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Roofers in Loxwood

Loxwood lies in the Low Weald, with the Wey and Arun Canal passing to its east and south. We survey its church and chapel-era buildings, its village-centre shops and the houses around them.

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Loxwood roofs, from a red brick church to the shop row

  • A red brick gable and tiled roof

    Red brick with stone dressings

    St John the Baptist, built between 1898 and 1900 to designs by R Plumbe, is red brick with stone dressings.

    Read more about Red brick with stone dressings

    Where stone trim meets a roof slope, at copings and gable ends, water finds the join first, so the lead and pointing there come first.

  • Joined pitched roofs above shops

    Chapel-era and store buildings

    The Cokelers built their first chapel here and ran a Combination Store whose building houses the village shops today.

    Read more about Chapel-era and store buildings

    Older buildings with shops below often have several roofs joined together, and the valleys and abutments between them need checking.

  • A mossy tiled roof and gutter

    Low Weald ground by the canal

    The village lies in the Low Weald beside the Wey and Arun Canal. Damp ground and overhanging trees fill gutters, feed moss and hide slow leaks, so we study the roof edge and the drainage as closely as the covering.

Street map of Loxwood, north of central Worthing, with a pin on the town.

Loxwood: protected status, roof by roof

Planning authority
Chichester District Council
Councils
Chichester District Council and West Sussex County Council
Conservation area
Chichester District has 85 conservation areas; ask the council to check an older building's address
Article 4
Chichester District Council can check an individual address
Parish church
St John the Baptist, Church of England, Diocese of Guildford; built 1898 to 1900
From central Worthing
22.3 road miles, north, about 37 minutes by car

Loxwood roofs

Brick, chapels and the canal

Three chapters on the church and its brickwork, the older village buildings and the damp ground they stand on.

Chapter one

Red brick, stone dressings and the joins between them

A church of brick and stone shows where roofs leak: not on the slope itself, but at every point where the slope stops.

St John the Baptist, designed by R Plumbe and built between 1898 and 1900, is red brick with stone dressings, according to Sussex Parish Churches. A building like that teaches you where roofs really let go. The open slope is seldom to blame. Trouble starts at the places where the slope stops: against a wall, around a chimney, along a stone coping, under a window head. Each of those joints relies on a narrow strip of lead and a line of mortar, and both give up sooner than the tiles or slates they are there to protect. A house or hall of similar age follows the same pattern, and it is where our survey spends most of its time.

At a glance

  • St John the Baptist is red brick with stone dressings
  • Flashings fail at the wall before the slope fails
  • Code 4 lead is the usual choice for flashings
Victorian terrace chimney stacks with spalled bricks and old lead flashing
Victorian terrace chimney stacks with spalled bricks and old lead flashing

1.1 Lead at the wall

A flashing is the lead that closes the gap where roof meets wall, and it is the part that keeps rain out. One edge sits in a groove cut into the brickwork, the other is dressed down over the covering, and the groove is pointed up. Years of weather loosen that pointing; the lead then lifts out of its groove and rain tracks in behind it. A soaker does a related job lower down: a small folded sheet worked beneath each course at the abutment, giving water a path to follow. Lead is graded by code, which stands for thickness, and Leadworx calls Code 4 the usual choice where general flashing is needed, with heavier codes for bigger or more exposed runs. We note which code is up there, test the folds for splits, and photograph each joint before deciding whether to re-dress it or renew it. Our lead roofing page explains what a sound job involves.

Victorian terrace chimney stacks with spalled bricks and old lead flashing
Victorian terrace chimney stacks with spalled bricks and old lead flashing

1.2 Stone trim, verges and pointing

Where stone dressings cap a gable, the verge (the roof's edge along that gable) can leak through open joints between the stones, or through tired bedding beneath the tiles next to them. We look for crumbled mortar, tiles that have crept out of line and copings that have shifted. Repointing is frequently a better answer than a patch: rake out the failed mortar and replace it with a mix that suits the brick. A coat of sealant over a failing joint merely postpones the problem while water keeps working behind it. When someone has tried a repair before, the photographs show that too, showing you what was done earlier and what remains to do.

Lead sheet codes at a glance

Code 3
1.32 mm; recommended for soakers only
Code 4
1.80 mm; the usual pick for flashings
Code 5
2.24 mm; all-round use on pitched and vertical runs
Code 6
2.65 mm; larger roofs
Standard
Codes are to BS EN 12588

Source: Leadworx, Lead Sheet Codes Explained, fetched October 2026

Roofer on a chimney scaffold repointing an old brick stack

Chapter two

Loxwood's chapel history and who approves roof work

A chapel of about 1410, a brick rebuild in 1822 and a church of 1898 mean the answer to who consents depends on the building.

Loxwood's story is written in its chapels. One was built around 1410 as a chapelry of Wisborough Green and rebuilt in brick in 1822; the place became a parish in 1873; and the present church was started in 1898 and finished in 1900. Loxwood was also home to the Society of Dependants, known as the Cokelers, who built their first chapel here and ran a Combination Store, whose building houses the village shops today. Buildings from different centuries are roofed in different ways, and the consent that applies to work on each can differ too, so the first thing we establish is what kind of building we are looking at.

At a glance

  • A chapel stood here around 1410, rebuilt in brick in 1822
  • The present church was started in 1898
  • Consent routes differ by denomination and use

2.1 Who signs off a place of worship

St John the Baptist sits within the Diocese of Guildford, in the Church of England. For as long as it is used for worship, the ecclesiastical exemption applies: roof work follows the Church's faculty process rather than listed building consent from the council. Only certain denominations enjoy that exemption, each through its own procedure, and a chapel that has closed or passed to another use falls outside it. Scheduled monuments are a separate matter again, and the exemption never covers them. Judging which category an older chapel or hall belongs to is not possible from the pavement, so with those buildings we ask before we price.

2.2 Roofs above and behind the shops

A building with shops at street level often has a pitched roof facing the road and flat or lean-to roofs behind it, with gutters and downpipes shared between units. Shared drainage is a frequent place for a leak to start and for responsibility to blur between neighbours. Our commercial roofing page covers shop and unit roofs. For an older building we also ask Chichester District Council whether it is listed or lies in a conservation area, since the district has 85 conservation areas and the record for one address can differ from its neighbour's. We then photograph the roof as it stands, so any application begins from clear evidence rather than memory. Where a flat roof sits behind a shopfront, we check that its outlets are clear, because a blocked outlet on a roof nobody climbs onto can quietly pond water for months. If you manage the building for owners, tell us who is responsible for which roof and we will map the survey to that.

Before roof work on an older Loxwood building

  1. Check status Ask Chichester District Council if the property is listed or lies within a conservation area.
  2. Find the owner Establish who owns and maintains each roof, whether a church, trustees or a freeholder.
  3. Survey first We photograph every slope, valley and abutment so any application starts from evidence.
  4. Match materials Repairs follow the existing brick, tile and lead rather than introducing a new look.

Chapter three

Gutters, moss and damp in the Low Weald

On low, wet ground the drainage at the roof edge often decides how long a covering lasts.

Loxwood lies in the Low Weald, with the Wey and Arun Canal passing to the east and south, and low ground like that holds on to damp. A roof in such a setting spends long periods wet. Where trees overhang, leaves pile up in gutters and valleys, moss settles on shaded slopes, and rain that should reach a downpipe spills over the edge instead, soaking the fascia (the board carrying the gutter) and the timber behind it. A flat extension roof feels this most, because it cannot shed water as fast as a pitched one. The fault creeps in slowly, which is why it often stays unnoticed before a ceiling shows a mark.

At a glance

  • Loxwood lies in the Low Weald by the canal
  • Blocked gutters soak fascias and rafter feet
  • Flat extension roofs run on EPDM or GRP

3.1 Reading the roof edge

We begin at the gutter line. We check that runs fall gently towards the outlet, that brackets are firm, that joints are not weeping, and that the soffit, the board closing the gap beneath the eaves, is neither stained nor soft. A gutter can look fine from the garden while a corroded bracket tips it just far enough to overflow in a downpour. Fascia boards that have been soaked for several winters tend to rot at the ends first, where the joint is hardest to see. Where boards have failed we cut back to sound timber and tell you how far the damage reaches. Overflow often finds the rafter feet next, so we check them from the loft as well. Our gutters, soffits and fascias page sets out the options.

3.2 Moss, extensions and flat roofs

Moss is not always harmful by itself, yet a thick mat keeps water pressed against the covering and can lift edges. Gentle removal by hand is kinder to old tiles than a pressure jet, which can damage delicate ones. Flat-roofed extensions and porches are a common addition to village houses, and their coverings age on a different schedule: EPDM is quoted at 20 to 30 years or more and GRP at 25 to 40, depending on workmanship and upkeep. None of those figures is a promise, and the written quote only comes once we have inspected your own roof. The guide figures below show what edge-of-roof jobs typically cost across the UK; these are national guide figures rather than quotes.

What roof-edge and cleaning jobs cost across the UK

  • Gutter replacement, per metre£30 to £70
  • Fascia, per metre£80 to £150
  • Soffit, per metre£100 to £180
  • Pitched roof clean£450 to £850

A single total price in writing follows the survey; when weighing other quotes, ask whether VAT and scaffolding are in them. Source: MyBuilder gutter, fascia and soffit and roof cleaning price guides, updated 21/08/2026.

Roofing services for Loxwood buildings

Loxwood roof questions, from brick gables to the canal

How do you re-seal a flashing where a Loxwood roof meets red brick with stone dressings?

We rake out the failed joint, remove loose lead, and dress a new strip into a clean groove before pointing it in. Where stone trim sits beside the slope, we also check the copings and the bedding under the nearest tiles, because water often enters there and then runs behind the lead. Lead is chosen by code for the job, and photographs of the joint before and after come with the quote.

Who approves roof work at St John the Baptist in Loxwood?

While the church is in use for worship, roof work is handled by way of the Church of England's faculty process via the Diocese of Guildford, rather than listed building consent from the council. That route covers the church building itself. A neighbouring hall, cottage or shop is a separate question, and for those we check the address with Chichester District Council first.

Does Loxwood have a conservation area that affects my re-roof?

Chichester District has 85 conservation areas, so we ask Chichester District Council about the specific address before pricing an older building. Renewing the covering a house already has rarely needs planning permission, but a listed building or a change of material is different. The council can tell you whether either applies to your house.

Why do gutters on a Loxwood house keep overflowing in autumn?

In the Low Weald, with trees close to many roofs, leaves and silt settle in gutters and block the outlets. Water then spills over the front, runs down the wall or soaks the fascia. We clear the runs, check the falls and brackets, and look at whether the downpipe itself is blocked. If boards have rotted we replace those too, because clearing a gutter does not cure a board that has already soaked through.

Roofers near Loxwood

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