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Roofers in Bolney

Bolney's old farmhouses and Norman church are recorded under Horsham slab, and the parish climbs north from the Adur valley. We survey each roof on its own terms and photograph what we find.

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Bolney's slab roofs, church and valley-to-hill houses

  • A heavy stone-slab farmhouse roof

    Horsham slab on timber-framed farmhouses

    The Victoria County History records several old timber-framed farmhouses in the parish, Chatesgrove among them with a gable dated 1618, as having Horsham slab roofs.

    Read more about Horsham slab on timber-framed farmhouses

    Slabs this heavy need strong timbers beneath them and a careful hand when they are lifted.

  • A stone-slab church roof

    The church roof of old slabs

    St Mary Magdalene's has a nave and chancel of about 1100, a west tower added in 1536 to 1538 and a south porch dated 1718.

    Read more about The church roof of old slabs

    The county history records its roof as covered with old Horsham slabs, and the church is Grade I listed.

  • Tiled houses on rising ground

    Houses from valley floor to hilltop

    The parish runs from under 50 ft in the Adur valley up to 392 ft on its northern boundary. Height and openness change how a tile is fixed, so we never simply copy a neighbour's roof specification.

Street map of Bolney, north-east of central Worthing, with a pin on the town.

Roof rules to check in

Planning authority
Mid Sussex District Council
Councils
Mid Sussex District Council and West Sussex County Council
Conservation area
Bolney Conservation Area, designated January 1989 in two parts
Listed example
Church of St Mary Magdalene, Grade I, with an old Horsham slab roof
From central Worthing
21.3 road miles, north-east, about 32 minutes by car

Bolney roofs

Horsham slab from valley to hilltop

A Norman church, slab-roofed farmhouses and a parish that rises from the Adur valley set the questions below.

Chapter one

Horsham slab on Bolney's farmhouses and church

The Victoria County History names old timber-framed farmhouses and the church among Bolney's Horsham slab roofs, a covering with rules of its own.

Several of Bolney's oldest timber-framed farmhouses wear roofs of Horsham slab, according to the Victoria County History, which names Chatesgrove, with a gable dated 1618, and adds that the church roof is covered with old Horsham slabs as well. The Stone Roofing Association describes the stone as calcareous, flaggy sandstone, split into slabs and laid in random sizes, biggest at the bottom of the slope and dwindling towards the top. A roof like that is not tiling in the usual sense. It is a heavy, hand-sorted surface that has weathered until neighbouring slabs seem to merge, and Horsham District Council's conservation appraisal notes that they are steeply pitched, on strong timbers sized for the load.

At a glance

  • Chatesgrove has a gable dated 1618
  • The church roof is covered with old Horsham slabs
  • The stone already on the roof goes back first

1.1 Two ways of laying the stone

The Association identifies two systems: ordinary double lap, and single lapping, which it calls unique to Horsham stone roofs, where the joints are weathered with shadow slates of Welsh slate bedded in mortar. It recommends keeping or reinstating double lap wherever possible, and warns that changing from single to double lap means reviewing the roof loading, with building control approval and/or a church faculty, plus listed building consent where the building is listed. We establish which system a roof uses before anyone lifts a slab, because relaying it the wrong way is hard to undo.

1.2 Whose stone goes back

The Association's first choice is to put the stone already on the roof back, topped up with new Horsham stone if suitable pieces can be found. It asks that slates reclaimed from other buildings be avoided wherever possible, since taking them encourages the destruction of historic roofs. Supply was reported as short in 2019. In practice we lift with care, sort the slabs by size, set the sound ones aside and relay them on new battens, the timber strips that carry each course, noting every split slab in the photographs so any shortfall is known before the quote is written. Farmhouse roofs rarely stay pure: later extensions bring tile, felt or slate up against the stone, and the joint where a thin modern covering meets thick slab is a classic place for water to creep in, so the lead there is checked and the difference in thickness allowed for. Our Horsham stone roofing page describes the work in more detail.

Horsham slab roofs at a glance

Laying systems
Double lap, or single lap with shadow slates
Sizes
Random-sized slabs, diminishing from eaves to ridge
Preferred repair
Put the roof's own stone back first
Changing lap system
Loading review, building control and/or faculty, listed building consent if listed
Pitch and timbers
Steep pitch and strong timbers (Horsham District Council)

Source: Stone Roofing Association, Horsham Stone Roofs (2009); Horsham District Council, Horsham Conservation Area Appraisal (March 2022)

Chapter two

St Mary Magdalene and the 1989 conservation area

A Grade I church of about 1100 anchors the southern part of the conservation area that Mid Sussex designated in January 1989.

Sussex flint church with a sweeping Horsham stone roof and lichen-covered slabs
Sussex flint church with a sweeping stone roof and lichen-covered slabs

St Mary Magdalene's belongs to the Church of England, and its nave and chancel date from about 1100, with a west tower added in 1536 to 1538 and a south porch dated 1718. Mid Sussex District Council's summary of its conservation areas places the Grade I church in the southern part of the Bolney Conservation Area, around Bolney Street, one of two parts designated in January 1989. Around Bolney Street, buildings of different ages and styles stand side by side, so a repair has to sit beside the neighbouring roof without clashing with it. The same booklet lists the use of natural and traditional building materials, and the variety of age and style among the buildings, as features that give the area its character. For a roofer that reads like a brief: whatever goes back on a roof should look like what came off.

At a glance

  • Nave and chancel of about 1100; tower 1536 to 1538
  • The south porch is dated 1718
  • The conservation area has two parts, designated in 1989

2.1 The church roof

Whilst worship continues, roof work at the church answers to the Church of England's own faculty jurisdiction rather than the council's listed building system. Closure changes that, because a church no longer in use loses the exemption and needs listed building consent. The covering here is old Horsham slab, so the lap system, the sorting of slabs and any shadow slates are matters for the parish and its advisers, and we work from their instructions. If the parish wants a survey, the photographs go to those advisers as well as to you. The south porch, dated 1718, brings small roof junctions of its own where it meets the nave wall, and small abutments like those gather leaves and fail quietly, so we check the lead and the outlets there as carefully as the main slope.

2.2 Houses inside the conservation area

A replacement that matches the old covering does not usually need a planning application, though a change of material may, while a listed house requires consent for work that would affect its character. Mid Sussex District Council is the authority, so ask it whether any direction removes permitted development rights at your address. Old roofs here may shelter bats and nesting birds, both protected, and we check for either before any stripping begins. Our roof planning permission guide explains how the pieces fit together, and we describe the existing roof in photographs before we propose anything.

What people sayA Grade I church nearby means every roof in the Bolney conservation area is treated as listed.

What is trueListing applies building by building. A conservation area is a separate designation, and like-for-like repair is not normally development needing planning permission.

Chapter three

From the Adur valley up to 392 feet

Bolney climbs from under 50 feet in the Adur valley to 392 feet on its northern boundary, and fixings should follow the site.

Bolney is a parish that climbs. The Victoria County History puts it at under 50 feet in the Adur valley and 392 feet on the northern boundary. A roof at one end of that range meets the weather differently from a roof at the other, which is why we do not copy a neighbour's specification. Wienerberger's advice is that the fixing specification belongs to the site, weighing its location, its altitude and its local exposure to wind, and that each single-lap tile carries a mechanical fixing of its own. Marley notes that below a 30 degree pitch the windward slope may be pulled hard by suction.

At a glance

  • The parish rises from under 50 ft to 392 ft
  • Fixing specifications allow for altitude and wind exposure
  • Each single-lap tile gets a mechanical fixing of its own
Lead-lined valley where two clay-tiled roof slopes meet
Lead-lined valley where two clay-tiled roof slopes meet

3.1 Repair or re-roof

Nails, battens and underlay come first, then the extent of any damp in the timbers. Trouble concentrated in one valley or slope suggests repair, and trouble across the whole roof suggests renewal; the photographs settle it. On a higher site we begin with the ridge, verge and eaves tiles, since those edge courses take the strongest pull from the wind. Where the pitch is shallow, as on a lean-to or porch, the covering must be one its maker approves for that pitch: Marley lists 35 degrees as the minimum for its concrete plain tile and 15 degrees for its Lincoln clay pantile. Lifespans are typical ranges rather than promises: MyBuilder gives a well-installed slate roof as 80 to 100 years or more, and the Building Research Establishment determined a minimum life expectancy of 60 years for clay tiles, as Marley reports. A roof inside that range with one bad detail rarely needs stripping. Our pitched roofing page covers the coverings in turn.

Lead-lined valley where two clay-tiled roof slopes meet
Lead-lined valley where two clay-tiled roof slopes meet

3.2 Building control and the written quote

Two numbers decide whether a re-roof needs a building control application: 25 per cent of the building envelope and 50 per cent of the roof. Work below both is not normally notifiable. Work above either, structural alteration, or a covering 15 per cent or more heavier brings approval, and a Part L thermal upgrade may follow. You may use the council's building control or a registered approver, and where work is notifiable we handle the notification. Our roof replacement page covers a full re-roof. The written quote follows the survey as one total, and the figures below are national guides, quoted exclusive of VAT as published.

Typical UK roof repair costs per m²

  • Concrete tile£90 to £120 per m²
  • Clay tile£110 to £160 per m²
  • Natural slate£150 to £220 per m²
  • Bitumen flat roof£100 to £140 per m²

These are published guide rates, not our prices. Your figure comes after the survey, written down as a single total. Source: Checkatrade roof repair cost guide, table last updated June 2026.

Where we can start on a roof

Bolney roof questions, from slab to hilltop

How do you repair a Bolney farmhouse roof of Horsham slab without ruining it?

By treating it as a puzzle to be put back, not stripped. We establish whether it is double or single lap, lift a section, sort the slabs by size and relay the sound ones on new battens in diminishing courses. Any shortfall is met with suitable new Horsham stone where it can be found. Listed buildings need consent for changes, so we confirm that first.

Who approves roof work at St Mary Magdalene's church?

While the church is in regular use, the Church of England's own faculty process covers works to its roof, not the council's listed building consent. That changes if the church closes. We take instructions from the parish and its advisers, photograph the roof for them, and keep the Horsham slabs in their existing order wherever the advice says to.

Can I replace my roof within the Bolney Conservation Area?

Yes. Like-for-like replacement is not normally development needing planning permission, but a change of material may, and a listed house needs consent. Mid Sussex District Council designated the area in 1989, and its summary values natural and traditional materials. Ask the council about your address before the covering changes, and tell us what it says so the survey and quote follow it.

Does a house high on the Bolney hill need different tile fixings from one in the valley?

It can. Wienerberger says the fixing specification is set for the site, with altitude and wind exposure among the factors, and each single-lap tile needs a mechanical fixing of its own. On a re-roof, we ask the tile maker for that specification for your address. On a smaller repair we match the fixing pattern already on the roof, and we mechanically fix any ridge we disturb.

Roofers near Bolney

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