Chapter one
Church Hill's timber frames and old roofs
Around St Mary's the roofs sit on old timber, so repair here means working with the frame, not against it.
Church Hill is where St Mary's stands. The church has a chancel built in the 13th century, and its nave and tower date from a major rebuilding in the 15th. Close by, The Old House is a timber-framed building of the 17th century or earlier, listed Grade II*, the middle of the three grades, with a tiled roof. Roofs on frames of this age have settled over generations, so rafter lines are rarely true and the covering follows every dip. A roofer who arrives with a rule and a plan to make everything level will do harm, which is why we begin by reading how the roof has moved.
At a glance
- The Old House is timber-framed and Grade II*
- St Mary's chancel dates from the 13th century
- Two conservation areas were designated in 1973
1.1 Reading an old roof from the loft
The loft tells most of the story. We look for rafters and purlins that are dark with old damp, for joints that have opened, for daylight where a tile has slipped, and for fresh timber from earlier repairs. Damp at the lower end of a rafter tends to trace back to a failed gutter or flashing, and the rafter itself may be sound once the water is stopped. Old frames can often carry more than they appear to, so renewing timber is the last step, not the first, and any piece we do recommend renewing is shown in a photograph taken on your roof. Where a tie or a wall plate has rotted, you hear it from us directly, along with what the fix involves, before a price is written.
1.2 Consent on Church Hill
Two conservation areas were designated here in 1973, Church Place and Lower Street. The council appraisal records no Article 4 direction, so confirm the position with the Horsham District Council planning team before changing a covering. For The Old House and other listed buildings, upkeep and small repairs in like materials are treated differently from altering or wholly replacing historic fabric, which needs listed building consent. St Mary's is a parish church. A Church of England church still used for worship has its roof work approved through the Church's own faculty process in place of the council's route, while a redundant church, or one from a denomination outside the exemption, does not get that treatment.
Our roof planning permission guide sets out what changes when you add a roof window or dormer inside a conservation area. For ordinary repairs on Church Hill we match the tile or slate beside it, re-use what is sound, and record the roof in photographs before the first tile moves.
What people sayA listed building means nobody is allowed to touch the roof.
What is trueSmall repairs made in place with matching materials generally fall outside listed building consent; renewing old fabric so the building's character shifts does not.
