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Roofers in Tillington

Tillington sits on a ridge west of Petworth Park, and its church, listed Grade I, anchors the village. Our surveys here start with what the building is, then move to the roof.

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Three kinds of Tillington roof, and what to check first

  • A village church roof

    The roof of All Hallows and its neighbours

    All Hallows is listed Grade I, and its nave roof is mostly 19th century with some 14th-century timbers.

    Read more about The roof of All Hallows and its neighbours

    Around a building like that, every repair begins with two questions: which covering is on it, and whose approval does the work need?

  • An old tiled house roof

    Grade II* houses in the village

    The Old Manor House and Tillington House are both listed Grade II*. A leak on a roof like those is traced and photographed first.

    Read more about Grade II* houses in the village

    The repair then copies the covering already there, keeping the work close to upkeep.

  • Rooftops behind a village lane

    Homes in the Tillington and Upperton conservation areas

    The South Downs National Park Authority lists two conservation areas in the parish, Tillington and Upperton. Relaying with the same covering seldom raises planning issues, but swapping one covering for another here deserves a call to the planners beforehand.

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

Tillington at a glance, planning side

Planning authority
South Downs National Park Authority
Councils
Chichester District Council and West Sussex County Council
Conservation areas
Tillington and Upperton, both listed by the South Downs National Park Authority
Article 4
None covers Tillington
Listed examples
All Hallows, Grade I; the Old Manor House and Tillington House, Grade II*
From central Worthing
21.5 road miles, north-west, about 36 minutes by car

Tillington roofs

Scots Crown spire to village lane

Three questions that follow from Tillington's church, its listed houses and the National Park boundary.

Chapter one

All Hallows, the Old Manor House and listed roofs

A Grade I church and two Grade II* houses make the first question about a Tillington roof one of consent, not of tiles.

The place to start with Tillington roofs is the church. All Hallows is listed Grade I, and its tower and open stone spire, known as a Scots Crown, date from 1807 and were paid for by Lord Egremont of Petworth House. Tradition names J.M.W. Turner as the designer, though that has been doubted. A stone spire has no covering to lose, but the nave beneath it is another matter. Sussex Parish Churches describes the nave roof as mostly 19th century with some 14th-century timbers. A roof that mixes centuries has to be read before anyone repairs it. Which timbers are original, which came later and where old patching has been left in place all shape a sensible repair.

At a glance

  • All Hallows is Grade I, with a 1807 tower and spire
  • Its nave roof mixes 19th-century and 14th-century timbers
  • The Old Manor House and Tillington House are Grade II*

1.1 The approval route for a church in worship

Where an Anglican parish church remains in worship use, listed building consent does not apply. The ecclesiastical exemption hands roof works to the Church's own faculty system instead. That exemption lapses if the church closes, and it never reaches a scheduled monument. For anyone outside the parish team the practical point is plain: roof work at All Hallows is arranged through the faculty system, and a contractor follows whatever it approves.

1.2 Listed houses around the village

The Old Manor House is listed Grade II*, and so is Tillington House. Listing does not freeze a roof. Under the National Park Authority's guidance, ordinary maintenance needs no listed building consent, and nor do modest repairs made in place. Consent enters once old fabric that carries the house's special character is altered or replaced outright. On a roof that boundary is easy to blur. So before proposing anything we photograph the covering, the lead and the timber we can see, and the written quote spells out what stays and what changes.

1.3 What a survey looks like on an old roof

We begin in the loft with a torch. Daylight at a joint, dark staining on a rafter, or battens of two different ages show where water has been getting in. Outside we study each junction: the ridge, the valleys, the flashings around a chimney, the join with a gable wall. Water mostly enters at those points, and a ceiling stain may appear metres from the real opening. You get the quote on paper with one total at the bottom, and the survey pictures show your roof, not a stock image. If the work looks as though it needs consent, you hear that at the survey, and the council's conservation team can confirm it before anything is ordered.

What people sayA listed roof cannot be repaired without applying for consent first.

What is trueRoutine maintenance and minor in-situ repairs do not need listed building consent; altering or replacing the historic fabric behind a building's special interest does.

Chapter two

Two conservation areas inside the Park boundary

Tillington and Upperton both sit inside the Park, but because Chichester is a delegated area, roof planning questions here go to Chichester District Council.

Loft room with two roof windows seen from inside
Loft room with two roof windows seen from inside

Tillington lies inside the South Downs National Park, and the National Park Authority holds the planning powers there. Its records list two conservation areas in the parish, Tillington itself and Upperton nearby. That combination changes whom you speak to more than it changes what a roofer does. Chichester is one of the Park's delegated areas, so applications and enquiries for a Tillington address are handled by Chichester District Council on the Authority's behalf, and that is the first call for anything unclear on a particular house. We do not guess at consent on your behalf. We photograph the roof and its surroundings, and the planners then get a question backed by pictures.

At a glance

  • The National Park Authority lists both conservation areas
  • No Article 4 direction covers Tillington
  • Relaying a matching covering is rarely a planning matter

2.1 Same material, new material

Stripping a roof and relaying it in an identical material is seldom development, since the building keeps its appearance. The picture alters when the covering itself changes, for instance clay tiles giving way to concrete, or stone to slate, or the house is listed. No Article 4 direction applies to Tillington, so the usual householder rights for roofs have not been withdrawn here. A conservation area still earns a conversation before a new material goes on. Our roof planning permission guide explains how roof windows and dormers are handled inside a National Park or conservation area.

2.2 Building Regulations run alongside

Planning status leaves the Building Regulations untouched. The Planning Portal sets two tests for repairs and re-covering: under 25 per cent of the total building envelope, and under 50 per cent of the roof. A Tillington job that stays inside both normally goes ahead without an application to building control. Go beyond one of them, or bring in a covering at least 15 per cent heavier, and approval is required. Part L can then add an insulation requirement. You can use the council's building control team or a registered building control approver. Where the work is notifiable, we file it ourselves, and on the survey visit you hear where your roof sits against those limits.

2.3 Wildlife in old roofs

Old village roofs sometimes shelter bats and nesting birds, which the law protects, so before any stripping we check the eaves and the loft for signs of either. If we find them, work stops and you are told what follows. Because our roof inspections and surveys already cover the loft as well as the slope, that look happens on the same visit.

Before a Tillington re-roof starts

  1. Check status Confirm whether the house is listed and which conservation area it sits in.
  2. Record the covering Photograph what is there so a matching replacement can be shown to the planners.
  3. Test the limits Work out whether the job passes the envelope and roof limits that bring in building control.
  4. Plan the scaffold Allow for the county scaffold licence if the frame stands over a public road or verge.

Chapter three

Repair or re-roof an older Tillington house

On a house that has stood through centuries of weather, the survey decides between mending a fault and starting again.

An older house rarely needs everything or nothing. The survey sorts the roof into sound areas and failing ones. We count slipped or cracked coverings, press on battens and rafters to find soft timber, see whether any underlay survives and follow damp back to its entry point. Faults bunched in a single spot, a valley or one slope, tend to mean a repair, and we say that even when a bigger job would suit us better. A roof failing on every side, with fixings rusted and timber damp, leads elsewhere. Our reasoning reaches you with pictures of your roof beside it.

At a glance

  • Faults confined to one spot usually mean a repair
  • Re-roofing attracts 20 per cent VAT
  • A scaffold over the road needs permission first
Row of concrete sectional garages with weathered grey corrugated roofs
Row of concrete sectional garages with weathered grey corrugated roofs

3.1 What moves the price of a re-roof

Roof area, pitch, shape and access all move the total, along with the covering you choose. Hips add cutting and ridge-line compared with a plain gable on the same footprint. Scaffold is a real part of the figure. Tillington is in West Sussex, so West Sussex County Council issues the licence when a frame stands on or over the highway. The scaffold firm submits that application and the council wants ten working days' notice. Check that any quote you hold states whether VAT and scaffolding are in. VAT on a re-roof is 20 per cent, and whether insulation inside it can be zero-rated turns on how the job is supplied, which we set out on the quote.

Row of concrete sectional garages with weathered grey corrugated roofs
Row of concrete sectional garages with weathered grey corrugated roofs

3.2 Matching what is there

In the conservation area a new covering should read as the old one: the same material, a close match in size and colour, laid in the same manner. Our roof replacement page covers the stages of a full strip and relay, and our roof repairs page deals with smaller jobs. Whichever applies, nothing is left behind: old tiles, rubble and offcuts go in our vehicle, and the lane outside is swept before we leave. The figures that follow come from national price guides, not from us. We consider our prices good and fair, and yours follows the survey.

Published UK guide prices for a house roof

  • Roof repair, any size£150 to £1,500
  • Moderate repair£500 to £1,000
  • Gable re-roof, ex VAT£7,000 to £16,250
  • Hip re-roof, ex VAT£9,250 to £18,000

We write up our own total after the survey; a published figure may or may not carry VAT and scaffold, so ask which applies. Source: MyBuilder roof repair guide, updated 21/08/2026; Checkatrade roof replacement guide, October 2026.

Roofing jobs we take on in Tillington

Roof questions for the ridge above Petworth Park

What happens when a leak shows under an old Tillington roof?

The roof is made safe first, then traced. In a house of this age the ceiling stain can be well away from the fault, so flashings, valleys, ridge and gutters are checked before the open slope is blamed. The written quote carries photographs of your roof, plus the smallest repair that stops the water. Where a listed or conservation area roof is involved, we also flag which parts could need consent.

Does the church's faculty route apply to cottages near All Hallows?

No. The ecclesiastical exemption applies to a listed Anglican church still in worship, and the faculty system belongs to it. A house or cottage nearby follows the ordinary routes: planning rules for its conservation area, plus listed building consent if the house itself is listed. If you are unsure which applies, Chichester District Council's planners can confirm it, and our survey photographs help them answer quickly.

Who decides planning questions for a Tillington roof?

Tillington is inside the South Downs National Park, whose Authority is the planning authority, but Chichester is a delegated area, so planning applications and questions for the village go to Chichester District Council. A new roof in matching material seldom raises a planning question, while a change of material, a listed building or a roof extension can. We help you gather photographs and details so that a short question to the planners gets a clear reply.

What if my Tillington house is Grade II* and the roof needs more than a patch?

Raise it at the first call. Minor repairs made in place with matching material do not need listed building consent, but altering or removing the historic fabric behind its special interest does. We survey, photograph and describe the proposed work in writing, and you can send that to the council's conservation team before anything starts. Leaks are made safe meanwhile, so water does not keep damaging timber while consent is sorted.

Roofers near Tillington

Tell us about your roof

Describe what is happening and we will call you back to arrange a visit.

  • Photographs of what we find
  • A written quote with one total price
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