Concrete tiled estate rooftops towards green hills

Roofers in Hullavington

Roof repairs, re-roofing, gutters and chimney work across Hullavington, from the farmhouses and cottages near St Mary's to the twentieth-century homes on the airfield side of the village.

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Hullavington's roofs, from church tower to brookside lane

Farmhouse roof with a church tower behind — Around St Mary's and the old farms

St Mary's Church was begun in the twelfth century and was listed Grade I in 1959. Bradfield Manor Farmhouse is Grade I as well, and Pevsner calls it a rare survival of a fifteenth-century hall. Eton College held the land from 1443 until 1958, so much of the old village grew up under one long-standing landlord. Roofs of this age have been mended many times over. Our first job is reading those earlier repairs: a run of mismatched slates, a ridge bedded on thick mortar, a valley lined with whatever lead or cement was to hand. On a listed farmhouse the sensible course is to save every sound timber and covering we can, and to alter nothing that changes how the building looks.

Terraced cottages with a shared roofline — Cottages and houses along the Gauze Brook

Hullavington's brook crosses the parish, and the lanes alongside it hold homes from several centuries sitting shoulder to shoulder. They share the same weather but not the same roof construction. Older ones have steep pitches, thick walls and rafters with no modern underlay. Later ones have shallower slopes, felt or breathable membranes and gutters screwed to plastic fascias. Water nearby and damp ground encourage moss and algae on shaded slopes, and an overflowing gutter soaks the wall beneath it. Valleys, chimney flashings and the junction where an extension meets the old house are where leaks tend to begin, which is why they get the closest look at a survey.

Concrete-tiled homes on a modern estate — Airfield-era and newer homes

RAF Hullavington airfield, now with Buckley Barracks, lies beside the village, chiefly in the neighbouring parish of Stanton St Quintin, and the twentieth century added many homes to the settlement. Houses from the middle of that century onwards often carry interlocking concrete tiles, with ridges that were bedded in mortar when built and bargeboards in painted timber or plastic. The faults we meet are familiar: ridge tiles loosening as old mortar crumbles, tiles cracked by frost, underlay that has turned brittle, plus low-pitched or flat porch, garage and kitchen-extension roofs, which tend to give up well before the main slopes do. Most are routine repairs, and a survey shows quickly whether a handful of tiles or a whole slope is involved.

North of the M4, towards Malmesbury

Distance: 20 road miles west of central Swindon
Council: Wiltshire Council
Council: Wiltshire Council
Setting: A north Wiltshire village on the Gauze Brook, beside the Fosse Way and north of the M4

Hullavington roof questions

Is my Hullavington farmhouse roof protected by listing?

Only if the building itself is listed, as Bradfield Manor Farmhouse is. Wiltshire Council's planning team can tell you for certain, and we ask before pricing any work.

Does damp ground by the brook age a roof faster?

It can encourage moss and clog gutters on shaded slopes. That is upkeep, not decay, and clearing it early usually spares you a bigger repair.

Do you work near the airfield side of the village?

Yes. Hullavington sits well within our area, and we repair and replace roofs on the newer homes beside the base as readily as on the old farms.

What shapes roofs close to St Mary's Church?

Lead-lined valley gutter between two slate roof slopes

Brick and limestone cottages around a small village green

The short answer

Age, above all. The oldest buildings near the church have been repaired for centuries, so the roof you see is often several repairs layered together. Some are listed, which limits what can be changed. The right approach is to understand the layers first and to disturb as little original material as possible.

Stand near St Mary's and the village shows its years. The church dates from the twelfth century, the farmhouse at Bradfield Manor holds a fifteenth-century hall, and the cottages between them were built, extended and re-roofed across many generations. A roof here is rarely one clean piece of work. It is usually a patchwork of repairs, each made by someone with different materials and different habits.

What do earlier repairs tell us?

Before we write a quote, we study how the roof has been mended. Mixed slate sizes in a single slope, cement fillets where lead should be, ridge tiles pointed with hard modern mortar, and nail holes that no longer line up with the batten spacing all tell a story. They also reveal the route the rain has taken and why an earlier repair let go. A quote that ignores that history tends to repeat the same fault within a few winters.

Does a listed farmhouse need consent?

Both the church and Bradfield Manor Farmhouse carry Grade I listing, and a number of ordinary-looking houses nearby may be listed at lower grades. Work that would affect a listed building's character, including a change of roofing material, needs listed building consent. The parish church, being in Church of England use, falls under the ecclesiastical exemption, so its own roof work follows the faculty route. For your own house, a short call to Wiltshire Council's planning team settles the question before work begins. Matching repairs seldom call for consent, but the council decides what counts as matching.

Can most of the old roof be kept?

On an older roof we favour the narrowest fix that stops the leak: refixing slipped slates, renewing a failed valley, re-bedding a verge. That preserves timber and covering that would be hard to replace like for like. Our roof repairs page describes how we approach that kind of job, and when a repair stops being the right answer.

How does the Gauze Brook affect a roof?

The answer

Not directly, but low ground and running water bring damp air, and shaded slopes near a brook grow moss and algae sooner. Overflowing gutters then soak the wall below. Regular clearing, sound gutters and a roof survey every few years deal with most of it.

The Gauze Brook runs through Hullavington, and houses close to water live with a damper setting than those on higher ground. A roof does not rot because of that. What changes is how quickly small problems pile up, so a tile that would have gone unnoticed on a dry slope starts to matter.

Why does moss gather near the brook?

Slopes that miss the sun hold moisture, and moss grows in the gaps between tiles and along the laps. Moss itself is a surface problem, but a thick mat holds water against the tile, lifts edges and blocks the flow towards the gutter. We remove it carefully, brushing rather than blasting, because a high-pressure jet can drive water under the laps and damage softer coverings. Then we look at what lies beneath the growth.

What happens when a gutter overflows?

Water spilling from a gutter onto a wall does more damage than many roof faults, and a long wet winter proves the point. Joints open, brackets sag and the fall shifts until water stands in the run. Gutters need a gentle slope to the outlet, and downpipes need clear gullies. Where the ground stays wet, the gully or soakaway below a downpipe deserves the same care as the pipe itself. Our page on gutters, soffits and fascias explains what a replacement involves.

Does loft ventilation matter in a damp village?

Damp outside and damp inside meet in the loft. A roof void with blocked eaves vents or insulation pushed hard against the felt collects condensation, and the rafters take the strain. Keeping air moving at the eaves is a simple fix that protects the structure, and we check it on every survey.

MythMoss on a roof means the whole covering has to be replaced.

FactMoss is a surface growth; once it is cleared and the tiles are checked, many roofs need nothing beyond a few repairs.

Who deals with consent for Hullavington roof work?

Roofer carrying stone slates up a ladder on scaffolding

Drone hovering above a tiled roof during a roof survey

The short answer

Hullavington is in Wiltshire, so Wiltshire Council deals with planning questions, and its building control team, or a registered building control approver, handles notifiable roof work. Like-for-like repairs rarely need either. We explain which applies to your roof and handle the Building Regulations notification where work is notifiable.

Most jobs in the village involve no paperwork. Putting back slipped tiles, swapping a cracked ridge piece or renewing a flashing in matching materials is upkeep. Three cases step outside that, and each can alter what a Hullavington owner is quoted.

How big can a re-roof get before approval applies?

The Planning Portal sets two tests for re-covering: less than 25 per cent of the total building envelope affected, and less than 50 per cent of the roof. Remain below both figures and no building control application is normally required. Go over either and approval comes into play, with the possibility that insulation must be upgraded as well. A new covering of 15 per cent or more extra weight needs approval too, so weight is something we work out before we recommend a tile or slate.

When does a change need planning permission?

Planning permission is seldom required where a roof is re-covered in its existing material. Switching material or altering the shape of a roof is another matter, and a listed house has a separate set of controls. Whether your street falls inside a conservation area is a question for Wiltshire Council's planning team. Put it to them before any materials are ordered, because a refusal after delivery is an expensive way to find out.

What does a repair cost?

National guides give a feel for repair costs. MyBuilder's roof repair guide, updated August 2026, puts minor repairs at £100 to £300 and moderate ones at £500 to £1,000. Your own figure depends on access, the covering and what the survey finds. The written quote follows that survey, and ask each firm whether its figure covers VAT and scaffolding, because those two items change the total more than anything else on a small job.

What it typically costs

Minor roof repair£100 to £300
Moderate roof repair£500 to £1,000
Storm damage fix£500 to £1,500

National typical ranges, not a Skyline price. Access, covering and the survey findings set the figure for your roof. MyBuilder roof repair cost guide, updated 21 August 2026.

Roofing services in Hullavington

Nearby towns we cover

Questions from the Fosse Way side of the village

Why do the oldest Hullavington roofs look patched?

Because they have been mended for centuries with whatever came to hand. Mixed slate sizes, cement-pointed ridges and lead replaced by mortar fillets are all common in buildings of this age. Before quoting, we photograph those earlier repairs and explain which still do their job and which explain why water is getting in. Often the answer is a handful of targeted fixes rather than a new roof.

Do you re-roof the barns and sheds on Hullavington's farms?

Yes. Barns and outbuildings around the old farms often have large slopes, long timbers and tiled, slate or sheet coverings. We survey them as we would a house. Where an old cement-based sheet is involved, we say plainly if it needs specialist handling before any work begins, and we do not cut or break it up in the meantime.

Do you cover the villages around Hullavington?

Yes. Malmesbury, Sherston, Great Somerford and the places between them all lie inside the ground we cover, which reaches 30 road miles from Swindon. Our areas page names each one, and a phone call or WhatsApp message will confirm your own address quickly.

What guarantee comes with a re-roof here?

A written workmanship guarantee of ten years, issued with the job. It covers our workmanship rather than the materials, and it is not backed by insurance. When the last tile is down, the scaffold and the debris leave with us, and the guarantee paperwork goes with your final invoice.

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