The Old Vicarage

Aerial view of large old house with red tile roof in green surroundings — © Andrew Smith SG Photography

Case Study

The Old Vicarage

Oast Houses have been a part of England’s history for hundreds of years. Hillreed Residential Developments installed Sandtoft’s Alban clay plain tile to retain the original character and charm of these buildings.

Award-winning and experienced renovator Tim Pitt chose Keymer’s Traditional Elizabethan and Antique tiles to reroof his Grade 2 listed property in Suffolk, with the aim of keeping its historic integrity whilst creating a comfortable and insulated family home. The appearance of the sympathetically renovated roof complements the building beautifully and is much admired by the local community.

The renovation project was undertaken by the house owner after gaining previous experience working on awarding-winning Grade 1 listed properties. Tim’s aim was to ensure that the roof of the building was sympathetically re-tiled with respect to its heritage, age, locality and period style.

Car parked in driveway of large old house with renovated roof

The property, listed in 1961, hadn’t been over-modernised by the previous owners but needed a lot of sympathetic care and pain-staking attention in consequence to bring it back to its former glory. The building had evolved in three stages - from Tudor origins right through to its development as a larger building when gaining a substantial Georgian extension.

Tim took the decision to sympathetically repair the outside of the house completely as the render and roof were in poor repair. The facade was painstakingly repaired by replacing the lime/horsehair plaster and finishing with a lime wash. There was evidence of earlier chevron pargeting on the front of the building, which was carefully recorded and re-instated.

Tim installed as much insulation as possible to the spaces between the beams and a layer of breather membrane immediately behind the plaster. The same level of insulation was repeated below the Keymer roof tiles.

Red tiled roof on large country home — © Andrew Smith SG Photography

"Tim’s aim was to ensure that the roof of the building was sympathetically re-tiled

with respect to its heritage, age, locality and period style."

Due to the Grade 2 status of the property, it was essential to the success of the reroofing stage that the tiles chosen fitted in with the overall character and quality of the building. By selecting a 50/50 mix of Keymer’s Traditional Elizabethan and Antique tiles, the period property now boasts the use of beautiful handmade heritage products, which the home owner believed were the closest match to the peg tiles expected to be seen on a house of this period and location. They are considered by the owner to be a very significant improvement on the machine-made plain tiles that had previously been slipping and falling from the roof.

Christine Leadbeater, Client Development Manager for Keymer, commented: “The Keymer team here at Wienerberger are very proud to have been involved on such a prestigious project, helping Tim rescue the property from years of decline. The Old Vicarage is now a very impressive home and we were thrilled to have been able to support him to achieve his vision. Keymer handmade clay tiles are a perfect fit with the historic property and its nearby surroundings. The finished project looks truly incredible and has been much admired by the local community.”

Speaking about his project, Tim Pitt said: “I selected Keymer tiles for the re-roofing of The Old Vicarage as they are the best handmade tiles on the market. When I first purchased the property, I was planning to replace the leaking roof with machine made plain tiles but after doing some research, I found that Keymer’s Traditional Elizabethan and Antique handmade clay tiles were undoubtedly the closest match to the peg tiles I would have expected to see on a house of this period and location. I’m delighted with the outcome and very happy with how the new roof looks.”

Tim and his family now enjoy a stunning period home, which is comfortable and efficient to run - holding an even temperature both in Summer and Winter. The quality and durability of the tiles used for the renovation means that the roof should remain beautiful and watertight for decades to come.

Project Summary

Location: The Old Vicarage, Suffolk
Project Coordinator: Tim Pitt (homeowner)

Products Used

Keymer Traditional Elizabethan and Antique roof tiles

Since 1588, Keymer has been producing handmade clay roof tiles, giving roofing projects a unique aesthetic with true heritage. Learn more about Keymer roof tiles.

Visit Keymer.co.uk