Concrete tiled estate rooftops towards green hills

Roofers in Drayton, Oxfordshire

Tile repairs, new coverings, rebuilt chimneys and renewed flat roofs in Drayton, the flat Vale village between the Thames and the River Ock, from the brick houses along the High Street to the newer streets that have grown around the Green.

Get a quote Call 01793 626096

Drayton's roofs, from the brickworks to the Green

Red clay tile roofs above brick walls — Clay tile along the High Street

The council's conservation area appraisal of October 2023 says brick is still the material most commonly found along Drayton's High Street, and that clay tile is the dominant roofing material. That matches what you see: orange-red tile on brick walls, in a village that once made its own. Clay plain tiles are laid with a generous overlap, hung from timber battens and nailed at intervals, and they age well, but their troubles are predictable. Most of what we see on a Drayton High Street roof falls into a few familiar groups. Tiles delaminate or spall with frost, nibs break, and the mortar under ridges and hips falls away. A repair here means finding tiles of the right size, colour and camber so the new ones disappear into the old.

Handmade clay tiles with varied colour — The brick and tile works at the Green

A brick and tile works stood just west of the Green, with records from the mid sixteenth century, and it ran into the twentieth century. The appraisal says it was probably the source of the orange-red bricks and tiles found in many of the village's buildings. Handmade tiles from a local works are rarely uniform: they vary in colour, in flatness and in thickness, and that variety is much of the look of an old Drayton roof. Replacing them with perfectly flat modern tile makes a repair stand out, so we sort sound tiles from failed ones, reuse what is good, and make up the shortfall from reclaimed stock chosen for tone and size.

Thatched barn beside a tiled house — Thatch, the Manor House and the newer streets

A few buildings in the conservation area are thatched, including 69 High Street and the barn at the Manor House, itself a house of fifteenth-century origin. Thatch sits among the tile and brick, and any roof next to it needs care with chimneys, flues and spark safety. Beyond the old core, Drayton has grown into a village of about three thousand people, with later houses, garages, porches and extensions. Newer roofs carry concrete or clay tile, and extensions and outbuildings often have flat sections, and the problems are the familiar ones: loosened ridges, tired felt or membrane, blocked outlets and gutters sagging on their brackets.

From Swindon across the Vale to Drayton

Distance: 26 road miles east-north-east of central Swindon
Council: Vale of White Horse District Council
Conservation area: Drayton, with a council appraisal dated October 2023
Setting: Flat Vale village on a gravel terrace between the Thames and the River Ock, south of Abingdon

Drayton roof questions

Can you match the orange-red clay tiles on Drayton's High Street?

We match them by size, colour and camber, reusing sound tiles and adding reclaimed ones where needed, so a repair blends with the roof around it rather than showing as a patch.

Does Drayton's conservation area stop me re-tiling my roof?

No. Replacing like with like is usually maintenance. Swapping the covering, or touching a listed house, belongs in a first conversation with the Vale of White Horse council.

Can you re-tile a house that shares a wall with thatch?

Yes, with care. We look at how close the straw is to chimneys and flues, protect it while we work, and avoid anything that creates sparks or heat near the straw.

What do Drayton's clay tile roofs need?

Split old lead flashing pulling away from a brick abutment

Roofer repointing a stone chimney stack above lead flashing

The short answer

Mostly gentle attention. Clay tiles from the village's own brickworks tradition last a long time, but frost splits the faces, nibs snap, and ridge bedding and lead flashings wear out first. Fixing those parts, and swapping failed tiles for matching ones, keeps a Drayton roof looking right and often costs far less than starting again.

Clay tile roofs have been the village norm for generations, and the appraisal says so directly. Looking after them is mostly a matter of knowing where they fail.

Why do clay tiles split and flake?

Clay absorbs a little water. In a hard frost that water expands, and the face of a tile can spall away, leaving a thin, pitted surface that gets worse each winter. A flaked tile can often be spotted from the ground by a change in colour, but the true state is only clear from the roof. We check whether the damage is a handful of tiles or the whole slope, because that decides between repair and re-covering. Cost guides give clay tiles a life of around 40 to 60 years, with older roofs lasting well beyond that when they are looked after.

What goes wrong with the ridge and the lead?

Ridge tiles bedded on nothing but mortar work loose once the bedding shrinks and cracks, and in a flat, open Vale village the wind can find a loose ridge quickly. Lead flashings at a chimney or a wall tire as the metal flexes, and a split there lets water in even if every tile is sound. See our roof repairs page for how we approach these.

When a repair is warranted, we photograph the fault before and after, which leaves you a dated record of the work. The finished quote is written after the survey, not read over the phone.

Small jobs, such as replacing a dozen tiles and rebedding a ridge, are quick and sensible. If a dozen tiles and a ridge are all the roof needs, a dozen tiles and a ridge is the job we recommend, and the quote reflects that.

Can new tiles ever match old Drayton brick-and-tile?

The answer

Close enough to satisfy the eye, if the tiles are chosen well. The village's handmade tiles vary in tone and surface, so we blend sound old tiles with reclaimed ones of similar colour and size, and avoid long runs of identical new tile, which would show as a block against the old roof.

The works west of the Green produced bricks and tiles that give the village much of its colour. A roof repaired in uniform, machine-flat tile can stand out like a clean square on an old wall, and that is a poor result on a High Street where so many roofs have mellowed together.

How do you blend old and new tiles?

We spread replacements across the slope instead of grouping them, mixing in reclaimed tiles that already carry weathering. Tiles at the eaves and verges are chosen to match the existing ones for width and depth, so the courses stay straight. If a slope is being stripped, sound tiles are set aside and re-laid on the most visible face, with replacements on the less prominent side. Where a conservation area calls for it, the appearance matters as much as the watertightness.

Is reclaimed tile always the better choice?

Not always. Reclaimed tiles come with their own history: they can be frost-damaged inside, or sold in mixed batches that are hard to match. We check them before use and say where they have come from. A new handmade tile is sometimes the right answer for a whole slope, especially when the old tiles are failing across the board. Our pitched roofing page explains the options.

Whichever route suits the roof, the quote names the tile and the plan for blending it, so you know what you are agreeing to before anything is ordered.

Matching is far easier when we can see the roof in good light and on a dry day, because wet tiles all look darker than they are, so we often suggest a morning visit, with photographs taken close up and from the street.

Our view

Keep every sound tile, scatter the replacements, and choose them by tone before size.

Which Drayton roof jobs involve the council?

Rolled lead roof covering over a bay above white windows

Brick and limestone cottages around a small village green

The short answer

Few do. Matching repairs rarely need consent, even inside the conservation area. Changes of material, new roof windows and work on listed buildings such as Sutton Wick House need a conversation with Vale of White Horse District Council. Bigger re-roofs also bring Building Regulations into play, which we handle.

Drayton's conservation area, with an appraisal published in October 2023, covers the historic heart of the village. Most roof work inside it is still routine, but some of it is not, and it helps to know which is which.

When does the conservation area matter?

Putting back the covering a building already has, in the same clay tile and laid the same way, is normally maintenance. Switching clay tile for a different material, or opening up a front slope for roof windows, is the kind of change worth discussing with the council before you commit. Our skylights page explains how to check it.

What about listed houses?

The appraisal names several grade II listed buildings, among them Sutton Wick House, dated 1712, The Cottage and Oldenholme, and even the old standpipe on Church Lane is on the list. A listed roof needs listed building consent for work that alters its character, and that includes a change of roofing material. We begin from the covering already there and talk through anything different before it is priced.

When do Building Regulations get involved?

Building Regulations approval applies once a re-roof reaches 25 per cent of the total building envelope or 50 per cent of the roof, and the Planning Portal says a covering 15 per cent or more heavier needs it as well. In the Vale of White Horse, building control runs through the shared Southvale service with South Oxfordshire, or through a registered building control approver. Where a job is notifiable, our team takes care of the paperwork.

MythEvery roof job inside a conservation area has to go through planning.

FactLike-for-like repairs count as maintenance; the council looks at changes of appearance and at listed houses.

Roofing services in Drayton

Nearby towns we cover

Questions from the Thames and Ock lowlands

Why are so many Drayton roofs a warm orange-red?

Much of the village's brick and tile came from a works just west of the Green, which operated into the twentieth century with records going back to the mid sixteenth. Clay fired from local deposits tends to a warm red, so the colour you see on the High Street is part of the village's own story.

Do you re-fix a ridge on a roof with clay tiles?

Yes. Ridge tiles on older roofs were usually bedded in mortar alone, which cracks over time. We take them off, clean the bed, and re-fix with mortar plus mechanical fixings, or use a dry-fix ridge system covered by BS 8612 where it suits the tile. That addresses the common cause of loose ridges without changing how the roof looks.

Is my Drayton house near the church likely to be listed?

Possibly. The appraisal names several grade II listed buildings in the village, and the Manor House opposite St Peter's has fifteenth-century origins. Only the council's records settle it for a given address. Send us the address and we will check with you before pricing anything, so there are no surprises.

Can you reach the lower-lying parts of the village near the Ock?

Yes. We cover Drayton and the surrounding Vale villages, within 30 road miles of Swindon. Low, flat ground does not change the roof work itself, though a wet winter shows up every weak joint in a flat roof, but it does change how water leaves the building, so we always check gutters, downpipes and drainage runs for blockages while we are up 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