Rear slate roofs and chimneys of Victorian terraces

Roofers in Luckington

Roof repairs, relaying and lead work for Luckington, from the limestone cottages around the church and Luckington Court to the farm buildings and newer homes along the B4040.

Get a quote Call 01793 626096

Luckington's roofs, from church to Court to B4040

Cream limestone cottages with steep roofs — Limestone houses by the church

Cotswold limestone is the main building material in the parish, and the stone here is described as creamier than the richer honey-brown stone found further north, so a repair that uses the wrong tone shows up quickly in the sunlight. The church of St Mary and St Ethelbert dates from about 1200, was restored in 1872 by A. W. Blomfield and is grade I listed. Round it, nearly half of the parish's buildings are grade II listed. The village lock-up has a stepped ashlar roof, a reminder that stone is used for roofs here as well as walls. A limestone cottage carries weight and detail that a modern house does not, from thick walls to steep pitches, so repair starts with the stone and the fixings underneath it.

Stone barn range with a long tiled roof — Luckington Court and the farm buildings

Luckington Court has sixteenth-century origins, a major rebuild around 1700 and a grade II* listing, and because the parish borders the Badminton estate, large houses, barns and farm ranges are part of its character. Big estate-style roofs combine long ridges, deep valleys, chimney stacks and wide eaves, and every one of those is a place for lead and stone to wear. Barns and outbuildings in this landscape often have broad, uninterrupted roof slopes that gather leaves, moss and seed, and their gutters, where they exist, need regular clearing. Reaching them safely sets much of the cost, and on a farm range with long, high eaves the scaffold can matter as much as the roofing work.

Newer village houses with grey tiled roofs — Railway-era and newer homes

The Badminton railway line crossed the parish when it opened in 1903, and some houses from that period and later carry Welsh slate or clay tile in place of local stone. Homes built in recent decades may have concrete tiles or reconstituted stone slates, which copy the look of the older roofs at lower weight. These newer coverings have their own faults, such as cracked tiles, worn ridge bedding and tired flashings at porches, garages and kitchen extensions. A survey sorts the three ages of Luckington roof from one another, since each wants a different repair and a different material.

Reaching Luckington from Swindon

Distance: 25 road miles west of central Swindon
Council: Wiltshire Council
Council: Wiltshire Council
Conservation area: Luckington, on Wiltshire Council's record
Landscape: Cotswolds National Landscape, beside the Badminton estate

Luckington roof questions

Will Luckington's conservation area affect a re-roof?

A copy of the existing covering rarely needs an application. A new material or a different look may, so check the boundary with Wiltshire Council before work is priced.

Can reclaimed stone slates go on my cottage?

Conservation policy leans towards new stone, with salvaged slates kept for the very building that gave them up. We work that way and explain each choice in the quote.

Why are stone roofs so heavy?

Limestone is a dense material, and a traditional roof is reckoned at about 1000 kg per 10 sq m. Given that load, the rafters are looked at before any change of covering is agreed.

How are old Luckington stone roofs put together?

Brick and limestone cottages around a small village green

Roofers on a slate roof along a limestone village street

The short answer

Stone slates are graded by size, big ones low on the roof and tiny ones high up, and each is pegged over a batten. A traditional building is usually pitched at 47 to 55 degrees, and the roof is extremely heavy, so the carpentry underneath deserves as much attention as the stone above it.

Look up at a Cotswold stone roof from the lane and the first thing you notice is the scale of it: chunky stones low down, fine ones high up, all overlapping like scales. The gradation does a job. Water runs a long way down a steep slope, and the overlaps keep it moving outward instead of inward.

Why are the stones different sizes?

When a quarryman splits limestone, small pieces vastly outnumber big ones. The roofer therefore puts the rare long slates, around 600 mm and sometimes longer, in a doubled row along the eaves, then works upward with slightly shorter stones in each row until the shortest sit by the ridge. The eaves slates have old trade names, cussoms and followers. Our Cotswold stone roofing page takes you through the full sequence from gutter to ridge.

What stops the stones sliding off?

Each slate has a hole near its top, and a wooden peg, traditionally of cleft oak, passes through it to catch the batten. Pegs rot well before the stone gives up, so a loose stone is usually a failed peg, not a failed slate. This is the reason a repair often means refixing what is already there, with new pegs and battens where needed.

How steep and how heavy is it?

Traditional stone roofs are commonly pitched at 47 to 55 degrees, and old Cotswold guidance puts the load at about 1000 kg per 10 sq m. The rafters beneath were cut for that. Fit a covering that is lighter, or far heavier, and the structure should be looked at first, with building control brought in where the change is significant.

Can a listed Luckington cottage keep its stone slates?

The answer

Yes, and normally it should. With nearly half the parish's buildings grade II listed, the aim is to repair and relay the stone already on the roof. Listed building consent is needed for changes that alter character, and new stone is preferred to slates stripped from somewhere else.

Swapping stone slates for something cheaper looks like a saving until it is set against a village built of the same stone. Local policy has long favoured real stone on historic roofs, and our approach follows suit.

What does the guidance say about sourcing stone?

In 2000 the neighbouring Cotswold District published a technical guide for owners that sets out English Heritage policy on stone slates. In it, new stone slates win over second-hand ones. Salvaged slates stay with the building, or the small group of buildings, they originally came from. Concrete, fibre-resin and reconstituted substitutes are judged unsuitable for historic buildings. Sandstone and limestone must never be mixed. You can read the full guidance for owners on the district council's site. It is an old document, so we use it as traditional practice and not as a statement of current supply.

Why does second-hand stone cause trouble in a village like this?

Slates lifted from one building leave that building short, and the guidance notes that this has stripped other old buildings, occasionally through theft. Stone of the wrong type or colour also looks out of place for decades, and a new roof that clashes with its neighbours is hard to put right.

What needs consent?

If a job would alter how a listed house looks or is built, listed building consent comes first, and the stone chosen for the roof is part of what the consent protects. Repair in matching stone is the starting point, and we raise any departure from it with you first, along with the reason for it and what it would mean for the look of the building. Wiltshire Council is the body to ask, and one early phone call spares you a nasty surprise later. Because so many Luckington buildings are listed, we would rather check at the start than find a constraint once the scaffold is standing. For smaller faults, our roof repairs page explains how we deal with leaks, slipped stones and failed flashings before they turn into a larger job.

Our view

Repair the stone you have, renew pegs and battens, and reach for new stone only where gaps appear.

Does the Cotswolds National Landscape change roofing rules?

Gloved hands fitting a weathered Cotswold stone slate

Rolled lead roof covering over a bay above white windows

The short answer

Only in part. The name changed from AONB in November 2023 but the legal protection did not. The landscape body advises, and Wiltshire Council decides planning. Some permitted development rights are narrower on this kind of land, though like-for-like re-roofing is unchanged.

Luckington lies in the Cotswolds National Landscape, the name that replaced AONB on 22 November 2023. The designation and its legal protections stay as they were. For a homeowner the practical question is what, if anything, it changes for a roof.

Who actually decides?

The National Landscape body is an adviser. It has no planning authority of its own, and Wiltshire Council decides planning applications. A question about your roof goes to the council, and the landscape body may be consulted behind the scenes.

What does it change?

The area counts as article 2(3) land, as a conservation area does, so some permitted development rights are narrower than they would be elsewhere. A matching re-roof is not affected. For any change that alters the roofline, ask the council before you commit, and read our roof window planning guide for where roof windows stand.

Do the Building Regulations change?

No. National Landscape status does not move the building control thresholds. A re-roof that touches under 25 per cent of the building envelope and under 50 per cent of the roof does not normally trigger an application, whereas a covering 15 per cent or more heavier does. Wiltshire Council's own building control officers, or a registered approver, take on notifiable jobs, and the paperwork is something we organise for you.

In a stone village we treat the setting as part of the brief. Beyond the paperwork, a new roof here ought to sit comfortably beside its neighbours, and we pick materials, lines and details with that in mind, from the way the verge finishes to the colour of the ridge.

MythThe National Landscape board grants or refuses planning permission.

FactThe board advises. Wiltshire Council decides planning applications.

Roofing services in Luckington

Nearby towns we cover

Questions from the church, the Court and the B4040

What fails first on an old stone-slate roof near Luckington?

Usually the pegs and battens, not the stone. Water getting past a slipped slate also soaks the batten below, which speeds the rot. Oak pegs rot, battens soften and slates slip. The stones themselves can last for generations, so refixing and renewing the fixings is often the right repair. We photograph the slope as it comes apart so you can see what was loose.

Can a new extension match the stone roofs of Luckington?

On a modern house, reconstituted stone slates are one option, with a minimum pitch of 30 degrees for the Bradstone range, and they weigh about 84 kg per square metre when laid. On a historic building real stone is preferred, because the weight, texture and colour of a concrete product never quite match the stone it imitates. Inside the conservation area, check the look with the council first.

Do you cover Malmesbury, Sherston and Hullavington?

Yes. All three, and the villages between them, are within our 30 road miles of Swindon. A message with your postcode confirms any address on the edge, and you will find every town and village we reach listed on the areas page.

How long does a well-kept Cotswold roof last?

Cotswold District Council's 2000 guidance says that, kept in good order, a Cotswold roof can last a century with ease and perhaps far longer. That is traditional advice, not a promise. The real figure depends on the stone, the fixings and the care the roof has had. Clearing moss and checking slipped stones each year is cheap compared with relaying a whole slope.

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

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