Timber cottages with tile-hanging
The 1911 county history describes cottages from the 16th century with tile-hanging on upper storeys and high-pitched tiled roofs.
Roofers in Compton
Roofs under the Hog's Back, from tile-hung cottages to estates
Compton lies on greensand below the Hog's Back, with 16th-century cottages and estates from the 1920s to the 1960s. Each roof here is surveyed as the thing it is today, whatever its neighbours look like.
Compton's cottages, Green estates and Watts legacy
Estates around the Green
Guildford's profile records small estates by the Green from the 1920s and 1950s, and a larger one from the 1960s.
Watts's terracotta chapel
G. F. Watts built a brick and terracotta mortuary chapel in the cemetery, decorated by pupils of his pottery school.
Map of Compton with Shackleford, Puttenham, Farncombe, Godalming marked around it.
Map data © OpenStreetMap contributors. Loads only when you ask for it.
Compton, below the Hog's Back on the B3000
Compton sits on greensand south-west of Guildford, under the southern slope of the Hog's Back, with Farnborough 12.9 road miles to the north-west.
About 12.9 road miles south-east of Farnborough · Guildford Borough Council and Surrey County Council.
Fixes and replacements in Compton
Compton, consents and character
What shapes a roof job in Compton
Who answers each question about a Compton roof, what a 1911 county history and a council settlement profile record about its cottages and estates, and how the Surrey Hills and the Grade I church enter the picture.
| No. | Chapter | The figure it turns on |
|---|---|---|
| 01 | Five questions and who answers them | Guildford decides, Surrey licenses scaffold |
| 02 | Cottages, a Green and a terracotta school | Cottages from the 16th century |
| 03 | Surrey Hills land and a Grade I church | 78% of the area inside the National Landscape |
Chapter 01 of 03
Five questions and who answers them
| Question | Who answers it in Compton |
|---|---|
| May the look of the roof change? | Guildford Borough Council, planning |
| Is an application needed for the work? | Guildford building control, or a registered approver |
| May scaffold stand on the footway? | Surrey County Council, until 31 March 2027 |
| Does the Surrey Hills boundary apply? | Guildford, from the designation map |
| What about the Church of St Nicholas? | The Church of England faculty system |
Compton is a Guildford village, 12.9 road miles from Farnborough, measured from the A325, the point all our distances start from. Guildford Borough Council decides planning in Compton and runs its own building control service. Surrey County Council keeps the highways until 31 March 2027, after which West Surrey Council takes over the lot. The questions in the table are the ones a Compton owner needs answered, in the order they tend to come up.
Is an application needed?
Approved Document A describes a significant change in roof loading as one that raises the load by more than 15 per cent, and the Planning Portal puts the same trigger as a covering 15 per cent or more heavier. Keep a re-roof inside 25 per cent of the building envelope and 50 per cent of the roof, and the Planning Portal says no application is normally required. Guildford adds no local percentage. We compare the weight of the existing tiles and the proposed ones at the survey, since heavy concrete tile on a light cottage frame is where the arithmetic bites.
A registered building control approver gives the private alternative to Guildford's own team. We tell you which answer the figures point to, then we leave the formal call with whichever body you choose.
Whatever route applies, ask every roofer you consult what the quoted figure assumes about scaffold and VAT. A number that leaves them out will rise later. Our price is a single written total after the survey, and the survey photographs back it up.
The licence question for scaffold
Surrey County Council's rule, until April 2027, is simple to state. Poles standing on the carriageway or footway call for its licence, at £208 for each 28 days. For a house on the B3000 the rule matters. For one behind a long drive on greensand it may not, because scaffold kept entirely on your own ground is outside it. The council's page names no party responsible for lodging the form, so ask who applies before you book.
In either case, we agree the scaffold layout at the survey, and we tell you which days the licence would need to cover. A steep, high-pitched roof of the kind recorded here is the situation where good scaffold matters most.
Chapter 02 of 03
Cottages, a Green and a terracotta school
What the records give for Compton's buildings
- 16th centuryearliest date given for the old cottages
- 1920sdecade of one small estate by the Green
- 1950sdecade of the second small estate
- 1960sdecade of the larger estate behind the Green
The Victoria County History of 1911 describes many cottages in Compton dating back at least to the 16th century, timber-built, with tile-hanging on the upper storeys and high-pitched tiled roofs. It also records that G. F. Watts and his wife started a pottery and terracotta school in the village, whose pupils decorated the brick and terracotta mortuary chapel that he built in the cemetery. Compton's own history is therefore one of clay: tile, brick and terracotta all feature in the record.
Estates from three decades
The Green is the open space that the estates sit beside. A roof that overlooks open ground is seen by every neighbour, so a patched or mismatched repair stands out.
Guildford's 2013 settlement profile adds a later layer. Two small estates either side of the Green were built in the 1920s and 1950s, and a larger estate behind the Green followed in the 1960s. So a Compton street can offer a 16th-century cottage, an interwar house and a 1960s estate house within walking distance, each with a different roof structure and a different set of likely problems.
The cottage roofs described by the county history are steep, which helps shed water but makes them awkward to work on. Tile-hung walls meet those roofs at eaves, verges and dormer cheeks, and the junction is where leaks start. We look at those joints from a ladder and, where it is safe, from a roof ladder, and we photograph each.
The estate houses ask for quieter care. Interwar and mid-century roofs have had decades of weather, and the mortar on their ridges and hips is often tired. Cracked bedding, slipped tiles and gutters pulling away from the fascia are common faults. None of this is dramatic, and all of it is cheaper to fix early.
Old and newer Compton
16th centuryearliest date recorded for the old cottages
1960sdecade the larger estate was built
Watts's pottery and terracotta school also reminds us that decorative clay work survives on some buildings here. Terracotta ridge or finial details, where they exist, are fragile and often impossible to replace like for like. Any such detail is photographed before work begins, and you are told plainly if a repair would put it at risk, so the decision is yours and rests on facts.
We still name each covering from the roof itself. The records tell us when the houses were built and what the county history saw in 1911, not what covers your house now, and a century of repairs can change a roof entirely. Our pitched roofing page explains how tiled slopes, ridges and valleys are repaired.
Chapter 03 of 03
Surrey Hills land and a Grade I church
| Designation | In Compton | For roof work |
|---|---|---|
| National Landscape | Surrey Hills, partly (78% of the 1.5 km area) | Designated land for planning |
| Conservation area | Compton, within about 0.75 km of the centre | Check Guildford's map |
| Grade I listed church in use | Church of St Nicholas (NHLE 1188621) | Faculty, not listed building consent |
| Grade II listed | Apple Tree Cottage Ross Cottage (NHLE 1188602) | Listed building consent |
About 78 per cent of the 1.5 km area around Compton lies inside the Surrey Hills National Landscape, formerly an AONB. Under the planning order, that makes it designated land, where some permitted development rights are removed. Because the figure is partial, some Compton addresses sit outside the boundary, and the boundary map is the reliable answer for yours. We check it before the survey.
Conservation area and Article 4
Compton's conservation area lies within about 0.75 km of the village centre. Guildford says it uses Article 4 directions to control changes in conservation areas, and that where one applies a chimney cannot be taken down or altered without permission. Owners are asked to check their address on the council's map. For a tile-hung cottage with a prominent stack, that is worth doing before any chimney work is priced.
St Nicholas and the listed cottages
The Church of St Nicholas, listed Grade I, is a working Anglican church, so for its roof the faculty system takes the place of the council's consent. Apple Tree Cottage Ross Cottage, Cypress Farm House and a cartshed north-east of Westbury Manor are each Grade II listed, which brings Guildford's consent into play for any work touching their character. Nineteen listed buildings stand within 500 m of the village centre, so the question comes up often.
The figure78%of the 1.5 km area round the village lies inside the Surrey Hills National Landscape78% inside the LandscapeSource: planning.data.gov.uk area-of-outstanding-natural-beauty layer, 1.5 km area test
If you are not sure whether your cottage is listed, ask us when you call. We look it up before the visit, and if it is listed we photograph the roof with the consent process in mind: tile size, colour, ridge detail and verge finish. Our chimney repairs page explains how stacks are repaired when they are leaning or leaking.
The sensible order for an owner is simple. First find out whether the house is listed, because that is the strictest control. Then check the conservation area and Article 4 layers on Guildford's map. Then confirm the National Landscape position. Only after those three does a repair become a plain question of tile, mortar and price.
On an estate house with no designation, none of this applies, and the job is a matter of good repair and sensible approvals.
Compton roof questions, tile-hanging to the Green estates
My Compton cottage has tile-hung walls and a steep roof: where do leaks usually begin?
At the joints. Where tile-hung walls meet the eaves, verges and dormer cheeks, water can run behind a tile and into the structure. We examine each junction from a ladder, photograph it, and test the gutters. A damp patch inside often traces back to a small gap at one of those joints.
Can I swap my Compton cottage tiles for a heavier concrete tile?
Heavier tile adds load to a timber frame. Approved Document A calls an increase of more than 15 per cent in roof loading significant, and the Planning Portal says a covering 15 per cent or more heavier needs Building Regulations approval. We compare the weights of both coverings and advise on a lighter alternative where the frame is old.
Do repairs to the church of St Nicholas need Guildford's consent?
No. St Nicholas is listed Grade I and still serves an Anglican congregation, so its roof comes under the faculty system and the ecclesiastical exemption, and Guildford's listed building consent is not the route. Nearby Grade II listed houses do need that consent for work affecting their character.
Is the whole of Compton inside the Surrey Hills National Landscape?
Not the whole of it. About 78 per cent of the 1.5 km area around the village centre lies inside, so some addresses fall outside. Designated land has fewer permitted development rights, so it matters for any change to a roof's look. The boundary map shows which side yours is on, and we check it before we visit.
Beyond the Green, Hog's Back villages we reach
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