The Horse and Groom
The inn is dated 1615 outside, but its staircase and interior suggest the 15th century.
Roofers in Merrow
Roofs beneath the downs, from a 1615 inn to suburban Epsom Road
Merrow lies at the foot of the chalk downs just east of Guildford, with an inn dated 1615. We survey each roof, old village or suburb, slope by slope.
Merrow's roofs, from the Horse and Groom to Merrow Grange
St John's church
St John the Evangelist, the parish church, has been Grade II listed since 1 May 1953.
Merrow Grange conservatory
A former conservatory about 10 metres west of Merrow Grange is listed Grade II.
Map of Merrow with Burpham, West Clandon, Guildford, Chilworth marked around it.
Map data © OpenStreetMap contributors. Loads only when you ask for it.
Merrow, a village-suburb on the Epsom Road
Guildford lies to the west, Burpham to the north-west, West Clandon to the north-east, Chilworth to the south and Albury to the south-east, with Farnborough beyond Guildford.
About 17.3 road miles east of Farnborough · Guildford Borough Council and Surrey County Council.
Repairs and re-roofs across Merrow
Merrow, downs and suburb
What Merrow, Guildford and Surrey mean for your roof
Which Guildford and Surrey offices answer for a Merrow roof, what the 1911 county history records about the inn, the downs and the racecourse, and how the Surrey Hills edge, listed buildings and flats shape a repair.
| No. | Chapter | The figure it turns on |
|---|---|---|
| 01 | Guildford rules for an east-of-town suburb | 25% of envelope, 50% of roof |
| 02 | A chalk-foot village and a 1615 inn | Horse and Groom, dated 1615 |
| 03 | The downs edge, a conservatory and nearby conservation areas | 25% inside the Surrey Hills National Landscape |
Chapter 01 of 03
Guildford rules for an east-of-town suburb
| Question | Office for Merrow addresses |
|---|---|
| Planning | Guildford Borough Council |
| Highway authority (until April 2027) | Surrey County Council |
| Building control | Guildford Borough Council's own service |
| Scaffold licence on the highway | Surrey County Council |
| From 1 April 2027 | West Surrey Council replaces both |
Merrow is 17.3 miles by road east of Farnborough, a village-suburb on the Epsom Road at the eastern edge of Guildford. Guildford Borough Council answers for planning and its own building control, while Surrey County Council keeps the highways until 31 March 2027. From 1 April 2027 West Surrey Council, whose area includes Guildford, succeeds both.
Houses, flats and permitted development
A suburb brings a mix of homes, and the mix matters. A house has permitted development rights for most re-roofing, but a flat or maisonette has none, because the law's definition of a dwellinghouse leaves out a building containing flats. Replacing a covering like for like on a flat is still straightforward, yet any change to the look needs planning permission. We ask at the survey whether a Merrow roof belongs to a house or a flat, since the answer decides what we raise with Guildford.
Guildford itself sets no percentage, so the Planning Portal's pair of limits, 25 per cent of the building envelope and 50 per cent of the roof, mark where building control begins. Re-covering the whole roof goes past both, as does a covering that is heavier by 15 per cent or more.
Scaffold on the Epsom Road side
Surrey County Council charges £208 for each 28-day period for a scaffold licence, applies the same fee to a renewal and wants the request in 10 working days before the start. Nobody is named as applicant on that page, so the scaffolder and we decide between us, and you hear the dates once they are fixed. Busy roads such as the Epsom Road leave less room for poles and a protected walkway, so the survey measures the footway before a plan is drawn.
A flat-roofed rear extension may not need a road licence at all, because the scaffold can stand in the garden. Our flat roofing page describes the membrane, the upstands and the drainage looked at on a roof like that. Before any scaffold goes up we agree where the skip and the materials will stand, and we tell neighbours who share a drive or a wall, so that deliveries and waste collection do not block the road. Waste leaves with us, and each evening the site is swept and secured.
Chapter 02 of 03
A chalk-foot village and a 1615 inn
Merrow in dates and counts
- 17.3 road mileseast of Farnborough, from the A325
- 1615date shown outside the Horse and Groom
- 1870year of the last Guildford racecourse meeting on the downs
- 11listed buildings within 500 m of the village point
The 1911 county history of Surrey puts Merrow village just on the lower edge of the chalk, below Merrow Downs, and records that the old Guildford racecourse on the downs held its last meeting in 1870. It also says Newlands Corner, where the road from Albury climbs the down, was famous for its view to St Martha's, Leith Hill and the Weald. None of that mentions roofs, but it places the old village under the hill, and the survey starts from where a house stands.
The Horse and Groom
The inn near the church is dated 1615 outside, yet the history says its newel staircase and interior suggest a date as early as the 15th century. A building with two possible ages has probably had its roof altered more than once, and the outer date may mark a rebuild rather than the first frame. We do not work on the inn from this page. It stands as an example of how a Merrow survey reads a building: outside date, inside evidence and the roof between them.
On an older Merrow house that means looking in the loft as well as at the tiles. We photograph the rafters, the purlins that support them mid-slope, the battens and the underside of the covering, because old timber that has been moved or cut shows where repairs were made in the past.
Newer streets
Much of today's Merrow was built after that 1911 snapshot, so we treat it as context and never as evidence about any one roof. What we trust is what we lift, measure and photograph. A house with a rear extension and a bay window has at least three separate roofs, each with its own junction to the main slope, and every one is named on the written plan. A suburban roof ages differently from a cottage roof. Ridge and hip tiles, valleys and the flashing at a bay or an extension take the weather first. We photograph those, count the failed tiles and say whether the pattern points to a repair or a re-cover.
If a covering is worn across the whole roof, our roof replacement page walks through a re-cover stage by stage, and the survey photographs show whether that is the right choice.
Chapter 03 of 03
The downs edge, a conservatory and nearby conservation areas
| Designation | Near Merrow | For roof work |
|---|---|---|
| Surrey Hills National Landscape | Edge of Merrow, partly inside | Dormer and other permitted-development limits: ask Guildford |
| Conservation areas | Nearest: Charlotteville, Guildford Town Centre, Sutton Park and Sutton Green | Check your address on Guildford map |
| Grade II listed church | St John the Evangelist (NHLE 1377847) | Church of England faculty, not listed building consent |
| Grade II listed | Former conservatory near Merrow Grange (NHLE 1178156) | Listed building consent for works affecting its character |
| Grade II listed | Keepers Cottage (NHLE 1029202) | Listed building consent for works affecting its character |
The planning dataset lists conservation areas within about 2.5 km of Merrow, among them Charlotteville, Guildford Town Centre and Sutton Park and Sutton Green, and Guildford's own mapping tool answers the question for a specific house. The same dataset puts 25 per cent of the 1.5 km box inside the Surrey Hills National Landscape, formerly an AONB, though the village point lies outside it.
A National Landscape limits what can be added to a roof without an application, so any Merrow loft-conversion enquiry starts by asking whether the address is on that land. Patching existing roofing sits outside that rule. Guildford's page adds that where an Article 4 direction applies to an address, a chimney cannot come down or be altered without permission, and the map shows where.
A listed conservatory
A former conservatory some 10 metres west of Merrow Grange has been Grade II listed since 24 October 1984. It is a reminder that conservatories carry roofs of their own. The Planning Portal says a new conservatory roof must meet Building Regulations on structure, energy efficiency and ventilation, and HomeBuilding gives a typical polycarbonate lifespan of 10 years while The Eco Experts say about 10 to 15 years. If you own a flat in a house that has been divided up, the roof belongs to the whole building, so a repair may need the freeholder's agreement as well as ours. We ask who owns the roof structure before the survey, because the answer decides who signs the instruction. A flat in a purpose-built block has a roof that belongs to whoever manages the building, and our report is laid out so that it can be sent straight to the managing agent. It names each fault, shows it in a photograph and says what the repair involves, so the agent can put it to the other owners without a second visit.
The figure25%of the box around Merrow lies inside the Surrey Hills National Landscape25% inside the National LandscapeSource: planning.data.gov.uk area-of-outstanding-natural-beauty layer, accessed 28 October 2026
The Church of England still uses St John the Evangelist, which means a faculty, rather than the council, covers its roof work. Historic England records it as first listed on 1 May 1953, and the Horse and Groom stands near it, which makes the pair a useful reference when we describe the older part of the village to a new owner. Keepers Cottage and Levylsdene House are listed Grade II as well, and works that change the character of any listed building need listed building consent. Historic England's list shows 11 listed buildings within about 500 m of the village point.
Merrow roof questions, from conservatories to flats
Can a Merrow conservatory roof be renewed on its own while the house roof stays?
Yes, because it is a separate roof with its own fixings and glazing. The Planning Portal says a new conservatory roof must meet Building Regulations on structure, energy efficiency and ventilation. We survey it separately and tell you whether repair or renewal makes sense, with photographs as the evidence you can keep.
Is Merrow covered by a conservation area?
The national dataset lists conservation areas within about 2.5 km, including Charlotteville and Guildford Town Centre, and Guildford's map is the check for your own address. Guildford is consulted first on any job that would alter the roof's appearance.
Can I convert a Merrow loft with a dormer?
The Surrey Hills designation restricts what may be added to a roof without an application, and 25 per cent of the 1.5 km box around Merrow lies inside it. Check your address on Guildford's map first. A flat has no permitted development rights at all, so a dormer on a flat always needs planning permission.
Who covers scaffold costs on the Epsom Road side of Merrow?
Scaffold on the highway needs a Surrey County Council licence, charged at £208 per 28-day period with at least 10 working days' notice. The price we give you says whether scaffold is included, so you can compare it fairly with any other quote, and we agree who applies with the scaffolder.
Around Merrow: Guildford, Burpham and West Clandon
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