Adsborough Farmhouse
Listed Grade II in May 1985, so roof work that alters its character needs listed building consent.
Roofers in Adsborough
Old farmhouses on the higher ground north of Creech St Michael
Adsborough is a hamlet on the higher ground in the north of Creech St Michael parish, where Adsborough Farmhouse carries a Grade II listing. Every job starts with a survey.
A farmhouse, older cottages and a listed barn
17th-century houses or older
A 1992 county history recorded several houses of that age here, including at least one medieval house.
Godfreys and Rock House
Godfreys and Rock House, with its adjoining barn, also carry Grade II listings from the National Heritage List.
Street map of Adsborough with Thurloxton, West Monkton, Durston, North Newton marked around it, and Taunton.
Between Thurloxton, West Monkton and Durston
Thurloxton lies just north of Adsborough and West Monkton to the south-west, while Durston sits to the south-east and North Newton to the north-east.
About 4 miles north-east of Taunton, Somerset Council (unitary).
Roofing help for Adsborough lanes
Old houses on higher ground
What to check on an Adsborough roof before the quote
Four checks for an older house or farm building here, and how each can change the work and the price.
Check 1 of 4A roof from before 1700
What the rafters can carry
The county history of Creech St Michael, published in 1992, recorded that Adsborough had several houses dating from the 17th century or earlier, and at least one medieval house among them. A roof that old has been mended many times. The timbers under the covering can be hand-cut and uneven, and the covering itself is often a layered record of past repairs. So we begin in the loft, with the rafters and the battens, the thin laths that carry the covering, long before we talk about the outside. Most of what decides the job is up there, out of sight from the lane.
Can an old roof carry a heavier covering?
Not always, and never without checking. A new covering that makes the roof 15 per cent or more heavier needs Building Regulations approval, the Planning Portal says, and it suggests asking an engineer or surveyor to look before work begins. Swapping light clay for heavy concrete on tired rafters is the classic way to turn a repair into a problem. We record the span, the section and the condition of each rafter, so the question is settled with evidence and not a hunch.
What do we look for in the roof space?
Daylight where there should be none, dark staining on the underside of the boards, soft timber near the eaves and sag between the walls. We look at the underlay as well. That is the membrane under the battens which catches wind-blown rain, and old roofs often have none, or a torn one. Fitting new underlay changes how air moves through the loft, so BS 5250 and Marley's guidance on cold-roof ventilation come into the plan before anything is laid.
If you can lift the hatch and look up at the roof boards, snap anything that looks damp and send it with your address. It tells us where to look first, and it gives you a record of how the loft looked before work began.
Look for
- Sagging between rafters
- Daylight through the covering
- Dark patches on roof boards
- Cracked or slipped slates
Check 2 of 4A listed farmhouse and its neighbours
Matching, consent and the ridge
Adsborough Farmhouse has been Grade II listed since 17 May 1985, and Godfreys and Rock House, with its adjoining barn, are Grade II as well. Ordinary maintenance that puts back what was there is routine on a listed building. What needs listed building consent is work that changes the character of a building valued for its architecture or history. Listed houses keep their permitted development rights for roof alterations, with that consent requirement laid over the top.
What decides the price
- Whether an exact match exists
- Length of ridge and hips to refix
- Whether consent has to come first
- Ladder, tower or scaffold access
What does matching mean on an old roof?
Size, colour, thickness, surface and laying pattern. A slate or tile in the wrong shade shows from the lane for years. We look at what each slope is covered in, how many sound pieces a quieter slope could spare and what would have to come new. Reclaimed pieces can fill gaps where new ones would stand out.
Is a mortar ridge acceptable on a listed house?
The ridge is the line along the apex, capped with special tiles. Marley points out that since the 2014 revision of BS 5534, mortar by itself is not trusted to keep ridge tiles in place, so a bedded ridge also gets mechanical fixings. That is good practice, not a legal requirement. A dry-fix system uses clips and screws where mortar would have been, and BS 8612 is the test specification for such systems. On a listed roof the fixings must also suit the old tiles and the look the council expects, so the choice goes on the table at the survey. Our pitched roofing page shows how we approach repairs and re-roofs.
Mortar mixes belong in the same conversation. A cement mix that is too hard can damage soft old clay, so a softer mortar is often the right call. Whatever is chosen, the survey notes it down, which gives anyone who looks at the roof in thirty years a clear record of what was done and why.
Check 3 of 4Barns, eaves, birds and bats
Check the barn before the ladder
A barn beside a listed house, and the farm outbuildings that gather around a hamlet like this, often carry sheet roofs and open eaves. Those are exactly the places where wildlife and old asbestos cement meet a roofer, and both need an answer before work begins.
From the ground
- Look for droppings under beams
- Note nests at the eaves
- Check sheets for green or grey crust
- Photograph roof lights and gaps
Leave to a roofer
- Walking across sheet roofs
- Lifting any suspect sheet
- Opening up gable end gaps
- Taking down loose ridge capping
Might the barn roof contain asbestos cement?
HSE's rule of thumb is to assume asbestos is present in any building put up or refurbished before 2000, and its guidance calls asbestos cement roofs always fragile. Whole sheets lifted out carefully count as non-licensed work. Substantial breaking makes it notifiable non-licensed work, and the sheets leave on a hazardous waste consignment note, not in an ordinary skip. Nobody should walk across a suspect sheet, so we survey from the eaves and from a ladder. Our garage and asbestos roofs page covers what happens next.
A barn roof can hide fragile sheets and a protected roost, so the survey comes before the ladder.
What if birds or bats use the building?
A nest being built or lived in is protected from intentional damage or destruction by the Wildlife and Countryside Act 1981. GOV.UK says all bat species and their roosts are fully protected, and it names roof repair and replacement as activities that can affect them. The same Act covers intentional or reckless disturbance of a bat where it shelters, and the Habitats Regulations 2017 make damaging a roost an offence with no need to prove intent. Open eaves and gable ends suit both birds and bats. We look before we start, and the start date can move.
If you see bats at dusk, droppings under a beam or a nest in the wall plate, tell us when you book. It changes how the survey is carried out and how the work is planned. Barns also tend to have long, plain rooflines, so gutters on them are worth a look at the same visit: a run that has dropped can send rain down a rubble wall, and that is how stone gets wet enough to lose its pointing.
For farm sheds that are still in daily use, tell us what is stored beneath the roof. Feed, machinery or livestock all change how the sheets can be lifted, where waste is stacked and when the area has to be kept clear.
Check 4 of 4West Monkton's boundary and one price
Is your address inside the line?
The nearest conservation area to Adsborough is West Monkton, which Somerset Council's table lists as designated on 21 April 1993. On the Environment Agency's planning map, parts of the land within about 250 metres of the hamlet's centre lie in Flood Zone 2; for a single address, use GOV.UK's flood-risk checker. Neither fact says anything about a particular roof, but both belong in the preparation. Flood Zone 2 describes the land, so it has no bearing on slates, but it is a reason to make sure gutters and downpipes carry water well clear of the walls.
What decides the price
- Highway or private land for the scaffold
- Weeks the access must stay in place
- Share of the roof the survey finds worn
- Whether a change of covering needs consent
Does a conservation area change what I can do on my roof?
A like-for-like repair to a house roof does not normally call for planning permission. A different covering, a roof window facing the road or a dormer is another matter, and a dormer in a conservation area needs a planning application. Our guide to planning permission for roof work sets out the national position, and Somerset Council's planning team can answer for your address.
Will the work need scaffold on the lane?
A scaffold that blocks the road or footway falls under section 169 of the Highways Act 1980. Somerset Council gives scaffold permits to accredited contractors only, and the appointed contractor completes the application. The fee is £124.60 for each 28-day period (April 2026), with at least 10 working days' notice. A narrow lane may mean a tower instead of a full scaffold, and a lane with a bend can limit where a delivery lorry stops. Tell us about both when you book.
Will building control need to hear about it?
Probably not for a repair. A full re-cover can bring in Building Regulations, and the Planning Portal sets the line at 25 per cent of the building envelope and 50 per cent of the roof. Somerset Building Control is on 0300 303 7790 if you want to check before work is planned.
Once the survey is done you hold photographs of your own roof, and you receive one written price for the work, with the waste taken away at the end. Send your Adsborough address and the loft photograph, if you have one, and a survey date will follow.
Walked the roof?
- 1 read
- 2 not read yet
- 3 not read yet
- 4 not read yet
When you have read the checks, we walk the roof and show you the photos.
Adsborough roofs, from the farmhouse to the barn
Can a very old Adsborough house be re-roofed without replacing its rafters?
Sometimes. If the rafters are sound and the new covering is no heavier, the existing frame can stay. We record the section, span and condition of each rafter at the survey. Where timbers are soft or have sagged, strengthening them first costs less than redoing a new roof later, and you see the photographs.
What should I do about an old barn roof near Adsborough that might be asbestos cement?
Stay off it, because HSE warns that asbestos cement roofs are always fragile. Careful removal of whole sheets is non-licensed work, and breaking them up substantially makes it notifiable. Waste leaves on a consignment note, never in an ordinary skip. Book a survey first, so the sheets are identified before anyone climbs or drills.
Does Adsborough Farmhouse being listed Grade II stop me mending the roof?
No. Matching repairs are ordinary maintenance, and the house keeps its permitted development rights. Anything that alters the building's historic character needs listed building consent as well. Listed in May 1985, it is the sort of roof where matching tiles and a sensible ridge are worth discussing at the survey.
Will a new roof covering at my Adsborough home need Building Regulations approval?
The Planning Portal's test is that an application is normally unnecessary below 25 per cent of the building envelope and 50 per cent of the roof. A covering 15 per cent or more heavier needs approval, and a structural check is wise before ordering. Somerset Building Control answers questions on 0300 303 7790.
Other hamlets near the Creech St Michael parish
Ask for an Adsborough roof survey
Send the address and a loft hatch photograph, and we will fix a day to look at your roof.