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Roofers in Midhurst

Midhurst grew in a bend of the River Rother below its castle hill. Hand-made clay tiles, Welsh slate and 108 listed entries in the conservation area make its roofs a job for careful surveying.

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Three kinds of Midhurst roof, and the weak points of each

  • Weathered clay tiles on a pitched roof

    Hand-made clay tiles at about 40 degrees

    The conservation area appraisal calls hand-made clay tiles by far the most popular roofing material in the town, usually laid at about 40 degrees.

    Read more about Hand-made clay tiles at about 40 degrees

    A steep tiled slope sheds rain well; its risk sits in the nails, battens and ridge.

  • A slate roof beside a chimney

    Welsh slate from the early 19th century

    The same appraisal says shallower slate roofs came to Midhurst only with Welsh slate, from the early 19th century.

    Read more about Welsh slate from the early 19th century

    A slate roof tends to give trouble at its lead: the flashings round chimneys, valleys and the walls it butts against.

  • Stone walling meeting a tiled roof

    Sandstone, ironstone and brick walls

    Materials listed in the appraisal include clay for tiles and bricks, ironstone for galleting and Lower Greensand stone for walling and paving.

    Read more about Sandstone, ironstone and brick walls

    Where a roof meets such a wall, lead must be cut into the joints, and that join is where we look.

Street map of Midhurst, north-west of central Worthing, with a pin on the town.

Protected status around

Planning authority
South Downs National Park Authority
Councils
Chichester District Council and West Sussex County Council
Conservation area
Midhurst (designated 17 July 1974, first extended 10 June 2008)
Article 4
None on the South Downs National Park Authority's list
Listed examples
Cowdray House ruins, Grade I and a scheduled monument; St Mary Magdalene, Grade II star
From central Worthing
28.2 road miles, north-west, about 44 minutes by car

Midhurst roofs

Clay, slate and the Cowdray ruins

Three matters that decide how a roof is looked after in a conservation area holding 108 listed entries.

Chapter one

Hand-made clay tiles on Midhurst's older roofs

The conservation area appraisal puts hand-made clay tiles first and says they usually sit at about 40 degrees.

When the South Downs National Park Authority appraised Midhurst's conservation area, it found clay tiles on the roofs, as you would expect in the Weald, with some replacement in Welsh slate. Hand-made clay tiles are by far the most popular covering, and the appraisal says concrete tiles and pantiles are not characteristic of the town. That tells a roofer what to do before a single tile is ordered. A replacement has to read as clay from the street, with a colour, texture and size that sit comfortably beside the tiles next door. Clay for both tiles and bricks is among the materials the appraisal names as local, so the roofs and the walls beneath them share a source. Hand-made tiles vary a little in colour and camber, which is part of why old roofs look as they do, and why a handful of mismatched new tiles stands out from the pavement.

At a glance

  • Clay tiles are the conservation area's usual roofing
  • Concrete tiles and pantiles are not characteristic there
  • Hand-made tiles usually sit at about 40 degrees
Lead-lined valley where two clay-tiled roof slopes meet
Lead-lined valley where two clay-tiled roof slopes meet

1.1 Why the pitch limits the choice

A roof laid at about 40 degrees can take most plain tiles, but the angle is a limit as well as a feature. Marley publishes a minimum pitch for each of its clay plain tiles: Canterbury 40 degrees, Ashdowne 35, and Hawkins and Acme Single Camber 30. A tile chosen to match the street has to be one that is allowed to work at the slope in front of you, so we read the pitch off the roof before suggesting a product. The covering is hung on battens, narrow timber strips running across the rafters, and each course is nailed, so the nails and battens are tested along with the clay.

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

1.2 How long a clay roof lasts

Marley reports that the Building Research Establishment assessed clay tiles at a minimum life expectancy of 60 years, a typical figure and no pledge. The Building Conservation Directory warns that the 60-year number cannot be trusted on an old peg-tile roof, which means the date a roof went on does not settle whether it should come off. A century-old roof with sound tiles and a few rusted nails wants repair, not replacement, while a younger roof with a failing underlay, the membrane beneath the tiles, may not. Our pitched roofing page explains how we decide. The ridge is checked too, because since the 2014 revision of BS 5534 bedded ridge tiles are mechanically fixed as well as mortared, and an older ridge may predate that. Our survey pictures come with the quote, showing you the same defects we saw from the ladder.

Minimum pitches for Marley clay plain tiles

TileMinimum pitch
Canterbury40 degrees
Ashdowne35 degrees
Hawkins30 degrees
Acme Single Camber30 degrees
Source: Marley, what is the minimum pitch for a roof tile or slate, fetched October 2026

Chapter two

Cowdray, St Mary Magdalene and 108 listed entries

The conservation area holds one Grade I entry, two Grade II star and 105 Grade II, so questions of consent come up often.

Row of post-war hipped bungalows with tiled roofs on a Worthing street
Row of post-war hipped bungalows with tiled roofs on a street

The appraisal counts 108 statutory list entries inside the conservation area: one Grade I, two Grade II star and 105 Grade II. Among them are the ruins of Cowdray House, Grade I and a scheduled monument, and St Mary Magdalene, the Grade II star parish church. With numbers like that, a roof repair in the centre of Midhurst is more likely than in most towns to touch a protected building, and our first question on arrival is whether the one in front of us is listed. If it is, the quote spells that out, because it changes what you may do and who you must ask.

At a glance

  • The Cowdray House ruins are Grade I and a scheduled monument
  • St Mary Magdalene is Grade II star
  • Small repairs in place need no listed building consent

2.1 What needs consent on a listed roof

In the Authority's guidance, ordinary maintenance and minor repairs made in place with like materials sit outside listed building consent, while work that alters or replaces historic fabric, and so changes the building's character, falls within it. That is also why a small, sensitive repair is so often the right answer on a listed roof. Carrying out unauthorised works to a listed building is an offence. A new tile matched in size and colour, set where an old one failed, sits on the safe side; stripping a historic roof and re-covering it in something different does not. Midhurst lies inside the National Park, so planning questions start with the Authority or, for the Chichester district, with the council it names; our South Downs planning answer explains how that works.

2.2 Churches and monuments

St Mary Magdalene is an Anglican church, and while worship continues there the ecclesiastical exemption applies; faculty approval from the Church takes the place of listed building consent. A scheduled monument has a separate regime run by the Secretary of State, and the ecclesiastical exemption never reaches it. For a private owner the practical lesson is simpler. A survey before any quote shows which tiles, which flashings and which timbers are really failing, so the repair can be kept as small as the building allows. Our roof inspections and surveys page describes that first visit. Bats may roost in old lofts and are fully protected, hence a check before stripping starts.

What people sayA listed building cannot have any roof repair without consent.

What is trueRoutine upkeep and minor like-for-like mending need none; altering or replacing historic fabric does.

Chapter three

Welsh slate roofs and the case for repair

Welsh slate arrives in Midhurst from the early 19th century, on shallower pitches than the clay beside it.

Slate came late to Midhurst. The appraisal says shallower slate roofs appeared only with Welsh slate from the early 19th century, and it records some replacement of clay with slate in the conservation area. Slates of that age can be as sound as stone, yet they are held up by small things: the nails through each slate, the battens beneath, and the lead at each chimney and abutting wall. MyBuilder's guide puts a well-fitted slate roof at 80 to 100 years or more, and Checkatrade gives anything from 50 to 200 years, a reminder that lifespans are wide and never a promise. When one slate slips, a tingle, a narrow metal strap fixed beneath the slate above, can hold the replacement without a new hole through the slate.

At a glance

  • Natural slate is often quoted at 80 to 100 years or more
  • BS 5534 allows slate down to 20 degrees in set conditions
  • Slate nails and lead detailing need checking as well as the slates
Victorian terrace chimney stacks with spalled bricks and old lead flashing
Victorian terrace chimney stacks with spalled bricks and old lead flashing

3.1 Slope, headlap and fixings

Pitch matters more on slate than on clay. Cupa Pizarras says BS 5534:2014+A2:2018 indicates a minimum pitch of 20 degrees for natural slate, for a 500 mm slate with a 115 mm headlap, the overlap between one course and the one two above, in moderate exposure. Hook fixings are ruled out on slopes under 25 degrees. A roof that sits flatter than its slate allows will leak however well it is laid, and we would rather tell you so after a survey than after a storm.

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

3.2 Reusing slate, and what lead tells us

When a slate roof is stripped, sound slates come off one by one, are graded by size and go back on fresh battens, with matching new ones covering any shortfall. If the survey finds only a few slipped slates, we reset or replace them and leave the sound roof alone. MyJobQuote gives lead flashing a life of more than 80 years, so a flashing that has failed early usually points to movement or poor fixing, and that is the cause worth finding. Chimney work on a Midhurst terrace often needs scaffold, and what that and the covering add to a total is why the figures below are typical UK ranges shown in published guides. Your own price is separate, and it arrives as one written total after we have surveyed the roof. Our slate roofing page covers the work in detail, from stripping and grading to relaying.

Typical UK costs for slate, lead and chimney work

  • Natural slate re-roof (per m²)£100 to £180
  • Lead patch repair£150 to £250
  • Ridge re-bedding or replacing£300 to £600
  • Chimney repointing£500 to £2,000

What lands on your doormat is a single written total, drawn up after the survey has shown the roof's real needs. Source: MyBuilder slate roof and chimney repair guides, updated 21/08/2026; MyJobQuote leadwork guide, 22/09/26.

Roofing help for Midhurst's clay, slate and listed roofs

Midhurst roof questions, from the Rother bend to Cowdray

Can I swap Midhurst's clay roof tiles for concrete ones?

The conservation area appraisal says concrete tiles and pantiles are not characteristic of the town, and clay is the norm for its roofs. Changing the covering changes how the house looks from the street, so ask the planning authority before you commit. We match clay with clay, in colour, size and texture, and the existing roof is photographed beforehand so the before-and-after is clear.

Which authority handles roof work in the National Park around Midhurst?

Midhurst is inside the South Downs National Park, so start with the South Downs National Park Authority, which says some enquiries in the Chichester district go to the council. No Article 4 direction appears on its list, though the appraisal says the authority will consider one for unlisted dwellings. Building Regulations are separate and go to a registered building control approver or the council.

Is a 60-year-old clay roof in Midhurst due for replacement?

Not automatically. Marley reports a minimum life expectancy of 60 years for clay tiles, a typical figure rather than a pledge, while the Building Conservation Directory doubts that number for old peg-tile roofs. The survey looks at tile condition, nails, battens and underlay. Sound tiles on tired fixings are often a repair job, and we put our recommendation in writing.

When a Midhurst roof edge overhangs the pavement, who arranges the scaffold licence?

The scaffold firm applies for it, as the Highways Act requires a licence from the highway authority, which is West Sussex County Council here. Notice of at least 10 working days is required before the scaffold goes up, so the date is fixed early. We plan the roof around that date and the weather, and the licence is never left until the day the scaffold is due.

Roofers near Midhurst

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