Old College and Chapel Square
The Old College is listed Grade II*, and Chapel Square Nos 4 and 5 are Grade II.
Roofers in Sandhurst
Roofs around the Royal Military Academy on the Berkshire border
Sandhurst is a Berkshire town on the River Blackwater, home to the Royal Military Academy, across the county line from Camberley. Each roof is climbed, photographed and priced once.
Sandhurst's roofs, from heather land to the Academy
Heath inclosed in 1817
Most of the parish lay in Windsor Forest, inclosed by an award of 1817, with much still open heather.
Twenty listed buildings
Twenty listed buildings stand within 900 m of Sandhurst's centre.
Map of Sandhurst with Owlsmoor, Blackwater, Camberley, Hawley, Farnborough marked around it.
Map data © OpenStreetMap contributors. Loads only when you ask for it.
Sandhurst, on the Blackwater at the Berkshire edge
Owlsmoor lies to the north, Blackwater and Hawley to the south, Camberley to the east, Crowthorne to the north-west, and Yateley to the west.
About 4.2 road miles north of Farnborough · Bracknell Forest Council (unitary).
Roofing help for Sandhurst streets
Sandhurst, college and heath
Sandhurst roofs, from Windsor Forest heath to Bracknell Forest
How a college estate and an 1817 inclosure shaped Sandhurst, which listed buildings and which conservation area touch roof work, and what Bracknell Forest's building control and scaffold terms require.
| No. | Chapter | The figure it turns on |
|---|---|---|
| 01 | From Windsor Forest heath to a 450-acre college estate | College 1812; inclosure award 1817 |
| 02 | Old College, Chapel Square and the Academy conservation area | Old College Grade II*; 20 listings |
| 03 | Bracknell Forest's own inspectors and its six-week scaffold licence | Own building control; 6-week licence |
Chapter 01 of 03
From Windsor Forest heath to a 450-acre college estate
Sandhurst in four published figures
- 1812Royal Military College moves to Sandhurst
- 450 acresestate bought from the Earl of Chatham
- 1817inclosure award covering the parish
- 20,373residents of Sandhurst parish, Census 2021
The county history of 1923 places Sandhurst village along the Finchampstead road close to the River Blackwater, which marks the boundary with Hampshire, and says St Michael's church was rebuilt in 1853. Earlier, in 1812, the Royal Military College had arrived from Great Marlow, settling on a 450-acre estate bought from the Earl of Chatham. Most of the parish lay in Windsor Forest and was inclosed by an award of 1817, and the same history noted that much of it remained open, heather-covered land on sandy soil. By the 2021 Census the civil parish held 20,373 residents.
Heath, college and town
It is a short account of a large change: a heathy forest parish turned into a college estate and then into a town. Sandhurst's buildings therefore belong to every period since 1812, and their roofs have been re-covered at all sorts of times for all sorts of reasons. Each roof is therefore read for itself, slope by slope.
Our method is the same on a cottage as on a large house. The ridge is where we start, tape and camera in hand, and from there we work downhill, logging hips, verges, valleys and flashings and testing fixings by hand in several places on every slope. In the roof space a torch picks out the underside of the covering, the felt and the timbers. What you receive afterwards is a report organised slope by slope, each photograph tied to a measurement.
How slates are mended and replaced is set out on our slate roofing page, and our chimney repairs page deals with the stacks that stand out on so many older rooflines. A roof beyond repair is a different conversation, and the evidence we gather is what supports any recommendation of replacement; we never reach for it first.
Many owners ask for a survey because they are buying or selling and a valuer or a surveyor has flagged the roof. A report from us gives you the measured, photographed facts behind the flag: what is wrong, how much of the roof it affects and what a repair would involve. That helps a buyer negotiate and a seller decide, and it avoids paying for work that evidence does not support.
Houses on sandy heath soil have gardens, trees and open ground close by, so leaves, needles and moss end up in gutters and valleys. That counts as upkeep, not failure, and the report says so whenever a clean-out is the only task a roof needs.
Chapter 02 of 03
Old College, Chapel Square and the Academy conservation area
| Entry | Status | For roof work |
|---|---|---|
| Old College with attached lamps, Royal Military Academy | Grade II*, NHLE 1390376 | Listed building consent |
| Chapel Square No 4, Royal Military Academy | Grade II, NHLE 1390364 | Listed building consent |
| Chapel Square No 5, Royal Military Academy | Grade II, NHLE 1390365 | Listed building consent |
| Royal Military Academy conservation area | Surrey Heath area, within about 0.75 km of the centre | Check your address with Bracknell Forest |
Sandhurst has 20 listed buildings within 900 m of its centre. The Old College, with its attached lamps, was first listed Grade II* on 20 December 1972, and Chapel Square Nos 4 and 5 are Grade II. Anyone changing what makes a listed building special needs listed building consent from the planning authority, which in Sandhurst is Bracknell Forest Council, the unitary council that also looks after the roads. An unlisted house nearby sits outside those listings.
The Academy's conservation area
In the national dataset the Royal Military Academy conservation area comes within about 0.75 km of Sandhurst's centre. It is a Surrey Heath designation, the former Staff College along London Road, on the Camberley side of the county boundary. Bracknell Forest lists six conservation areas of its own, Binfield, Crowthorne, Easthampstead, Warfield, Winkfield Row and Winkfield Village, and its planning team confirms the position for any Sandhurst address. Each address is checked before we price work that alters how a roof appears, such as a different covering material, a roof window on a visible slope or a changed chimney stack. A repair that follows what is already there seldom raises the question, and the report says which kind of job yours is.
We avoid assuming that every old-looking building is protected, and equally avoid assuming it is not. A listing and a conservation-area line are facts on a map, and the map settles the matter. The report carries that answer, so you can show it to a buyer, a lender or a neighbour without our involvement.
For a listed building the photographs come before the price. We record the existing covering, ridge, eaves and chimney stacks, plus each place where roof meets wall. The planning officer will want those pictures, and they are what lets a repair match in material and detail. Our guide to replacing the roof of a listed building explains how consent is sought, step by step. An application normally needs drawings and a description of the work, and we supply measurements and photographs in a form a drawing office can use, leaving the application itself to the owner or their agent.
On any large building, scaffold and access planning matter as much as the roof work itself. A big roof means a big structure on the ground, and a big structure means thinking about where it stands before anyone climbs it.
Chapter 03 of 03
Bracknell Forest's own inspectors and its six-week scaffold licence
Four facts for a Sandhurst roof job
- 6 weekscovered by a residential scaffold licence
- Zone 2flood zone within about 250 m of the centre
- 25%of the building envelope: first limit
- 50%of the roof: second limit
Sandhurst answers to Bracknell Forest Council, which as a unitary authority covers planning, building control and roads. Re-covering a pitched or flat roof appears among the jobs that Bracknell Forest's building control page says may also need building regulations approval. That is how it words things for its own addresses, and we check before any Sandhurst re-roof, never assuming a yes or a no. The Planning Portal, for comparison, sets a no-application zone below 25 per cent of the building envelope and 50 per cent of the roof, whereas a replacement covering 15 per cent heavier than the old needs a structural check and approval.
The six-week scaffold licence
The council licenses scaffold standing on its highways. A residential licence costs £350, which includes a £100 application fee that is not refunded, and it covers 6 weeks, after which a fresh licence is needed. The council's page leaves the applicant unnamed, so ask any scaffolder at the very outset; we settle it with ours and confirm the dates to you in writing. On private land the scheme does not reach.
The figure6weeksis how long a residential scaffold licence from Bracknell Forest lasts6 licence periodSource: Bracknell Forest Council, scaffolding and hoarding licences page
Flood Zone 2 and the rainwater route
On the Environment Agency's mapping, land within about 250 m of Sandhurst's centre falls in Flood Zone 2. The layer describes land and has no bearing on how tiles are fixed, yet it makes a good prompt to follow the rainwater from slope to downpipe, which we do on every survey, photographing each joint and outlet.
Six weeks suits most re-roofs, but a large roof or a wet spell can use up the whole licence. We set the dates with margin and tell you early if the weather threatens them. Poles that stand wholly in your own garden or drive are outside the scheme, and many small repairs never need the road at all.
Weather matters to the programme. The Met Office's South Farnborough averages for 1991 to 2020 show 118 wet days a year and around 53 days of air frost, so a six-week licence is not as long as it sounds. We plan for rain, tell you when a day is lost, and keep the roof covered whenever the work stops.
Sandhurst roof questions, from the Academy to a six-week licence
Does Bracknell Forest require building approval to re-cover a Sandhurst roof?
Bracknell Forest's building control page says approval may also be needed for work like re-covering pitched and flat roofs, which is the council's wording for its own addresses, and we take it seriously. We check before a Sandhurst re-roof. The Planning Portal's limits of 25 per cent of the envelope and 50 per cent of the roof frame the question.
How long does a Bracknell Forest scaffold licence last in Sandhurst?
A residential licence covers 6 weeks, at £350 including a non-refundable £100 application fee, and a new licence is needed after that. The job is planned so that one licence covers it, with margin for weather, and you are warned early if a delay might push the work beyond the six weeks.
Who applies for the scaffold licence if scaffold stands on a Sandhurst road?
The council's page leaves that open, so ask who applies before you pick a scaffolder. Ours is settled with them, and the dates are put in writing for you. Scaffold confined to private land falls outside the licence scheme, and the survey shows which case your house is.
Is a Sandhurst house near the Academy inside a conservation area?
The Royal Military Academy conservation area lies within about 0.75 km of the centre on the national dataset, but it is Surrey Heath's, on the Camberley side of the county line. For a Sandhurst address, Bracknell Forest's planning team gives the answer. Before pricing a new covering, ridge or stack we look the address up, and the outcome goes into your report.
Berkshire-side roofs we reach around Sandhurst
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A Sandhurst roof, logged from ridge to loft before pricing
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