A village along Stane Street
The Roman road from London to Chichester crosses the parish, and the village grew along it and round Ockley Green.
Roofers in Ockley
Roofs along the Roman Stane Street on the Weald clay
Ockley grew along the Roman Stane Street and around its green, on Weald clay, and its church roofs are healed with Horsham slabs. We survey every roof carefully.
Ockley's Roman road, green and church
Brick and tile making
In 1911 the county history called the parish agricultural except for a little brick and tile making.
Horsham slabs on the church
St Margaret's nave and chancel roofs are healed with Horsham slabs, on walls of sandstone and rubble.
Map of Ockley with Ewhurst, Holmbury St Mary, Abinger, Peaslake marked around it.
Map data © OpenStreetMap contributors. Loads only when you ask for it.
Ockley, on Stane Street south of Dorking
Ockley is a Wealden village along the Roman Stane Street south of Dorking, on Weald clay, and Farnborough lies 29.7 road miles away, north-west of it.
About 29.7 road miles south-east of Farnborough · Mole Valley District Council and Surrey County Council.
Ockley, scaffold terms and slabs
Ockley's roofs: scaffold licences compared, and a slab roof
How scaffold licences differ between the Surrey, Hampshire and Berkshire authorities around Ockley, what the 1911 county history says about its clay, road and church, and what its listed cottages ask of a repair.
| No. | Chapter | The figure it turns on |
|---|---|---|
| 01 | Scaffold on the road: how councils differ | Who applies varies by council |
| 02 | Weald clay, a Roman road and a station | Ockley and Capel station, 1867 |
| 03 | Listed cottages on Stane Street and the green | 28 listed buildings within 500 m |
Chapter 01 of 03
Scaffold on the road: how councils differ
| Highway authority | Who applies | Notice asked for |
|---|---|---|
| Surrey County Council (until April 2027) | Not stated | At least 10 working days |
| Hampshire County Council | Scaffolding companies | Ten clear working days |
| Wokingham Borough Council | Scaffolding companies | Minimum 10 working days |
| Bracknell Forest Council | Not stated | Not stated |
| Royal Borough of Windsor and Maidenhead | Not stated | Not stated |
Ockley is in Surrey, and a roof job on a road-side house here may need a scaffold licence from Surrey County Council, the highway authority until the Surrey councils change in April 2027. Section 169 of the Highways Act 1980 is the source of the requirement for scaffolding that obstructs the highway. A frame placed wholly on private ground escapes the licence, and our visit establishes whether your plot allows that. The rules differ from council to council, and the differences are worth knowing even in Ockley, because Hampshire and Berkshire lie inside the area we serve.
What Surrey says
Surrey County Council charges £208 for each 28-day period, and the fee for renewal is identical. Applications are asked for at least 10 working days ahead of the start you want, and the council quotes 10 days to process them. If a structure is dangerous, the council asks you to ring about an emergency licence. Whoever files the form is left open on that page, so that point is settled with the scaffolder before you hear a date.
The figure700poundspounds: Bracknell Forest's charge for scaffolding put up without a licence350 residential licence700 without a licenceSource: Bracknell Forest Council, scaffolding and hoarding licences
What other councils say
At Hampshire County Council, the scaffolding company applies for its customers, at a charge of £211.90 for the first 2 weeks and £72 for each further 2 weeks. Wokingham Borough Council gives the same instruction about scaffolding companies, with £263 for the first 4 weeks and £163 for every 4-week period after that. Bracknell Forest Council charges £350 for a residential licence, which includes a non-refundable £100 application fee and covers 6 weeks, and £700 for scaffolding put up without one. The Royal Borough of Windsor and Maidenhead publishes no fee and lists maximum fines of £5,000 for non-compliance.
The lesson is that nobody should assume. We settle the licence position at the survey, and we give you a start date only when it can be met.
A licence covers a defined period, so a long job may need renewing, and an overrunning frame costs money in every authority. We plan the sequence of work to finish inside the licensed period, and we tell you if the weather puts that at risk.
Scaffold that stands on a pavement must also leave a safe route for pedestrians. Wokingham's page asks for a footway at least 1.2 metres wide, and we plan every frame to leave an open, lit and signed way past.
Chapter 02 of 03
Weald clay, a Roman road and a station
Ockley's clay, road and parish, in published figures
- 29.7 road milessouth-east of Farnborough, from the A325
- 918residents, 2021 Census, Ockley parish
- 1867Ockley and Capel station opened
- 28listed buildings within 500 m of the centre
The Victoria County History of 1911 says the parish is entirely on the Wealden Clay, with considerable beds of the conglomerate called Sussex marble in the north. The Roman road from London to Chichester, Stane Street, runs through the whole length of the parish, and the present village grew up along it and around Ockley Green. The history describes the parish as agricultural except for a little brick and tile making, and Ockley and Capel station opened in 1867.
What the record says of the roofs
St Margaret's church is built of sandstone and rubble dug from the neighbouring hills, and its nave and chancel roofs are healed with Horsham slabs. To heal a roof with slabs is to cover it with heavy stone slates, laid in courses that diminish in size towards the ridge. It is a traditional covering, and one that needs sound timbers beneath, because a stone slab roof is a heavy load for a frame. The brick and tile making the history mentions means clay tile was once made in the parish, though the history does not say which houses carry it, and the survey therefore names the covering on each slope.
Clay soil moves from season to season. On clay ground, movement can show at the ridge and beside chimneys, and the survey looks at those joints for signs of settlement as well as ordinary wear.
The 2021 Census counted 918 usual residents in the parish, so Ockley is a village that grew along a Roman road and round its green. A house on the road itself has a front slope that can be reached only from the pavement, and that is where the scaffold licence matters.
Station and parish
1867the year Ockley and Capel station opened
918residents counted in the 2021 Census
Tile and slab roofs of any age are worth keeping dry underneath, because wet timber is the main risk to them, and a dry loft is the best sign of a sound roof. We check the gutters and the eaves on every visit, and clear what has gathered there.
Old farm buildings on the Weald can have large roofs and few openings. Whatever can be reached from the hatch and the eaves is photographed, and anything out of sight is stated as such.
Chapter 03 of 03
Listed cottages on Stane Street and the green
| Record | In Ockley | For roof work |
|---|---|---|
| Conservation area | One within about 0.75 km of the centre | Matching repairs; ask Mole Valley about changes |
| Grade II listed | 12 and 13 Stane Street (NHLE 1286741); 18-20 Stane Street (NHLE 1192200) | Listed building consent for work affecting character |
| Grade II listed | 14 and 15 The Green (NHLE 1378172) | The same consent route |
| National Landscape edge | Surrey Hills, partly: 1% of the 1.5 km area | Ask Mole Valley about dormers at your address |
Twenty-eight listed buildings stand within 500 metres of the centre of Ockley, a large number for a village of 918 people, and a good reason to check before assuming a house is free of listing. Numbers 12 and 13 Stane Street, numbers 18 to 20 Stane Street and numbers 14 and 15 The Green each carry a Grade II listing, the first pair since 11 November 1966. Mole Valley District Council grants the listed building consent that any work changing their character requires. Our planning permission and roof work guide explains the difference between repair and alteration.
A conservation area and the Hills
One conservation area sits within about 0.75 km of Ockley's centre, and the boundary is held by Mole Valley's planners. Inside it, matching materials keep the village's look. About 1 per cent of the 1.5 kilometre area around Ockley lies inside the Surrey Hills National Landscape, the place point itself being outside, so very few houses are affected, but the council's map shows which, and we check it for your address at the survey.
Keeping a record of the original
Dated photographs of ridges, valleys, chimneys and eaves are taken at older Ockley houses on either side of the job, and you are given the set with the written price. Our pitched roofing page explains how tiled slopes are repaired, and lead roofing and lead work covers the flashings that link stacks and walls to a roof.
Surrey's reorganisation, as the county council describes it, moves Mole Valley into East Surrey Council on 1 April 2027 with no change to services before then, so an application made near that date is worth timing with the council. Until 31 March 2027 the present authorities apply.
Houses along Stane Street may stand directly on the pavement, so a ladder or frame there crosses a public route, and anything left overnight is lit and signed. We plan it, light it where needed, and tell neighbours when it will be up and for how long.
If you own one of the listed cottages, ask us to look at the roof before you plan an extension or a loft room. A recorded history of the roof makes any conversation with a conservation officer easier, because it shows what the roof carried and what was done to it.
Ockley roof questions, from Horsham slabs to licences
St Margaret's at Ockley has Horsham slab roofs: what does a stone slab roof on a house need?
Sound timbers and careful handling. Slabs are heavy and laid in courses that diminish towards the ridge, so a repair lifts, sorts and relays them, replacing only what has failed. We photograph the courses, check the timbers beneath and tell you plainly which slabs can go back and which cannot.
How much does a scaffold licence cost on an Ockley road?
Surrey County Council charges £208 for each 28-day period, with the same fee on renewal, and wants applications at least 10 working days ahead. A frame that stands entirely on private ground needs no licence at all. Surrey's councils change in April 2027, so a job near that date is planned with the scaffolder.
Who applies for the scaffold licence at an Ockley house?
Surrey's page does not name who submits the form, so the matter is raised with the scaffolder and the licence arranged jointly with them. Hampshire County Council and Wokingham Borough Council have the scaffolding company apply for customers, but an Ockley job follows Surrey's page. We settle the position at the survey, before a start date is promised, and put it in writing.
Is Ockley inside a conservation area, and does it matter for a roof?
A conservation area lies within about 0.75 km of the centre of Ockley, which says nothing certain about your own address. Mole Valley District Council holds the boundary map, and its planning team knows if an Article 4 direction applies. We ask them before any visible change is priced and pass on the reply.
From Ockley to Capel and Dorking
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