatcher, and we do not pretend otherwise. What these cottages also need is sound masonry stacks, watertight lead where a stack passes through, and good porches, lean-tos and back extensions: those are the spots where a thatched house meets tile or slate, and they are the joints that open up first when the building shifts or a flashing tires. We look along every one of those junctions on a survey, with photographs taken at each, so the quote speaks to the real condition of the house and not to a guess made from the lane.

Banded brick and chalk wall under a tiled roof — Chalk block and brick in bands

Some of the eighteenth-century cottages are built of chalk block and brick laid in horizontal bands, a look that belongs to the chalk country. Chalk block is softer than brick and does not enjoy standing water, so the roof edge matters a great deal on these walls. Failed gutters, slipped eaves tiles and leaking verges let water run down the face, and the chalk wears. A roofer working here wants the eaves, verges and gutters right as much as the covering itself. A tidy, well-drained roof edge protects the wall as well as the rooms inside it.

Pitched tiled roofs on later village houses — Church, halt and later building

St Mary's church is Norman, Grade II* and was restored in 1862 by John Colson. The Swindon, Marlborough and Andover Railway came through the valley in 1882, and a halt opened here in 1932 and closed to passengers in 1961. Houses of the twentieth century and later sit among the older ones, and their ridges, verges and gutters need the same routine attention as anywhere else. Single-storey additions at the back, small porches and detached garages are ordinary work in a village this size, and some of them have flat roofs that need a different approach to the pitched ones.

From Swindon to the Bourne valley

Distance: 21 road miles south-south-east of central Swindon
Council: Wiltshire Council
Council: Wiltshire Council
Conservation area: Collingbourne Kingston, designated in 1974
Setting: Chalk parish on the seasonal River Bourne

Collingbourne Kingston roofs: what people want to know

Does the village conservation area affect re-roofing?

Only if the work alters the way a building looks. Putting back the same covering is routine; a new material, or anything touching a listed house, deserves a question to Wiltshire Council before you start.

Can you repair a roof joined to a thatched cottage?

Yes. We take the tiled or slated sections, the lead and the chimney stacks around the thatch, and we agree access with the thatcher so the two trades do not undo each other's work.

Why do chalk-block walls suffer when gutters fail?

Chalk block absorbs water and wears away if it stays wet. A blocked gutter or a slipped eaves tile sends water down the face of the wall, so the roof edge is where we start.

What is on the roofs of Collingbourne Kingston?

Brick chimney stack with new lead flashing on a clay tile roof

Weathered brick chimney stack with eroded joints and cracked pot

The short answer

The oldest cottages are timber-framed and thatched, according to the county history, with chalk-block and brick houses from the eighteenth century and plainer pitched roofs on later homes. Each type of roof, and each type of wall below it, fails in its own way.

The whole parish lies on chalk, and the River Bourne, which often dries out, runs north to south through the middle of it. Chalk country shapes how the houses were built and how their roofs now behave.

What happens where thatch meets masonry?

Where a house has thatch, the chimney is the weak link. Straw does not forgive a leaking flashing, and masonry stacks that have lost their mortar will let rain in beside it. We check the stack, the pots, the flaunching (the mortar cap in which the pots are bedded) and the lead flashing at the base. Your thatcher deals with the thatch and we deal with everything it touches.

How do the tiled and slated roofs differ?

Where a house is not thatched, the covering may be tile or slate. Tiled roofs of any age need attention to the ridge, the verges and the underlay, which is the waterproof layer under the tiles. Slate roofs suffer from corroded nails. A survey tells us which problem you have, and we photograph each area so the written quote matches what is actually up there.

Our pitched roofing page explains the coverings and repairs for these roofs, and chimney repairs describes the stack work that so often starts a leak.

Rural properties often have more than one roof to think about. A barn conversion, a detached garage or a lean-to behind the main house will each have its own age, covering and problems, and it makes sense to survey them together so the work can be planned in a sensible order. A single visit with a ladder, a camera and a note of every fault is far cheaper in time than coming back three times for three roofs.

In a village of this size, most of the roofwork comes down to straightforward things done properly: a ridge that is fixed rather than just bedded, a gutter that carries water away from a soft chalk wall, a valley relined before it leaks. Those jobs are small, and they are the ones that save the larger bills.

How does chalk country change roof maintenance?

The answer

Chalk ground drains freely, but chalk-block walls take up water and wear if it runs down them. Gutters, eaves and verges therefore matter more than they would on hard stone, and a small roof-edge fault can damage the wall long before it causes a visible leak indoors.

People often assume a roof only matters if rain comes through the ceiling. In chalk country, the more costly damage is often outside, where a faulty roof edge soaks the wall beneath it.

Why does the roof edge matter on chalk walls?

Water running from a broken gutter or a slipped eaves tile lands on the wall, and chalk block takes that water in. In winter it freezes and the surface flakes away. Brick bands in a banded wall tolerate it better, but the mortar between them softens. Checking gutters, fascias and the first two courses of tiles above them is an early step on every survey, and our gutters, soffits and fascias page covers the repairs.

What goes wrong at a gable verge?

The verge is the edge of the roof where it finishes against a gable wall. On older cottages the verge is often just mortar, and it cracks. Rain then blows into the gap and runs down the gable wall. Re-bedding it, and fixing the tiles under it mechanically, is a modest job that protects a good deal of wall.

Why do shaded village slopes stay damp?

Trees in village gardens shade slopes and keep them damp, and moss follows. Moss sponges up water against the tiles and clogs valleys and gutters. Removing it is simple, but it is worth finding out why a slope stays wet rather than just scraping it clear every year.

None of this needs dramatic work. It needs someone to climb up, look closely and report plainly what is there. That is what the survey is for, and the quote we then put in writing covers only the work the survey shows is needed, not work that merely looks impressive.

When the work is done, we take every scrap of waste away, so the garden you started with is the garden you finish with.

Our view

Keep the water off the wall first, and the roof will look after the rest.

Can I re-roof inside the village conservation area?

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

Stone house with a new grey tiled conservatory roof

The short answer

Yes. Collingbourne Kingston became a conservation area in 1974, yet a roof renewed in the same covering rarely needs a planning application. A different material, or work on a listed building like St Mary's, is something to put to Wiltshire Council beforehand.

Designation in 1974 means the council takes an interest in how the village looks. It does not stop people looking after their roofs. The distinction is between maintaining what is there and changing it.

What counts as keeping the same covering?

If your roof is tiled and you renew the tiles with ones that match, you are maintaining the building. The same goes for refixing slates or renewing a ridge. We reuse sound tiles and slates wherever they are fit to go back, which keeps the village roofline looking much as your neighbours expect. If you want to swap to a different material, ask the council before you order anything.

When do Kingston re-roofs reach building control?

Re-covering most of a roof can bring Building Regulations into play. The Planning Portal gives a building control test of less than 25 per cent of the total building envelope together with less than 50 per cent of the roof. If a job crosses that line, the roof may need better insulation, and a covering that adds 15 per cent or more weight needs approval. For Wiltshire, the route is Wiltshire Council's building control team, or a registered building control approver. Our part is to explain the consent that suits your house, then manage the notification on any job where one is required.

How do St Mary's and listed houses differ?

St Mary's has Grade II* listing. A listed house needs listed building consent for work that changes its character. A parish church in regular use for worship is treated differently: the ecclesiastical exemption applies, and the Church of England faculty system does the job that consent would do elsewhere. If your own home might be listed, ask the council to confirm it before you invite quotes.

See our roof replacement page for the larger jobs where these questions come up.

The 1974 designation is recorded in the county history; the council holds the boundary map, which shows whether your property is inside it.

MythBeing in the village conservation area freezes every roof exactly as it is.

FactRepair and upkeep carry on as normal; only new materials and listed status bring the council in.

Roofing services in Collingbourne Kingston

Nearby towns we cover

Questions from the Bourne valley

Why do chimneys beside thatch need such close attention?

Straw and water do not mix, and a chimney is where rain is most likely to get in. A worn flashing, a cracked flaunching or loose pointing can let moisture run into the roof beside the stack. We inspect all three, repair what has failed and tell the thatcher what we found so both trades work from the same picture.

What does a banded chalk and brick cottage need from its roof?

Good drainage at the edges. The chalk block in the bands takes in water and wears, so working gutters, sound eaves tiles and a firm verge matter as much as the main covering. We look at those details first, and then at the tiles, ridge and lead.

Do you work on garages and barns as well as houses?

Yes. Rural plots usually carry outbuildings, and each gets surveyed and photographed with the house. The written quote covers whichever roofs you want looked at, and you can sequence the work to suit your budget and the season.

Is the old railway halt relevant to my roof?

Not directly. The line through the valley opened in 1882 and the halt closed to passengers in 1961. If a house has a mix of coverings from different periods, we identify each before touching any of them, so repairs match what is already there.

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