A hillside with a church
Guildford describes a small settlement spread along a sloping road, with narrow roads and a large church at its centre.
Roofers in Seale
Roofs on the Hog's Back slope inside the Surrey Hills
Seale is a small village on the Hog's Back slope inside the Surrey Hills National Landscape. Each roof here is read slope by slope, and one written price follows.
Seale's roofs, from the church to the farm cottages
Manor Farm cottages
Manor Farm Cottages and Manor Farm House are both listed Grade II, as are Seale Lodge Cottages.
The Church of St Laurence
Grade II since 14 June 1967, the church stands at the heart of Seale.
Map of Seale with Tongham, Ash, Badshot Lea, Puttenham marked around it.
Map data © OpenStreetMap contributors. Loads only when you ask for it.
Seale, below the Hog's Back east of Farnham
Tongham lies to the north-west, Ash to the north, Badshot Lea to the west, Puttenham to the east, and Elstead a little east of due south.
About 9 road miles south of Farnborough · Guildford Borough Council and Surrey County Council.
Seale, slope, church and landscape
Seale's roofs and the designations around them
Which councils regulate a Seale roof, what Guildford's profile and the Victoria County History say about the village, and what the National Landscape, conservation area and listings mean for repairs.
| No. | Chapter | The figure it turns on |
|---|---|---|
| 01 | Guildford's rules for a hillside village | Guildford inspects; Surrey licenses scaffold |
| 02 | A small village below the Hog's Back | 897 residents, ONS Census 2021 |
| 03 | The National Landscape, church and conservation area | 8 listed buildings within 500 m |
Chapter 01 of 03
Guildford's rules for a hillside village
| Role | Body for Seale addresses |
|---|---|
| Planning authority | Guildford Borough Council |
| County council and highway authority | Surrey County Council (until 31 March 2027) |
| Building control | Guildford Borough Council, its own service |
| Scaffold licence on the highway | Surrey County Council, 28 day periods |
From the A325 Farnborough Road, Seale is 9 road miles away, on the south side of Farnborough. Planning sits with Guildford Borough Council, the lanes are Surrey County Council's to 1 April 2027, and the village sits inside the Surrey Hills National Landscape, a designation that adds its own care to any change of look.
Guildford's building control
Guildford runs its own building control service, which it describes as independent and not for profit. What decides whether a roof job reaches it is size, using the Planning Portal's test of less than 25 per cent of the building envelope and less than 50 per cent of the roof. Renewing a few tiles on a Seale cottage sits comfortably under both, while a complete new covering does not. If the new covering would weigh 15 per cent or more than the old, Building Regulations approval is needed as well, and a structural check is advised.
A hillside roof is photographed from three positions: from the road below, from the access at eaves height, and from the roof surface itself where it is safe to walk. Each view picks up different faults, and together they show the roof as the weather meets it.
The figure15%weight threshold: a heavier covering at or beyond it brings approval and a structural check15% added weightSource: Planning Portal, re-roofing guidance
The survey makes the call. Each slope is measured, the covering noted, and the answer written down, so an inspection can be fitted into the programme instead of holding it up. For a house that needs a full re-roof, that written answer comes before any dates are agreed.
Scaffold on a sloping road
Guildford's profile says the roads through Seale are narrow, and the village stands on a slope, so a scaffold on the carriageway or a pavement is planned with care. Surrey County Council licenses it at £208 per 28 day period and wants the form lodged 10 working days ahead. Surrey leaves the applicant unnamed, so our scaffold firm and we decide it and you are told. Scaffold that never leaves your own plot needs no licence.
On a slope, ladders and materials also need level, secure positions, so we mark where each will sit and how deliveries reach the house. Neighbours along the lane are told the dates in advance.
Inside the National Landscape, the choice of covering is part of the planning conversation as well as a question of performance: a different tile colour or texture changes the view from the road and across the slope. We show the proposed covering against the existing one in the survey notes, so that conversation starts from facts.
Chapter 02 of 03
A small village below the Hog's Back
Seale in dates and numbers
- 9 road milessouth of Farnborough, from the A325
- 897residents, ONS Census 2021, Seale and Sands parish
- 1903lane to Seale made a good road after this
- 14 June 1967church and Manor Farm Cottages first listed
Guildford's settlement profile describes Seale as a small village of low-density housing below the Hogs Back, strung out along its road on a slope, with narrow roads and a large church at its centre. The 2021 Census counted 897 usual residents in Seale and Sands parish.
An old way into the village
The Victoria County History of 1911 says the so-called Pilgrims' Way ran below the chalk through Puttenham and on as a lane to Seale, a lane the history says was converted into a good road after 1903. That detail explains why the village is where it is: it grew beside a route, along a slope, with its houses facing the road and the view downhill.
A roof on a slope meets weather and surveyor differently from one on flat ground. The downhill side of a house may stand high above the ground, which makes access harder, while the uphill side may sit close to a bank. Banks hold moisture against walls and lean-tos, and leaves and soil collect behind them. Moss and algae collect on shaded faces, and a slope that stays damp ages faster than one that dries, so we record which faces stay in shade. We check the lowest gutter runs, the roofs of lean-tos set into the bank, and the flashings where a roof meets higher ground. Our gutters, soffits and fascias page explains how those runs are surveyed.
Access on a sloping plot is part of the survey. A ladder or tower needs a level base, which on a slope may mean building up the footing, and a roof edge above a drop needs edge protection. We plan that before the day, so the survey itself is done safely and the photographs are complete.
Farm cottages and lodges
Manor Farm Cottages, Manor Farm House and Seale Lodge Cottages all carry Grade II listings, and eight entries on the national list fall inside a 500 m circle round the village. They show that farm and estate buildings are part of the village's roofscape. An older rural building's roof deserves the care a house roof gets: materials matched, the original details recorded first, and any consent question settled before the price is given.
Chapter 03 of 03
The National Landscape, church and conservation area
| Designation | In Seale | For roof work |
|---|---|---|
| National Landscape | Surrey Hills (formerly AONB) | Ask Guildford before changing a roof's look |
| Conservation area | Seale, within about 0.75 km of the centre | Ask Guildford before changing a roof's look |
| Grade II listed church | Church of St Laurence (NHLE 1029603) | Consent route depends on denomination and use |
| Grade II listed | Manor Farm Cottages (NHLE 1294481) | Listed building consent for work affecting character |
| Article 4 direction | Chimneys, where a direction applies | Checked by address on Guildford's map |
Seale lies inside the Surrey Hills National Landscape, the designation that replaced Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty in name, and the Seale conservation area lies within about 0.75 km of the village centre. Within that same 500 m circle are the Church of St Laurence (NHLE 1029603) and Manor Farm Cottages (NHLE 1294481), both listed Grade II on 14 June 1967.
Looks, not repairs
These designations concern how the roofscape looks, and restoring what was there leaves it alone. A new covering, a reprofiled ridge or a rebuilt stack changes it, and for those the first call is to Guildford's planning team, made with photographs and measurements in hand. The designations stack: a house can lie in the National Landscape, in the conservation area and be listed, and each layer is checked house by house before pricing.
Guildford's conservation areas can carry an Article 4 direction, under which removing or altering a chimney requires permission. The council's map shows whether one reaches an address, so on older Seale houses with a prominent stack we consult it before any stack is touched. Our chimney repairs page explains how a stack is surveyed.
The church and the consent route
The Church of St Laurence is listed Grade II. Which consent route its roof work takes depends on the denomination and how the building is used: for an Anglican church in current use, the faculty system applies under the ecclesiastical exemption, and listed building consent applies where the exemption does not. Those who run the church settle that with the council well ahead of any quote. Where a roof edge or a tower sits close to the church, the survey records it as part of the house's setting.
For the Grade II farm cottages and lodges, listed building consent covers work that changes their character, and the best fix keeps the original material: tiles matched and reused where sound, with new battens only where the old ones have failed.
The conservation area map and the National Landscape boundary are both public. We check them for your address and attach the result to the report, so you can see what the council would see before any question goes to it.
Seale roof questions, from slope to National Landscape
Does a house on the Hog's Back slope at Seale need special checks on its lower roof?
We look hard at the lowest slopes, lean-tos set into a bank, and the gutter runs beneath them, because drips from the ground, leaves and trapped moisture affect them. Flashings where the roof meets higher ground are lifted for inspection, and your report carries a picture of every one alongside the written price.
Does the Surrey Hills National Landscape stop a Seale roof being re-covered?
No. Putting back the same covering leaves the look of the roof as it was. A new covering, a reprofiled ridge or a moved stack alters it, and then Guildford's planning team is asked before work. The designation stacks with the conservation area and any listing, and we check each by address.
Can Guildford's chimney rule affect a Seale house with a tall stack?
A Guildford Article 4 direction, where one is in force, brings any change to a chimney, including taking it down, under the council's control; its map marks the direction areas, and we read it for your street. A repair that leaves the stack looking as it did is different. We look the address up ourselves and photograph each face of the chimney ahead of any work.
Who sorts a scaffold licence on a narrow Seale road?
For a scaffold over a Seale road or pavement, Surrey County Council's licence costs £208 per 28 day period and needs the form in 10 working days ahead. Surrey's page names no applicant, so that detail is fixed between our scaffolders and us. Poles kept inside your garden fall outside the licence.
Beyond Seale: Tongham, Puttenham and Elstead
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