Shoebrook's Cottage, Grade II
Listed on 15 April 1987, so a change to its covering or chimney goes through listed building consent.
Roofers in Ashculme
Listed cottages in a Mid Devon hamlet on the Blackdown Hills
Ashculme is a hamlet in Hemyock parish, across the border in Devon, set inside the Blackdown Hills National Landscape and 9.3 road miles from Taunton.
Shoebrook's Cottage and Studley's
Studley's, a second listed house
Listed Grade II; only two National Heritage List entries lie within 500 metres of the hamlet.
Homes in Hemyock parish
Ashculme sits in a parish that counted 2,291 usual residents in 2021, among lanes and valleys on the hills.
Street map of Ashculme with Clayhidon, Hemyock, Blackmoor, Burnworthy marked around it, and Taunton.
Between Clayhidon and Culmstock
Clayhidon is a short way east, Hemyock to the south-west, Culmstock to the west, Blackmoor to the north-east and Burnworthy further east.
About 8 miles south-west of Taunton, Mid Devon District Council and Devon County Council.
Roof, roofline and chimney work in Ashculme
Ashculme roofs in four checks
Reading an Ashculme roof, from the county line to the valley gutter
A Devon address with a Taunton roofer: which council answers which question, how long coverings last, and what the scaffold involves.
Check 1 of 4A Devon address, Devon councils
Which council answers which question
Ashculme is in Devon. It lies about 9.3 road miles south-west of Taunton, across the county line, so the councils that matter are not the ones Taunton homeowners deal with. Planning and listed building questions go to Mid Devon District Council, the local planning authority for the hamlet, and the roads are the responsibility of Devon County Council. Somerset Council has no part in it, and neither does Somerset Building Control.
Which council handles a listed cottage here?
Shoebrook's Cottage was listed Grade II on 15 April 1987, and Studley's is Grade II as well. For a listed house, any work that alters its character needs listed building consent from Mid Devon District Council, while a simple repair in matching materials sits at the light end. Putting back what is there is quick to explain on a form; swapping materials is not, and the council will want to know why. Check with Mid Devon's planning team before you order slates, tiles or a new ridge.
Who looks after Building Regulations in Mid Devon?
Mid Devon's website links to the joint building control service it runs in partnership with North Devon. If your re-roof raises the weight of the covering by 15 per cent or more, or changes how it performs in a fire, that is the body to ask. Under the Planning Portal's test, a re-roof affecting under 25 per cent of the building envelope and under 50 per cent of the roof usually needs no application. Ask that service first if your job sits near either line.
Does the National Landscape matter?
Ashculme sits inside the Blackdown Hills National Landscape, the name that replaced Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty in November 2023. A dormer there needs a planning application, so mention one early if you have it in mind. A short list of what you want to change, written before the survey, saves a second visit.
Look for
- Odd tiles patched into old slopes
- Boxed-in ridge on a cottage
- Mortar patches round the stack
- Hips that no longer run straight
Check 2 of 4How long a roof should last
A range, never a promise
Cottage roofs on the hills get replaced in two situations: the covering has reached the end of its life, or the fixings have failed long before it did. Telling the two apart saves money, and published figures help as long as you treat them as typical ranges and not as promises. A warranty on a new roof is not a lifespan either.
Moss that holds water against tiles, gutters that overflow onto the wall below, nails that rust through and battens that stay damp all do their share. A hillside setting adds rain driven sideways, so joints and fixings work harder than on a sheltered street. None of that is a reason to replace early. It is a reason to look closely at each part before deciding, and to keep gutters and moss in check between visits.
The slate often outlives its nails, so the survey looks at the fixings before it condemns the covering.
What decides the price
- Covering and how it is fixed
- Whether battens and underlay can stay
- Condition of lead and valley linings
- Size and pitch of each slope
How long does slate last?
The Confederation of Roofing Contractors counts 100+ years as possible for well-maintained slate. The slate itself often outlives its nails, so a roof that is failing at the fixings can be relaid with the same slates once the battens are renewed. That is why we lift a few and inspect rather than guess.
Does the 60-year figure apply to every tile?
No. Marley explains that the BRE minimum life expectancy of 60 years applies to clay tiles only. For concrete tiles Marley gives an expectation of around 60 years too, adding that this is not a guarantee or warranty of longevity. On old peg tiles, Building Conservation says the 60-year figure is not a reliable guide, so an individual roof can beat it or fall short.
What about lead and zinc?
Lead flashing can last for over 80 years, as a lower bound. VMZinc cites a BRE Environmental Product Declaration stating 100 years for zinc. Both figures assume proper fixing and drainage, which is why the survey checks falls and junctions as well as the metal itself. Our lead work page explains how they are laid. Where a roof has already been repaired, we look at the earlier repair as carefully as at the original work.
Check 3 of 4Valleys and chimneys on cottages
The junctions that fail quietly
An extended cottage has valleys, the inward angles where one slope meets another and both drain into a shared channel. The channel is lined in lead or a purpose-made tray and takes the water from both slopes at once. When the lining splits or lifts, water gets under the covering and shows itself later as a brown trail down a ceiling. MyJobQuote's average for a full valley replacement is around £540 (Sep 2026), a typical UK figure that varies with length and access.
Sound or needs work
- Sound: valley lining flat and sealed
- Needs work: split lining, stained timber
From the ground
- Look for brown trails on ceilings
- Check the stack for leaning pots
- Note moss or leaves in any gutter
Leave to a roofer
- Clearing and relining a valley channel
- Renewing flaunching round the pots
- Replacing flashing at the stack
Why do valleys leak when the slopes look fine?
Because the failure is underneath. Leaves and moss hold water against the edges of the lining, the metal tires at its folds, and the timber below stays damp for months before anything shows. We look for debris in the channel, lifting edges and staining on the rafters inside the loft where we can reach it.
What should I check on a chimney at a listed cottage?
Look from the ground for cracked mortar, leaning pots and staining on the wall beneath. The flaunching is the mortar collar round the pots, and the flashing is the metal seal between stack and slope. A repair in the same materials is the simple case. Taking a stack down, or changing its height or look, may need listed building consent. Our pitched roofing page covers the rest of the roof.
What about a garage or outbuilding roof?
Outbuildings around a hill cottage tend to get less attention than the house, so their roofs fail later but more suddenly. MyJobQuote's garage roof guide (Oct 2026) gives a typical UK range of £750 to £3,500, with an average of £1,500. A garage may be flat, pitched or sheeted, and the answer depends on the covering found at the survey. We keep the old lining where it can be reused and tell you where it cannot.
Check 4 of 4Devon scaffold, notice and the price
Who applies, how long, how much
When scaffold has to stand on the road or the footway, the highway authority grants the licence. In Ashculme that is Devon County Council, and it expects the scaffolding company to make the application for its customer. A licence costs £158.00, the council needs a minimum of 10 working days' notice, and licences run for the dates of the works with a maximum length of 12 weeks. Extending or amending one costs £100.00.
What decides the price
- Whether scaffold stands on the highway
- How many weeks the job runs
- Whether an extension to the licence is needed
- Slopes needing more than a repair
What if the scaffold stays on my own land?
Then no highway licence comes into it, because scaffold inside your boundary is private ground. A small repair may need only a ladder or a tower, with nothing erected at all. We settle which applies when we have seen the roof, and we tell you the reason in plain terms.
Why is a Devon job worth planning ahead?
Because the notice period is fixed. Ten working days is two weeks on the calendar, so a start date has to leave room for it, and emergency applications cost more: Devon County Council lists £238.00 for a request with under 10 days' notice. Water coming in is dealt with straight away, and the scaffold follows for the lasting repair.
Does the scaffold affect the rest of the quote?
It can, because scaffold hire, the licence and the weeks it stands all feed into the total. HomeBuilding (Sep 2025) puts scaffold at approximately £1,000 including permits for a three-bed semi, as a typical UK guide, though a hamlet cottage may need more or less. Ask any roofer whether scaffolding and VAT are inside the figure they give you.
We survey the roof, show you photos of the slopes, and give you one total price. Send your Ashculme address and a note of what you can see, and we will book the visit that the written price follows.
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.
Ashculme roofs, from the cottage to the valley
Can a listed cottage roof in Ashculme be re-covered in different materials?
Only with listed building consent from Mid Devon District Council. A change of covering alters how a cottage looks, which is the test for consent. Repairs in matching slate or tile are the lighter route. We photograph the roof as it stands, which gives any application accurate evidence to start from.
Do I ask Somerset or Devon about roof permissions at Ashculme?
Devon. Ashculme lies in Mid Devon, so Mid Devon District Council is the planning authority, Devon County Council handles the highway, and building control comes through the joint service Mid Devon shares with North Devon. Somerset Council covers Taunton and the rest of Somerset, not this side of the county boundary.
Who applies for scaffold on the road outside my Ashculme home?
The scaffolding company applies on your behalf, according to Devon County Council. The licence costs £158.00 and needs at least 10 working days' notice. If the scaffold stays on your own drive or garden, it is not on the highway and no highway licence is needed, which can shorten the lead time.
Is a 100-year slate roof figure realistic for an old Ashculme cottage?
It is a ceiling, not a forecast. The Confederation of Roofing Contractors says slate, if well maintained, can last 100+ years, but nails, battens and lead often give out first. The survey checks those parts, and when the slates are sound they can be relaid on new battens, which is often cheaper than starting again.
Other hamlets on the Blackdown Hills
Plan your Ashculme roof survey
Send the address and describe the symptoms, and we will arrange to visit your Ashculme roof.