Rear slate roofs and chimneys of Victorian terraces

Roofers in Siddington, Gloucestershire

Roof repairs, replacements and chimney work in Siddington, from the old stone buildings by St Peter's church to the later houses near the Churn and the line of the old Thames and Severn Canal.

Get a quote Call 01793 626096

Siddington's roofs, from the Churn to the canal

An old stone church with a tiled porch roof — The church and the older buildings

St Peter's, listed Grade II*, began as a Norman church, was extended around 1470 and was restored by Henry Woodyer in 1864, when the tower and its broach spire were added. The village has about twenty listed buildings, among them the church, the old school house and the Greyhound Inn, and the tithe barn at Church Farm is a scheduled monument. Roofs on buildings like these were laid in the local tradition, and on the oldest in this part of Gloucestershire that can mean Cotswold stone slate, hung on wooden pegs, large stones low down and small ones towards the ridge. We check what is actually on a roof before suggesting anything, because a Victorian restoration may have changed the covering as well as the walls.

A row of brick houses with clay tile roofs — Brick, clay and the railway years

Siddington had its own brickmaking, supported by clay pits and quarries, and the Cirencester branch railway opened in 1841. A village with that history is a place where we expect to meet brick chimneys, clay tiles and later slate alongside the older stone. Brick stacks suffer from tired pointing and cracked pots; clay tiles tend to lose their nibs and slip; and a slate roof from the railway era is old enough that its nails and flashings deserve a close look. Terraced and semi-detached houses from those years often run into a neighbour's roof, which matters when a leaking party wall or chimney needs access from next door.

A round stone building with a conical roof — Round House and other odd roofs

The Round House is a converted eighteenth-century windmill, and a circular building shows how little of roofing is standard. A conical or domed roof cannot be covered with a flat sheet or a plain tile bought off the shelf, and its flashings follow a curve instead of a straight line. Conversions, extensions and garden rooms around the village can be just as individual: flat roofs over kitchen extensions, lean-to roofs against old walls, and porches that were added in a later century. Whenever we meet a roof that does not follow the standard pattern, the survey photographs record the exact detail that has to be copied, so the quote prices the real roof and not a typical one. A lead or zinc cover is often the sensible answer on a curve.

From Swindon to the Churn valley

Distance: 16 road miles north-west of central Swindon
Council: Cotswold District Council
Council: Cotswold District Council
Setting: River Churn, just south of Cirencester
Canal: Thames and Severn Canal, built in the 1780s and abandoned in 1927

Siddington roof questions

Does the Church Farm tithe barn change how a nearby roof is repaired?

Only if you are working on the barn itself. A scheduled monument needs scheduled monument consent for repairs, so the owner talks to the authorities before any roofer is asked to price it.

Can brick and tile roofs by the old canal be patched?

Usually, when the battens and tiles are sound. Matching clay tiles by size and colour keeps the repair quiet, and the survey photographs show whether the whole slope is ready to move.

Is a house near the River Churn at greater risk from damp?

Low ground holds moisture, so moss, blocked gutters and weak ventilation show up sooner. The roof itself is not at fault, but it works harder to dry out.

What covers the roofs around St Peter's?

Brick and limestone cottages around a small village green

Roofers on a slate roof along a limestone village street

The short answer

A mixture, as in most Cotswold-edge villages. The oldest buildings may carry stone slate or tile, later houses clay tile or slate, and the newest concrete tile. St Peter's itself was restored in 1864, so its roof is Victorian work on an earlier building. A survey identifies what each roof actually has.

Siddington sits just south of Cirencester, close to the Cotswolds National Landscape, and the village has about twenty listed buildings. A short walk covers a wide span of building ages, and the roofs reflect that. We never guess a covering from a photograph taken at a distance.

What goes wrong with stone slate?

Where stone slate survives, each slate is hung over a batten by an oak peg driven through a hole drilled near its head. The roof is built in diminishing courses, so big stones sit low and small ones high. The pegs rot before the stones do, and slates then slip. The fix is usually to strip a slope, sort the stones and re-hang them on new battens, not to replace the covering. Our Cotswold stone roofing page goes into the method.

What about clay tile, slate and concrete?

The village's brickmaking past makes clay tile a natural find. Slate travelled far once the railways spread, and concrete tile is the usual covering on later work, so a survey here may meet any of them. Each ages in its own way. Clay tiles lose their nibs and slip; slates fail at the nail; concrete tiles lose their surface and ridge mortar. An old church tower or a converted mill needs separate thinking again, because lead and masonry matter more than the covering.

The first visit is mostly looking: at the slope from the ground, then at the loft from inside, then close up with a ladder or from a safe vantage point. We keep photographs of anything that matters, and these go to you alongside the quote, showing the fault as we found it. Nothing is priced from a guess.

Covering types and their usual faults

Covering	Usual fault	Usual response
Stone slate	Pegs rot, slates slip	Strip, re-hang on new battens
Clay tile	Nibs break, tiles slip	Replace to match or re-lay
Slate	Nails rust through	Refix or re-slate the slope
Concrete tile	Surface wears, ridge loosens	Replace tiles, refix ridge

Can a Siddington roof be repaired without stripping it?

The answer

Often, yes. Loose, slipped or cracked tiles and slates can be refixed or replaced from the slope, and leaks at chimneys and walls are usually flashing faults that need no stripping at all. Stripping becomes necessary when battens are soft or fixings have given up over a whole slope.

People expect any leak to mean a new roof. In a village of mixed ages, it usually does not. The right repair is the smallest one that removes the cause.

Which repairs leave the roof in place?

A slipped tile or slate can be replaced from a ladder or a roof ladder. A cracked ridge can be re-bedded and clipped. A chimney flashing can be dressed back or renewed in lead, and a failed valley liner lifted out and replaced. These jobs fit into a morning and leave the rest of the covering undisturbed.

How do you know a repair is the wrong answer?

If you can see daylight between slates from the loft, if many battens are damp or soft, or if slipped slates reappear every winter, the roof is telling you its fixings have gone. Another patch simply postpones the day. At that point we explain why a strip and re-cover is better value, and the written quote prices it.

How is new material matched to the old?

On older homes, matching matters. A new tile or slate that is too bright, or the wrong size, shows for years. Reclaimed stock suits many repairs; so does a new tile chosen for colour. If a repair does need new material, we show you the sample first.

Our advice is the minimum work that cures the cause, and when that turns out bigger than you hoped, we tell you plainly. The roof repairs page sets out the process.

Rule of thumb

Repair the fault if the battens and fixings are sound; strip the slope if they are not.

Who has to approve a re-roof on a Siddington house?

Gloved hands fitting a weathered Cotswold stone slate

1980s estate houses with brown concrete tile roofs

The short answer

Planning permission is seldom needed for the same covering going back. Listed buildings, scheduled monuments and any property under an Article 4 direction are the exceptions. Cotswold District Council runs its own building control, and larger re-roofs can trigger Building Regulations approval, which we explain at the survey.

Siddington has about twenty listed buildings and a scheduled monument, so permission questions come up here more than on a plain estate of identical houses. The answer depends on the building.

What applies to an ordinary house?

For a typical house, swapping like for like is outside planning control. The Planning Portal draws the Building Regulations line at 25 per cent of the total building envelope together with 50 per cent of the roof: below both, no building control application is normally needed. Past that, approval applies and an insulation upgrade can follow. The Planning Portal adds that a covering 15 per cent or more heavier also needs approval. Cotswold District Council has its own building control team in Cirencester, and a registered building control approver is the private alternative.

What about listed buildings and the tithe barn?

Work that alters the building's character needs listed building consent, and swapping the covering counts. The tithe barn at Church Farm is a scheduled monument, which means works to it need scheduled monument consent, granted by the Secretary of State with Historic England advising. Owners start those conversations before a roofer is invited to quote.

Is there a conservation area or Article 4 direction?

Cotswold District Council's conservation area maps do not list Siddington, but a quick check of the council's maps and its page on Article 4 directions is wise before you commit to any change of material.

If you tell us what you plan to change, whether it is a new covering, a roof window or a rebuilt chimney, we tell you which of these paths applies and who to speak to before any work starts.

MythA tithe barn roof can be repaired like any other farm roof.

FactA scheduled monument needs scheduled monument consent before repair works, so the owner starts with the authorities.

Roofing services in Siddington

Nearby towns we cover

Questions from beside the Churn

Why do Siddington's older roofs have both stone and clay on one street?

Because the village grew in stages. Stone slate suits the oldest buildings of the Cotswold edge; local brickmaking, supported by clay pits, meant brick and clay tile were close to hand for later work; and Victorian rebuilding such as the 1864 restoration of St Peter's brought slate and new methods. A street can easily hold three centuries of covering side by side.

Can you reach Siddington from Swindon for a survey?

Yes. Siddington, just south of Cirencester, sits well inside our 30 mile range. We plan the visit around access, whether that is a narrow lane near the church or a driveway beside the canal line, and the survey photographs go with the written quote.

My chimney is on a house by the old canal route. Is it a bigger job?

Not because of the canal, but old brick stacks do share faults: perished pointing, cracked flaunching (the mortar bed around the base of the pots), and lead flashings that have lifted. We look at all three, and at the stack's lean, before recommending a repair. A stack that is leaning or shedding brick needs rebuilding, and the survey will tell you which side of that line yours is on.

Are the ridge tiles on a Siddington cottage fixed only with mortar?

On many older roofs they are bedded in mortar and little else. The 2014 revision of BS 5534 ended the practice of relying on mortar alone for ridge and hip tiles, which now need a mechanical fixing as well. Where a ridge on your house has loosened, we either clip the existing tiles or specify a dry-fix ridge tested to BS 8612, and explain which suits the roof and why.

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