Street of 1960s brick bungalows with concrete tile roofs

Roofers in Stanton St Quintin

Roofing for Stanton St Quintin, from cottages and farm buildings around St Giles' church to the hamlets of Clanville and Lower Stanton, with repairs sized to the fault and a written quote after the survey.

Get a quote Call 01793 626096

Stanton St Quintin's roofs, parish by parish

Stone village houses near a parish church — Around St Giles' church

The Domesday Book of 1086 records the settlement with nineteen households, and by 1223 there were two villages, Stanton, later Upper Stanton, and Nether Stanton, later Lower Stanton. St Giles' church, Grade II* listed, is built of rubble stone with an ashlar-faced chancel; its nave and low central tower are twelfth century, and the nave was re-roofed in the fifteenth. Buildings standing near a church with that history tend to have thick stone walls, and thick walls change how a roof is mended. Flashings have to be set into stone joints rather than thin brick, and any fixings need a firm bed in rubble that may be soft behind the face.

Farmhouse and barn roofs on a country lane — Clanville and Lower Stanton

Beyond the main street the parish spreads out into hamlets, Clanville among them, and into Lower Stanton St Quintin, where cottages, farmhouses and working buildings sit along open lanes. Roofs here are often long and plain, with outbuildings and barn conversions alongside the houses. The problems follow from the layout: long rafter runs that sag, gutters that are hard to reach, valleys on additions, and verges at gable ends that catch the wind coming across open farmland. A roof in an open spot needs its edge details fixed firmly, so we pay special attention to the verges and the ridge line.

Concrete-tiled homes and garage roofs — Twentieth-century growth

RAF Hullavington opened in 1937 and brought a substantial rise in the population, and the M4 was built close to the southern boundary in 1971, so the parish has seen change across the last century. Homes from those decades can carry concrete or clay tiles, with flat roofs on garages, porches and rear extensions. Concrete tiles lose their coating and hold moss, clay tiles can crack at the edges, and a flat roof that was fitted decades ago may be near the end of its working life. For these roofs the survey separates a covering that still has years in it from one that is spent, and the written quote follows from that. A porch or a lean-to over a back door is treated the same way, since a small roof can let in as much water as a big one. These are also the roofs most likely to be forgotten.

From Swindon to the Malmesbury road

Distance: 18 road miles west of central Swindon
Council: Wiltshire Council
Council: Wiltshire Council
Conservation area: Stanton St Quintin Conservation Area
Setting: North of Chippenham and south of Malmesbury, just north of the M4

Common worries about a Stanton St Quintin roof

Is my road inside the Stanton St Quintin Conservation Area?

Wiltshire Council holds the boundary map. Check it before work is priced, because a change to how a roof looks is where the council takes an interest.

Why does a thick stone wall change a roof repair?

Lead and fixings have to be set into stone joints, not thin brickwork, so the work is slower and the materials must suit the wall. Rubble behind the face can be soft.

Do you work in Clanville and Lower Stanton as well?

Yes. Both lie comfortably within the 30 road miles we work across. Tell us about the lane and the access when you ring.

How do I look after a Stanton St Quintin roof?

Blocked gutter full of leaves overflowing down a brick wall

New white uPVC fascia, soffit and black gutter on brick eaves

The short answer

Glance up at it every spring and autumn, clear the gutters, and book a survey after any storm that moves tiles. Small faults on an old stone-walled house are cheap to put right and expensive to ignore, because water works along timbers before it shows inside.

A roof that has lasted a long time has usually been looked after, even if nobody remembers doing it. The habits that kept it going are simple, and they suit the stone houses of a village like this one.

What can you spot from the ground?

Binoculars do more than a ladder. Look for tiles that sit lower than their neighbours, a ridge line that has developed a dip, moss building up in one place, and stains below a chimney. Any of those is worth a photograph with a date on it, which helps us compare later.

Why do gutters and outlets matter on stone walls?

On a stone wall, water pouring from a blocked gutter does slow damage: it soaks the stonework, washes out the lime mortar and stains the face. A gutter is the channel along the lower edge of the roof, and the outlet is where it drains into the downpipe. Clearing leaves and moss each autumn takes minutes. Our gutters, soffits and fascias page covers the fascia board behind the gutter and the soffit under the eaves.

What should you do after a gale?

A strong blow moves tiles on a roof long before it takes them off. Ridge tiles lift, verge tiles slip, and a gap at the edge of a gable lets rain run behind the covering. If you can see something wrong, or a stain has appeared on a bedroom ceiling, send us photographs and tell us the date. Leaks and storm damage are booked in ahead of routine jobs, and water coming through is stopped and made safe before the lasting repair is planned.

None of this needs a full survey every year, but a survey, with pictures of your own slopes, is the right starting point for a house whose roof nobody has examined closely.

Can a stone village roof be repaired in place?

The answer

Usually, and that is the better first move. Removing sound tiles or slates to reach a fault disturbs more of the roof than the fault itself. We work from the narrowest opening that lets us fix the cause, and we strip a slope only when the survey shows it has failed.

Heavy walls and a long-lived roof make people nervous about touching either, and a roof that has stood since before anyone in the household can remember feels like something to leave alone. That caution is sensible, but it should not become a reason to leave a leak running.

How is a leak reached from above?

Most leaks have a small cause: a cracked tile, a split slate, a flashing pulled out of its joint or a valley that has silted up. Most can be reached by lifting a handful of the courses above, replacing what is damaged, and laying the rest back as it was. The roof underneath stays undisturbed, and so does the timber work that carries it, which is often the most valuable part of an old roof.

How are new tiles matched to the old?

A mismatched tile on a plain roof stands out for years. We match by size, colour and surface texture, using reclaimed material where the original is no longer made. On a listed house, matching is not just a courtesy; changing the covering without consent is a problem for the owner, not the roofer.

Can old timbers take a heavier covering?

An old rafter has carried the same load for decades. Swapping to a heavier covering changes that. Building Regulations treat a covering that is 15 per cent or more heavier, in the Planning Portal's wording, as a matter for approval, so we check the timbers and talk to building control before any such change.

When a repair is not enough, our pitched roofing page sets out how a complete re-cover is worked out, and our roof repairs page covers the smaller jobs that are far more common.

Once the fault is found, the quote is a single written figure after the survey, and our contractors do the work with the guarantee in writing for ten years on the workmanship.

Where we start

Open the smallest area that reaches the cause, and leave sound roof alone.

Which council deals with roofing in Stanton St Quintin?

Roofers on a slate roof along a limestone village street

Brick end-of-terrace gable beside a limestone house, slate roofs

The short answer

Wiltshire Council, for planning, listing and building control questions. A Church of England church in worship follows its own faculty route. For a house in the conservation area, ask the council whether a planned change affects how the street looks before you commit to the work.

Stanton St Quintin is in Wiltshire, so questions about roofs go to Wiltshire Council, not Swindon Borough Council, even though Swindon is where we are based.

Is planning permission needed in the conservation area?

The parish has a conservation area, and the council keeps the boundary map. Re-covering a roof with matching tiles or slates seldom calls for planning permission, because the village looks the same afterwards. A different colour, a different material or a new rooflight on a front slope is a change worth putting to the council's planning team first, and a short email before the work starts saves a long argument afterwards. Lead, ridge and verge repairs that follow the existing detail are routine.

What changes for listed houses and the church?

St Giles' is Grade II* listed. A Church of England church in worship use falls under the ecclesiastical exemption, with alterations decided by faculty, so the church building follows its own route. For a listed house, listed building consent is required where alterations change its character, and a new roof covering can do exactly that.

Do bigger re-roofs in Stanton St Quintin need building control?

Re-covering is outside Building Regulations when under 25 per cent of the building envelope and under 50 per cent of the roof is affected. Larger jobs need approval through Wiltshire Council's building control team or a registered building control approver, and if the job calls for a notification, we send it in for you.

Birds nesting in the roof and bats in the loft are protected, so if the survey shows signs we pause and tell you before anything is moved. Old stone barns and church-side roofs are the likeliest places.

Who to ask about what, for a Stanton St Quintin roof

Question	Who decides
Changing how a roof looks	Wiltshire Council planning
Alterations to a listed house	Wiltshire Council, listed building consent
A larger re-roof or a heavier covering	Wiltshire Council building control, or a registered approver
The church of St Giles	The Church of England faculty system

Roofing services in Stanton St Quintin

Nearby towns we cover

Questions from the lanes round St Giles'

Why do chimneys on stone-walled houses leak at the join?

Lead flashings are set into the stone joints, and the mortar behind them can crumble over time, letting the lead pull out and water in. The cure is usually to rake out the joint and refix or renew the lead, not to rebuild the stack. We photograph the join so you can see it.

Do you re-roof barn conversions around Clanville?

Yes. Long rafter runs, valleys where an extension meets the old roof, and rooflights that are past their best are the usual faults. We repair each at its source and tell you if a whole slope needs replacing, with the reason.

What should I send before a survey in Lower Stanton?

A few photographs of the roof from the ground, a note of where any stain appears inside, and anything you know about its age. Mention access along the lane, and whether the house is listed. That is enough for us to plan the survey.

Is the finished work guaranteed in writing?

Yes. The work carries a written 10-year workmanship guarantee. The quote is a single written figure that follows the survey, and at handover nothing is left behind, waste included.

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