Lancashire · Rossendale
Lancashire roofers covering Rawtenstall: stone slates and hillside terraces
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- Covering Rawtenstall and nearby
A drip in the loft after a wet week, or slates creeping down the roof? Peak Roofing is a roofing company based in Lancashire, and Rawtenstall and Bacup are covered. Most terraces here went up after 1850, and the council’s conservation appraisal says many keep their original Welsh slate and thick chimney stacks.
Rawtenstall homes: a real mix on the hillsides
Rawtenstall has more variety than most mill towns. The 2021 Census counts 42% of its 10,240 households in terraces, 27% in semis, 21% detached and 11% in flats. Council tax records date 35% of homes to before 1919 and 25% to the post-war years. Another 23% date from 1983 on, so Victorian slate and modern concrete tiles can share one hillside.
Rossendale Borough Council’s 2011 appraisal notes long roofs that follow the fall of the land, instead of stepping down behind party walls. Stone slates, smaller towards the ridge, were once widespread. Grey Welsh slate took over when the railway came in the 1840s. Bacup, also covered, is 46% terraced and 41% pre-1919.
Rawtenstall roofs: where trouble usually starts
- Stone slate courses Older cottages may still carry stone slates. Their pegs and bedding usually give up before the stone does.
- Pointing on thick stacks Frost on 44 days a year cracks pointing and flaunching on chunky stone stacks.
- Original Welsh slate fixings Slate laid after 1850 is often the first covering, so rusted nails show its age.
- Timber and cast-iron gutters A split joint can soak stonework enough to look like the roof is leaking.
Rawtenstall’s valley weather and your roof
The town sits where the Limy Water meets the Irwell, ringed by hills and moorland. Rochdale, over the county line, has the closest climate station run by the Met Office. It records 1,197 mm of rain over 171 days a year, with air frost on 44. Mean wind there is only 4.2 knots, against 10.7 at Blackpool on the coast. Damp and frost, more than gales, wear these roofs.
Conservation areas in Rawtenstall and Bacup
Rossendale Borough Council has eleven conservation areas, Rawtenstall and Bacup among them. Its Rawtenstall appraisal says the original slate roofs matter to views across the town. It names lost chimney stacks and over-dominant dormers as major issues. Bacup’s appraisal describes an Article 4 Direction there, mainly over the old mill workers’ housing, that brings roof changes, materials included, under planning control. Speak to the conservation team before re-covering a roof in either town.
Rossendale Borough Council
How a roof job in Rawtenstall runs
- Call or text Peak Roofing, or send the form, with what you can see.
- We look at the roof itself, not just the stain inside.
- You get the price before any work starts.
Roofing services covering Rawtenstall
Peak Roofing
Roofers covering Rawtenstall
Lancashire roofers covering Rawtenstall and the towns round it. One number for calls and texts.
Questions
Rawtenstall roofs: questions
Can I add a dormer to my house in the Rawtenstall conservation area?
Check before you plan one. Roof additions in a conservation area are not permitted development, and the appraisal flags poorly detailed dormers as a problem in Rawtenstall. Ask Rossendale’s planners early. An existing dormer with a tired flat roof is a different matter: see flat roofs.
Do you work in Bacup as well?
Yes, alongside Rawtenstall. Bacup’s appraisal says most of its terraces date from after 1850, with Welsh slate and thick stacks often topped by decorative clay pots. A few older listed cottages keep stone slate. For stacks and pots, see chimney repairs.
Is it worth keeping the stone slates on an old cottage?
Often, if the stones are sound. They usually outlast the pegs, battens and mortar holding them, so many can go back once the roof is stripped. On a listed cottage, such as the Grade II row at 1 to 11 Daisy Hill, check with Rossendale’s conservation officers before anything is lifted.
Nearby
Roofers covering towns near Rawtenstall
Also covered with Rawtenstall: Bacup.
Where the facts on this page come from
- ONS Census 2021, TS044 Accommodation type (Nomis), output areas in the ONS 2022 built-up area: Households by accommodation type in Rawtenstall: 21% detached, 27% semi-detached, 42% terraced, 11% flats (10,240 households). Read 2026-11-05.
- Valuation Office Agency: Council Tax stock of properties 2026, table CTSOP4.1 (build period), LSOAs in the built-up area: Homes by build period in Rawtenstall: 35% before 1919, 17% 1919-1939, 25% 1945-1982, 23% since 1983 (England and Wales: 21% before 1919). Read 2026-11-05.
- Met Office: Rochdale climate station, 1991-2020 averages: 1,197.2 mm of rain a year, 170.8 days with 1 mm or more, mean wind 4.24 knots. Read 2026-11-05.
- Rossendale Borough Council: conservation areas: 11 conservation areas including Bacup and Rawtenstall; some permitted development needs planning permission, including alterations to a house or its roof Read 2026-11-05.
- Rossendale Borough Council: Rawtenstall Conservation Area Character Appraisal and Management Proposals (adopted 2 Dec 2011): Town at the junction of the Limy Water and the Irwell, enclosed by hills and moorland; 19th-century housing with long roofs following the contours rather than stepping with party walls; stone slates once widespread, decreasing in size to the ridge; Welsh slate after the railway in the 1840s; most terraces post-1850 retain original Welsh slate and thick stacks; slate roofs important to views; loss of stacks and over-dominant dormers are major issues; gutters wooden or cast iron; Nos. 1-11 Daisy Hill Grade II with stone slate roofs Read 2026-11-05.
- Rossendale Borough Council: Bacup Town Centre Conservation Area Character Appraisal (adopted 2 Dec 2011): Most terraced houses post-1850 with original Welsh slate, thick stacks, decorative clay pots; earlier listed houses/cottages have stone slate roofs; Article 4 Direction (1987, expanded 1992) mainly covering mill workers' housing, bringing roof changes including materials under control Read 2026-11-05.
- legislation.gov.uk: GPDO 2015 Sch. 2 Pt 1 Class B: Roof additions are not permitted development on article 2(3) land, which includes conservation areas (reused from areas.mjs) Read 2026-11-05.