Roofer in Storrington

A village at the foot of the Downs

Storrington sits on a band of sandstone with the South Downs National Park boundary running along its southern edge. The district council’s appraisal of the Storrington Conservation Area, first designated in 1973, gives a clear picture of its roofs.

What the roofs are made of

The appraisal notes that the earliest roofs were probably thatch, with heavy sandstone slabs on the more prestigious buildings. Plain clay tiles became common from the mid-seventeenth century, with some pantiles in the eighteenth, and slate was the most widely used covering from the early nineteenth century. Church Street is picked out for its stone slab roofs, and first-floor tile-hanging in plain and scalloped tiles is a local feature.

Listed buildings in the village

Storrington has a long list of listed buildings, from slate-roofed houses on the High Street and West Street to hipped tiled roofs on Church Street. Rising Sun Cottage, for example, is listed Grade II with a hipped tiled roof. Work that changes a listed roof needs listed building consent.

Why matching matters

The appraisal specifically flags the loss of traditional roof coverings and chimneys when unlisted roofs are replaced, and notes that machine-made clay tiles and imported slates look different from the existing roofs. We take care to source materials that sit well with the house and its neighbours.

Local stone

The West Sussex building stone atlas records carstone galleting in house walls in Storrington. Where flashings are chased into soft stone or old mortar, they need careful pointing to stay watertight.