Rear slate roofs and chimneys of Victorian terraces

Roofers in Donnington, Berkshire

Pitched roofs, lead, ridges, chimneys and flat roofs in Donnington, for the old buildings below the castle ruin and the homes that have spread along the northern edge of Newbury.

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Donnington's roofs, from almshouse to estate

Old brick cottages beside a village lane — The old village below the castle

Donnington has a long recorded past. The castle was held for the Royalists in the second Battle of Newbury in 1644, and its ruin still looks down on the village. The Donnington Hospital almshouses were founded in 1393, and the earliest building standing there today dates from 1602. Buildings of that age have been re-roofed more than once, and the layers of earlier repair tell a surveyor a great deal. Old timbers settle, rafters sag, and a later covering may be heavier or lighter than the one before it. So the first job here is a look at the frame beneath: tiles stay put only if the rafters and battens under them are healthy. Chimneys and gable ends on old brick or stone usually need looking at during the same visit.

Gabled house with parapet and chimney stacks — Grand houses and their outbuildings

Donnington Grove is a Strawberry Hill Gothic mansion built in the 1760s and now a hotel, and houses on that scale come with stable blocks, lodges and other ancillary roofs. Gothic detailing means parapets, pinnacles and gutters tucked behind decorative walls, and any of them can let rain past the covering unnoticed. Lead does much of the protecting. Correctly fitted, lead lasts for decades, but it fails at joints and laps once someone has patched it with sealant. A big house also means long runs of valley and parapet gutter, where one blocked outlet can send water down the inside of a wall. Those are the details we photograph first, because they show up on a survey long before a stain reaches a ceiling. Rainwater goods are checked at the same time, since a gutter that overflows onto old brick does as much harm as a leaking tile.

Tiled pairs of houses on a residential road — Newer homes on the Newbury edge

Donnington sits just north of Newbury, so alongside the old village there are later semis, detached houses and bungalows with tiled pitched roofs, plus porches, garages and rear extensions. On these the usual faults come from age and workmanship rather than structure. Ridge and hip tiles work loose when old mortar bedding crumbles, felt underlay tears or perishes, and cut-in valleys let water through where the tiles meet. Flat roofs over garages and kitchen extensions have a limited life of their own and tend to show trouble at upstands and edges long before the middle of the roof does. Plenty of this work turns out to be repair, not replacement, and we say which when we write the quote. Where a bungalow or semi has only a few weak points, spending on those is better than stripping a roof that has years left.

From Swindon to the Newbury edge

Distance: 25 road miles east-south-east of central Swindon
Council: West Berkshire Council
Council: West Berkshire Council
Conservation area: Donnington Village
Parish: Shaw-cum-Donnington

Donnington roof questions

Is Donnington Village a conservation area?

West Berkshire Council holds a conservation area record named Donnington Village. Repairs in the same material seldom raise an issue; ask the council before changing the covering or the roof's outline.

Can tired tiles near Donnington Castle be saved?

Often. If the battens and nails behind them still hold, a loose or cracked tile is re-hung or exchanged for a close match, and only the failed patch comes off.

Who deals with building control for a Donnington re-roof?

The council's contractor Building Control Solutions covers West Berkshire, or you can choose a registered building control approver. For notifiable work we lay out the steps and file the notice.

What should I look for on an old Donnington roof?

Torch showing a water-stained rafter beneath slates in a loft

Scraped-back rafter beside thick spray foam under a slate roof

The short answer

Look from the ground for slipped or missing tiles, a dipping ridge line, stained brickwork below a valley or chimney, and moss thick enough to hold water. Inside, check the loft for daylight, damp timber and dark patches under the covering. Any of these deserves a closer survey.

A village with buildings from the seventeenth century and earlier carries roofs with a long history of patching. That is nothing to worry about. It simply means the first task is understanding what has been done before.

What can I see from the lane?

Stand back across the lane and sight along the ridge. A straight line is a good sign, while a dip suggests that a rafter, purlin or wall plate has moved. Look at the tiles for changes of shade, because odd patches mark earlier repairs. Then check the chimney for cracked pointing and the lead beside it for lifted edges.

What does the loft show?

The loft often tells you more than the outside can, and it costs nothing to look. On a bright day, pinpricks of light mean gaps in the covering. Dark marks on the rafters and battens, or a musty smell, mean water has been coming in for some time. Insulation that is damp or flattened can also mark a leak directly above it.

If you have a torch, shine it along the underside of the roof near the eaves, where the wall plate sits. Soft timber there usually points to a slow, long-standing leak, often from a blocked or dripping gutter and not from the covering itself.

What happens after a survey?

Our survey photographs your roof from above and close up, so you see what we see. We note the pitch, the condition of the battens where they can be reached, and every spot where water could be entering. The written quote follows. On an older building the answer is often a repair, and our roof repairs page explains how we weigh a repair against a new covering.

Do almshouse-age buildings need special roofing care?

The answer

They need careful handling rather than a special material. An old roof is often thicker, heavier and less regular than a modern one, so the structure is checked first, repairs copy what is already there, and a listed house is raised with the council before anything alters its character.

Donnington Hospital was founded in 1393 and its oldest standing building dates from 1602. You do not need to own anything that old to benefit from the thinking behind it. Any house in the village that predates the war has similar issues in smaller measure: deep eaves, older timber, and a roof surface altered by successive owners.

How do you match an old tile?

The best repair on an old roof is the one that disappears. We measure the old tiles, note their colour and surface, and look for a close match, including reclaimed tiles where the roof calls for them. A new tile of a different shade stands out for years, and a modern interlocking tile on an old plain-tiled roof looks wrong and sits differently on the battens.

Can the old rafters take a new covering?

Old rafters were cut for the covering they first carried. A heavier material can overload them, and the Planning Portal says a covering 15 per cent or more heavier needs Building Regulations approval. We look at the structure before suggesting a change, and if the existing timbers are the limit, we tell you so plainly.

What if my Donnington house is listed?

Under the 1990 Act, works that alter a listed building's special interest need listed building consent, and a different roofing material can fall within that. We begin with matching tiles hung as the original roofers hung them, and anything different is put to you before it is priced. West Berkshire Council can tell you whether a particular house is listed.

Our slate roofing page covers natural slate, which turns up on some older village roofs, and what we look for when a slate roof begins to slip.

Our view

On an old roof, keep what still works and match what has to change.

Does my Donnington roof work need West Berkshire consent?

Roofer on a stone slate ridge beside a stone chimney

Weathered brick chimney stack with eroded joints and cracked pot

The short answer

Most jobs need none. A large re-roof can bring in building control, while swapping the covering or altering a listed house may call for planning or listed building consent. West Berkshire Council can confirm which applies to your address, and we explain the route before any work starts.

Much of the roofing in Donnington is maintenance and needs no permission whatever. Refixing slipped tiles, replacing a cracked ridge or renewing a flashing with like material falls into that group. A few situations change the answer.

When does a re-roof need building control?

Planning Portal guidance draws the line at 25 per cent of the total building envelope together with 50 per cent of the roof. Under both figures there is normally nothing to apply for; over either, approval is needed, with an insulation upgrade possible. In West Berkshire the council side is run by Building Control Solutions; the alternative is a registered building control approver. Either way we deal with the paperwork on notifiable jobs.

What changes inside Donnington Village?

West Berkshire Council holds a conservation area record called Donnington Village. A repair in the same material leaves the street as it was, so it seldom calls for an application. Changing the covering, adding a roof window on the street side or reworking a chimney is another matter, and ringing the planning team first costs nothing and avoids a refusal later. Our guide to tiled roofs in conservation areas sets out how that usually goes.

Who confirms a listing?

Whether a house is listed is the council's record to confirm. The almshouses and the castle ruin are the best-known old names around here, but a listed roof can sit on any street, and the same careful approach applies to each.

If you are unsure which of these applies, send a photograph of the roof with your address. We will go through the council's pages alongside you at the quoting stage.

MythA conservation area means every roof job needs an application.

FactRepairs in the same material rarely do. The council's attention goes to altered appearance and to listed houses.

Roofing services in Donnington

Nearby towns we cover

Questions from the foot of the castle hill

Why do Donnington's older roofs look so patchy?

A building that has stood since the seventeenth century has been mended many times, often with whatever tile was available. Each repair weathers differently, so the roof ends up a patchwork. When we replace a section we choose tiles close to the neighbours in size and tone, so the repair does not announce itself from the lane.

Can you work on a house near Donnington Grove or the castle?

Yes. Donnington and the villages around Newbury fall within the ring around Swindon that we work in. Big houses with parapets, valleys and lead gutters are a regular part of the work, and each one gets a photographic survey and a written quote.

My Donnington garage has a flat roof that has started to leak. Is that a repair?

Often it is. Leaks on flat roofs commonly start at an upstand, an edge or a joint instead of across the whole membrane. If the surface is otherwise sound, a local repair can buy years. If the covering is blistered or soft underfoot, replacement is usually the better answer, and the survey tells you which applies. Edges, drip trims and the abutment against the house wall are looked at before the main surface, since that is where most trouble begins.

Do ridge tiles on a Donnington house need more than mortar?

Yes. Under BS 5534:2014, mortar on its own no longer counts as the fixing for ridge and hip tiles, which are held by clips or screws too. Any ridge we re-bed gets clips or screws as well as bedding, or replaced by a dry-fix kit that has passed testing. It adds little to the job and is a sensible check on any older ridge, especially one that has been bedded more than once.

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