Court House East and West
One Grade II entry covers both houses, first listed in February 1955, so roof work needs listed building consent.
Roofers in Thornfalcon
Blue Lias walls, three Grade II listings and a 1998 conservation area
Thornfalcon is a small hamlet with a conservation area, three Grade II houses and a heritage survey that found Blue Lias in 80% of its recorded building stone.
Court Houses, Harmans Cottage and Lower Farmhouse
Harmans Cottage
Listed Grade II, so altering its covering, ridge or stacks calls for consent before work begins.
Lower Farmhouse
Grade II; any change to the character of its roof needs listed building consent.
Street map of Thornfalcon with Creech St Michael, Ruishton, Lillesdon, Haydon marked around it, and Taunton.
Creech St Michael, Lillesdon and Wrantage nearby
Creech St Michael and Ruishton lie to the north-west, with Lillesdon to the east, Wrantage to the south-east, West Hatch to the south and Haydon to the west.
About 4 miles east of Taunton, Somerset Council (unitary).
From ridge to gutter in Thornfalcon
A roof walk through the stone hamlet
Thornfalcon roofs: the 1998 boundary, stone abutments, soffits and gutters
Four checks for a conservation area hamlet of stone houses, covering consent, lead, the roofline and rainwater, with what drives the price.
Check 1 of 4The 1998 boundary and three listings
Who says yes to a roof change
Somerset Council's table of conservation areas lists Thornfalcon as designated on 12 November 1998, and the boundary lies within about 0.75 km of the hamlet's centre. Within it are three Grade II houses: Court House East and West, which share one listing first made in February 1955, Harmans Cottage and Lower Farmhouse. For a civil parish of 123 residents at the 2021 Census, that is a lot of protected building, so we check your address before anything else. Listing records name more than one building at times, as Court House East and West shows, so read the list entry itself and not just the house name.
Does the conservation area limit what I can do to a roof?
It limits visible change more than it limits repair. Putting the same material back, matched, is the plain route. The questions start with a different material, a new ridge, a dormer, or a window in the lane-side slope, and those go to the council's planners first. Our guide to planning permission for roof work covers the wider rules, and Somerset Council's planners will tell you if your house falls inside the boundary.
What if the house is on the list?
Listed building consent, on top of whatever planning needs. It applies to any work that would alter the house's special architectural or historic character, and officers look closely at coverings, ridges and stacks. We record the roof slope by slope with photos before suggesting a method, so that the application shows what is there now and what would be put back.
Not every house here is listed, and the boundary does not follow property lines neatly. Ask the council about your own address first, and tell us what it says; the plan for your roof starts from that answer.
Look for
- Covering unlike the neighbours
- New ridge capping
- Roof windows facing the lane
- Stack tops rebuilt in new brick
Check 2 of 4Lead where roofs meet stone walls
A watertight line against the wall
Looking only at pre-war buildings that can be seen from public roads and paths, a South West Heritage Trust survey found Blue Lias made up 80% of the building stone recorded in Thornfalcon, alongside some Ham Hill stone and White Lias. That describes walls, yet it matters to a roofer because roofs end against them. Where a slope meets a gable or a stack, an abutment, the joint is irregular, and the lead that seals it has to follow the stone.
Sound or needs work
- Sound: lead tight in the wall joint
- Needs work: lifted lead, open gap
What decides the price
- Length of wall the lead must follow
- Chasing or re-pointing the joint
- Code of lead sheet specified
- Access to a high gable
How is lead fixed against a stone wall?
The upper edge of a flashing, the lead strip laid across the junction, is turned into a joint between stones and wedged, and then pointed, instead of being cut into the stone face. Below it, the lead is dressed over the covering, or tucked under it as a soaker where the slope ends. The skill is in letting the metal move, because lead expands and contracts with every change in temperature, and a rigid fix will split it.
How long does it last, and what code is used?
MyJobQuote gives flashing in lead a life of over 80 years, which is a floor, not a pledge. Royston Lead's brochure lists code 4 (1.80 mm) and code 5 (2.24 mm) among the sheets used for flashings. We state the code we propose in the written price. Our lead work page explains the choices in more detail.
On a listed or conservation area house, the flashing should look as it did, in a dull grey that weathers to match the stone beside it. Where the old lead has split along a fold, we say whether a patch or a new run makes sense.
Ham Hill stone and White Lias appear in the survey too, so the wall beside your roof may not be the same stone as your neighbour's, and flashings are cut to suit what is actually there. We also check the verge, the roof's edge along a gable, where water can run behind the tiles.
Check 3 of 4Fascias, soffits and old boards
Cover the old or replace it
The roofline is the strip where the roof ends at the walls: the fascia is the upright board fixed to the rafter ends, and the soffit is the panel that closes the underside of the eaves. On an old stone house the boards take the rain that runs off the roof, and the timber behind them can rot long before the face shows it. Probing a board with a screwdriver tells you more than looking at the paint.
A fascia that looks fine from the lane can be soft where the gutter has been overflowing.
From the ground
- Flaking paint along the board
- Sagging gutter on soft boards
- Gaps where the soffit meets the wall
Leave to a roofer
- Probing the board behind the gutter
- Testing a soffit of unknown age
- Checking for an occupied nest
Is capping cheaper than replacing?
Capping fits new boards over the old ones. MyJobQuote (Sep 2026) gives an average of around £800 for capping fascias and soffits, which is a guide for the whole country. Capping suits sound timber with a tired finish. Where the board behind has rotted, it hides the problem, so replacement is the better buy. One retailer, an interested party, puts a uPVC fascia at 20 to 40 years.
Could my old soffit be asbestos?
For any building from before 2000, HSE says to treat asbestos as present until a test shows otherwise. Asbestos insulating board appears in external soffits, and by eye it looks like ordinary board. Lifting it is often licensed work, which depends on HSE's risk assessments, and every board is tested before anyone touches it. Our gutters, soffits and fascias page sets out the options.
Whatever the answer, the work is priced from the survey, once we have probed the boards, checked the soffits for age and looked at the rafter ends behind them. Rotten rafter ends show up as soft, dark wood, and those are repaired before anything new is fixed. Birds also nest in gaps behind soffits, and a nest that is in use cannot be intentionally destroyed under the Wildlife and Countryside Act 1981, so we look for occupied nests before any board comes off.
Check 4 of 4Gutters and the stone below
Where the rain leaves the roof
Rain coming off the roof must end up somewhere, and on a stone house the wrong somewhere is the wall itself. A gutter that overflows soaks the stone, stains it and can carry damp inside. The fix is rarely complicated, but it depends on the fall. Brett Martin's fitting guidance asks for 1mm for every 600mm of gutter, so a run that has dropped by a few millimetres can hold water at one end.
Look for
- Green streaks below a gutter joint
- Water spilling at one point
- Damp stone below the eaves
What decides the price
- Length of gutter and downpipe to renew
- Material, such as plastic or aluminium
- Scaffold or tower for the eaves
- Repairs to the board behind
Re-fix the gutter or replace it?
If the gutter is sound and only sagging, re-aligning the brackets and clearing the outlet may be all it needs. Cracked joints, split lengths and corroded sections call for new gutter. Seamless gutters, run on site in one piece, remove most of the joints where leaks start. MyJobQuote (Oct 2026) puts replacement guttering at around £1,000 to £1,600 across the UK, and the access and the length of run move the figure.
What does the standard say?
BS EN 12056-3:2000 covers roof drainage layout and calculation, and BSI lists it as current. The working fall itself comes from manufacturers' fitting guides, and we work to the one for the product. For a listed house, the choice of material, such as cast iron or aluminium, is something to agree with the planning team, since it changes the look of the elevation.
Downpipes matter as much as gutters. A pipe that discharges against the base of the wall keeps it wet, and on lias that dampness can work into soft joints and old mortar over a few winters, so the survey follows each one to the gully and records where the water goes.
After a storm, a roof leaks at the gutter before anywhere else. Where a Thornfalcon wall has gone damp, give us the address and we will book a look at the gutters and the roof above them.
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.
Thornfalcon roof questions, from the stone wall to the gutter
Can lead flashing be fitted to a Blue Lias wall in Thornfalcon without damaging the stone?
Yes. The lead is turned into a mortar joint, wedged and pointed, and not cut into the stone face, so the wall keeps its appearance. On a listed house such as Harmans Cottage or Lower Farmhouse, the method is agreed with the planning team first, since listed building consent covers work that affects the building's character.
How do I check whether Thornfalcon's conservation area covers my house?
Somerset Council's table lists Thornfalcon as designated on 12 November 1998, and the boundary lies within about 0.75 km of the hamlet's centre. A house near the centre may be inside or just outside, so ask the council's planning team to confirm your address. Then tell us the answer and we will plan around it.
Are the soffit boards on an old house asbestos?
They may be. HSE's advice is to presume asbestos in a building from before 2000, and insulating board containing it shows up in external soffits. It looks like ordinary board, and lifting it can be licensed work. We check before touching it and never break the board up, which is where the fibres escape.
Is it worth re-fixing old gutters on a stone house?
Often, if the gutter itself is sound. Re-aligning the brackets, restoring the fall and clearing the outlet cost less than new gutters. Cracked joints, split lengths or a rotten board behind change that. The survey tells you which, and a written price for the whole job follows, whether it is repair or replacement.
Creech St Michael, Lillesdon and the lanes round Thornfalcon
Arrange a Thornfalcon roof visit
Tell us your address and the damp patch or gap you have noticed, and a survey will be booked.