Collyweston stone slated properties
“When the building is itself constructed of local limestone, a roof of stone slates adds the crowning touch of harmony, in colour and in texture, with the surrounding landscape.”
Sir Alec Clifton-Taylor 1962 1
The slates are made at Collyweston in Northamptonshire, a small village west of the A1 trunk road.
For nearly 300 years the use of Collyweston slates on local roofs was commonplace. Roof structures were generally made of oak with square section rafters to support the heavy slates and the battens which were made of riven oak or chestnut. Slates were hung from the battens by oak pegs with a mortar bed in between. They are laid in diminishing courses, the largest slates at the eaves level and smallest at the ridge line.
Collyweston stone slate roofs make a unique contribution to the distinctive local character of both the everyday and the prestigious buildings.
Of the 59 Listed buildings in Helpston, 21 have a Collyweston stone slated roof.
On Woodgate there are 6 properties:-
- Stables to south-east of Woodgate Farmhouse
- Blue Bell Public House
- Old Vicarage
- Dovecote – north west of Clare Cottage
- Spring Farmhouse – 17 Woodgate – part over stone bay mullioned window
- Shepherds Way – 19 Woodgate
On Heath Road:-
- Manor (Woodhall) Farmhouse
On Glinton Road:-
- No 86, formerly the Railway Hotel
- Old School and School House (not listed)
On West Street:-
- Helpston House
- Forge Cottage
- Hollyburn House
On Church Lane:-
- Manor House.
- Botolph Barn (not listed)
- (Former) Exeter Arms and adjacent barn
- Wisteria House
- Barn adjoining north east of No 5 (Wisteria House) and adjoining wall to north east (Owl Barn) – former dairy barn attached to Wisteria House
On Maxey Road:-
- Vine Cottage – No 14 (part)
On Stamford Road:-
- Scotsmans Lodge – formerly Helpston Heath Farm
On Broad Wheel Rd:-
- Tinderbox Cottage
Previously Collyweston slated properties.
In a survey of the Fitzwilliam estates taken in 1772, College Farmhouse (former Rectory Farmhouse) was recorded as being “The Rectory House being a good Farm House with a good barn, stone and slated”.2 The Historic England register records that the building now has a ‘new tile’ roof.3
Some of the small cottages in the village which originally had Collyweston slate roofs, have subsequently been replaced with tiles or Collyweston replicas.
1 https://www.collywestonhistoricalsociety.org.uk/collyweston-slate
2 Northampton Records Office – F(M) Misc Vols/570
3 https://historicengland.org.uk/listing
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