Brick-faced timber frames
Many timber-framed houses were refaced in brick in the 18th century, and brick and stucco fronts often hide earlier frames.
Roofers in Chobham
Brick-faced timber frames and a High Street cluster of listed buildings
Chobham is a historic village between Woking and Bagshot, among heath and farmland, with a High Street cluster of listed buildings. Every roof gets a survey, then one written price.
Chobham's roofs, from timber frames to red brick
Locally made red brick
Bricks were made locally at Brickhill from the 1600s to about 1880, which may explain the red of many buildings.
The High Street cluster
The appraisal says the cluster of listed buildings on both sides of Chobham High Street is unique in Surrey Heath.
Map of Chobham with West End, Surrey Heath, Bisley, Horsell, Knaphill marked around it.
Map data © OpenStreetMap contributors. Loads only when you ask for it.
Chobham, a historic village among heath and farmland
Woking and Horsell lie to the south-east, Knaphill and St John's to the south, Bisley to the south-west, West End to the west, and Windlesham to the north-west.
About 11.3 road miles north-east of Farnborough · Surrey Heath Borough Council and Surrey County Council.
Repairs and re-roofs across Chobham
Chobham, frames, brick and High Street
Chobham's roofs in Surrey Heath's appraisal
Which councils regulate a Chobham roof job, what Surrey Heath's appraisal says about brick-faced frames and the High Street cluster, and what the conservation area, the Grade I church and the Article 4 list mean for repairs.
| No. | Chapter | The figure it turns on |
|---|---|---|
| 01 | Surrey Heath, SHBCC and Surrey's licence | Surrey Heath plans; SHBCC inspects |
| 02 | Brick over timber, and Brickhill's kilns | Bricks made at Brickhill to 1880 |
| 03 | The High Street cluster and a Grade I church | 28 listed buildings within 500 m |
Chapter 01 of 03
Surrey Heath, SHBCC and Surrey's licence
| Role | Body for Chobham addresses |
|---|---|
| Planning authority | Surrey Heath Borough Council |
| County council and highway authority | Surrey County Council (until 31 March 2027) |
| Building control | Surrey Heath Building Control Consultancy (SHBCC) |
| Scaffold licence on the highway | Surrey County Council, 28 day periods |
Starting at the A325 Farnborough Road, Chobham is 11.3 road miles away, to the north-east of Farnborough. Surrey Heath's appraisal records that Surrey County Council first designated the Chobham conservation area in 1972. Planning rests with Surrey Heath Borough Council, SHBCC provides its building control, and Surrey County Council is the highway authority, a role it holds until 31 March 2027.
Reading the national test on an old frame
The Planning Portal's two ceilings, 25 per cent of the building envelope and 50 per cent of the roof, decide whether a job reaches SHBCC. A timber-framed house refaced in brick has walls that count towards the envelope and a roof that may be large for the house, so the survey measures both before saying whether a repair sits inside. Where a rear wing or porch adds roof area, the survey includes it in the total before giving the percentage.
Extra weight of 15 per cent or more is a separate gate, and on a frame that is hundreds of years old it is a real consideration: the timbers are looked at by an engineer or surveyor before a heavier covering is ordered, and our roof replacement page explains how that decision is reached.
The figure15%weight line on an old frame: past it, approval and a structural check come first15% extra loadSource: Planning Portal, re-roofing guidance
Scaffold on the High Street and the lanes
A licence for scaffold over a Chobham road or pavement comes from Surrey County Council at £208 for each 28 day period, with the form due 10 working days ahead. No applicant is named on that page, which leaves it as a point for the scaffolder, whose reply we forward. In a village with a listed High Street, a scaffold may also stand beside a listed building, so the plan covers protection for neighbouring fabric and the footway left for pedestrians.
Poles standing only on your own ground need no licence, and a ladder-and-tower approach may suit a small repair without any highway licence at all. A note at the end of each visit records the day's work and the next step. Where a lane is narrow, deliveries come in small loads at set times.
Where roof work touches a wall shared between two houses, the Party Wall etc. Act may apply, and a party wall surveyor, not building control, handles it; cutting away a chimney breast calls for two months' notice. The survey flags any shared wall before a date is agreed.
Chapter 02 of 03
Brick over timber, and Brickhill's kilns
Chobham in dates and numbers
- 11.3 road milesnorth-east of Farnborough, from the A325
- 4,120residents, ONS Census 2021, Chobham parish
- 1600s to 1880years bricks were made locally at Brickhill
- 18th centurywhen many timber frames were refaced in brick
Surrey Heath's appraisal records that many of Chobham's timber-framed houses were refaced in brick during the 18th century, and that the village's brick and stucco fronts often hide earlier timber frames. Bricks were made locally at Brickhill from the 1600s to about 1880, which may explain the red colour of many of the brick-faced buildings. The 2021 Census counted 4,120 usual residents in the parish.
What a hidden frame means for a roof
A house whose front is brick but whose structure is timber has a roof carried by old oak, and the roof's junction with the wall is where brick, timber and covering meet. Water that gets in there travels along timbers before it shows, so a stain on a ceiling may be some distance from the leak. The survey follows the water back, lifting the covering at the eaves and the verge, checking the wall plate, and photographing the junction.
The same applies to a stucco front: the render hides the frame, and a failed flashing lets water in behind it. We lift the flashing, photograph what is behind it, and say whether the render or the roof is the source.
Red brick, red tile
Local brick gives Chobham its red colour, and a repair that introduces a tile of another colour shows from the road. The survey notes the colour and texture of the tiles in place, and the report gives the match we propose. HomeBuilding's range for clay tile is 60-80 years, typical and never a promise, and our chimney repairs page explains how stacks on old houses are examined.
The standard for slating and tiling, BS 5534:2014+A2:2018, is not required by law, as Marley points out, but the survey measures the fixings against it, and ridge tiles that rely on mortar alone are flagged because mortar alone has not been relied on since the 2014 revision.
A roof that has been patched over several decades may carry more than one kind of tile and more than one kind of nail. Each slope's findings are set down in turn, so the repair is argued from fact.
A new roof does not attract a national grant. Schemes that touch roofs are about energy: the ECO4 scheme runs to 31 December 2026, and the Warm Homes: Local Grant is a further scheme. Whether you qualify for anything is decided by each scheme's own rules, never by us.
Chapter 03 of 03
The High Street cluster and a Grade I church
| Designation | In Chobham | For roof work |
|---|---|---|
| Conservation area | Chobham Village, one of nine in Surrey Heath | Ask Surrey Heath before changing a roof's look |
| Grade I listed church in use | Church of St Lawrence (NHLE 1377490) | Church of England faculty, not listed building consent |
| Grade II listed | 83-89 High Street (NHLE 1030012) | Listed building consent for work affecting character |
| Article 4 directions | Ask Surrey Heath for your address | Shows whether a permitted right is withdrawn |
Chobham Village is one of Surrey Heath's nine designated conservation areas. The appraisal says the cluster of listed buildings on both sides of Chobham High Street is unique within Surrey Heath, and the National Heritage List shows 28 entries within 500 m of the village point, among them the Church of St Lawrence, listed Grade I (NHLE 1377490, first listed 28 February 1955), and 83-89 High Street, listed Grade II (NHLE 1030012, first listed 19 July 1984).
The council's list of directions
Whether an Article 4 direction applies to a Chobham address is a question to check with Surrey Heath Borough Council, and we put it to the council ahead of pricing. Its answer, with the date, is copied into your report, beside the conservation area check. Old chimney stacks on brick-faced houses are a common source of damp at the ceiling below, so where a stack stands on the front slope its flaunching, pots and flashings are photographed from each side before any change to it is discussed.
Church, High Street and the consent routes
St Lawrence's is an Anglican church in use, so its roof work is a matter for the faculty system under the ecclesiastical exemption and not for listed building consent from Surrey Heath. For listed houses and shops on the High Street, any work altering their character waits for listed building consent, and the repair is described to the council first: matched tiles, sound ones reused, flashings in the right lead code. A roof on one side of the High Street may sit beside a listed neighbour, whose listing does not extend to yours.
Living in the conservation area does not rule out upkeep. A like-for-like covering and ridge keep the look intact, and a change of material is for the council to consider first. The photographs and the checks go into your written report, so the route is known before work is booked. Where the council has to be asked, the work waits for its answer, and the written price is not set until it arrives.
When you compare quotes, see whether VAT and scaffolding are in the price. VAT on roof work is charged at 20 per cent, and the domestic reverse charge never applies to a homeowner. Energy-saving materials are zero-rated until 31 March 2027 and attract the reduced rate after that.
Chobham roof questions, from hidden frames to the High Street
How do you find a leak on a brick-faced timber-framed Chobham house?
Water travels along old timbers before it shows, so a ceiling stain may sit well away from the entry point. We follow it back, lift the covering at the eaves and verge, check the wall plate and the junction with the brick, and photograph each finding. The report names the source and says what repair would stop it.
Does a listing on Chobham High Street mean my neighbour's roof rules apply to mine?
No. A listing covers the listed building itself, and work that would change its character needs listed building consent. Your own house stands or falls on its own entry, looked up on the heritage list and Surrey Heath's map ahead of any price, and the finding goes into your report in writing.
Is Chobham's conservation area a bar to re-tiling my roof?
Not where the repair puts back the existing covering and ridge. A different tile, colour or material changes how the roof looks, and then Surrey Heath's planning team is asked first. We look up any Article 4 direction touching your address before we price, and the finding is written down for you.
Who files the scaffold licence on Chobham High Street?
Surrey County Council licenses scaffold over a road or pavement at £208 per 28 day period. The applicant is left unnamed there, so we check with the scaffolder and pass the answer to you. Scaffold kept off the highway needs no licence, and a plan sets out which access your roof calls for.
Beyond Chobham: West End, Bisley and Horsell
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Name the road and describe the fault, and a visit is booked for you.
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