Westbourne
What can a rooflight do for an old village roof without changing the way it looks?
Brick, flint and clay tile near the church and the stream, with newer houses on the lanes beyond
Westbourne is a village on the Hampshire border, a little way inland from Emsworth, and the River Ems, a chalk stream rising in the Downs to the north, flows through the village and on south toward the harbour. The church of St John the Baptist stands near the centre, and around it and along the old streets are brick and flint cottages, tiled roofs and garden walls. Further out are twentieth-century houses and bungalows, and some recent infill. A rooflight in Westbourne has to cope with that variety, and in the old core it has to look as though it belongs.
In an old village house, the aim of a rooflight is often a single one: light in a room that has none, without a visible change to the front of the building. That is a realistic aim. The route to it is the choice of unit, its position on the roof and the order of the trades.
Cottages in the village centre
Older cottages have steep, simple roofs, usually in clay tile, often with a ridge that is not quite straight and rafters that are not evenly spaced. Rooms in the roof are low, and a window in the slope may be the only way to light them. The unit that suits is a conservation rooflight: a slim black or dark grey frame, a single central glazing bar and a profile that sits close to the tiles instead of standing up from them.
These roofs need careful opening up. Timbers may be old and slightly uneven, battens are often narrow and the tiles may be hand-made and impossible to replace like for like. We measure the roof by hand, mark the opening from inside, agree with the builder how the rafters will be trimmed and tell them the exact size for the unit before any tile is lifted. The tiles that come off are set aside and relaid, so the covering around the rooflight matches the rest of the slope.
Position decides how the roof looks from the street. Rooflights on the rear slope are far less noticeable than those on the front, and two small units spaced evenly look better than one large one placed off centre. Where a front slope is the only choice, aligning the unit with a window or a chimney below keeps the roofline orderly. Our page on the glazing bar on a conservation rooflight explains why that bar matters.
Looking after the structure while the roof is open
An old roof is only as good as the timber under it, and opening it up is the moment to look. If a rafter is soft or a wall plate has moved, the builder wants to know before the window is ordered, not after. So the survey includes a look into the roof space where access allows, and the written quote lists what is needed from the builder, whether that is a trimmed rafter, a new batten or work to a gable.
The roofer does the covering and the flashing, and does it before any glazing is fitted. The plasterer then forms a clean splayed reveal, which in an old attic room helps the light spread. Insulation goes around the opening so the reveal does not become a cold edge. Everyone works from the same written sizes.
Extensions and outbuildings behind the village houses
Many village houses have been extended at the back, often with a low flat or lightly pitched roof that links the old house to the garden. Over such an extension, a flat rooflight or compact lantern floods a space that the old walls leave in shade. Because these extensions are out of sight of the street, they can use a larger and more modern unit than the front of the house would suit.
Garden rooms, studios and converted outbuildings are the same. A flat rooflight on an insulated kerb makes a small building usable all day, and an opening unit helps keep it comfortable in summer. The sizes and types are covered on our flat roof rooflights page.
Double glazing in a slim frame
A conservation rooflight looks like a single pane in a thin frame, but a modern one carries a double glazed sealed unit, so the room below is warmer and quieter than it would be under old single glass. In an existing house a rooflight takes the rooflight limit in the energy rules, and the unit named in the quote is chosen to meet it. Our page on double glazed conservation rooflights explains how the slim profile and the glass fit together.
The colour of the frame is a choice too. Black suits a slate or dark tile, and a dark grey softens against weathered clay. We can show you a sample against your own roof at the survey, since the same colour can look quite different in sun and in shade.
Dark landings and attic stairs
Cottage staircases are narrow and often windowless, and the landing at the top is dark whatever the time of day. Where the roof above is accessible and the loft has space, a sun tunnel can carry daylight down to the ceiling with only a small dome on the slope, which is the least visible change of all. It suits a landing or a small bathroom, and not a room where you want to see out.
The tube has to avoid old timbers, chimney breasts and wiring, so we look at the loft before saying yes. Our sun tunnel page for hallways describes how much light to expect in a corridor. If the loft is too crowded, a small conservation rooflight may be easier to fit.
Garden rooms and a lantern
A new garden room or oak-framed extension on a village plot often calls for a roof lantern, and its proportions need to suit the building. A lantern too large for the roof looks top-heavy, and one that is too small looks like an afterthought. We agree the size with the person designing the building and send the kerb dimensions in writing, so the frame is built to fit the unit rather than the other way round. Our page on roof lantern sizes helps with the first idea.
Newer houses on the village edges
Away from the old core, Westbourne's housing is more recent: semis and detached homes built in the decades after the war, bungalows and a little later infill. Their roofs are ordinary concrete or clay tile on a modern pitch, and a loft conversion with roof windows is the common job. Pitch, rafter size and inside head height settle which windows work, and on trussed roofs the window has to fit the spacing the trusses leave.
In these houses the choice is rarely about appearance and more about performance and the position of the room. A bright loft bedroom needs a window it can open easily, a blind that suits sleeping and glass that does not overheat the room. We talk through each at the survey and write the choices into the quote.
Trees, the stream and damp air
Westbourne is a green village with a stream and many mature trees. Under trees, glass collects leaves and seeds and shaded slopes grow moss, so a flat rooflight beneath a canopy wants rinsing sooner than one in the open. We talk about access for cleaning when we choose the position.
Houses near water can feel damp in the lower rooms and cool in the roof. A rooflight that opens, put where warm damp air collects, helps shift it from a bathroom or bedroom, working with the room's fan and heating. We look at how the room is used before recommending an opening unit, and we insulate the reveal around it.
Planning and conservation in Westbourne
Planning decisions for the village are made by Chichester District Council, not by anyone in Hampshire, even though the border is only a short way west. Any application hinges on the house, where the unit sits on the roof and whether a designation applies. A listed house needs consent before its roof is altered, and the village centre may carry a conservation designation, so the position for your street should be checked before work is planned.
We read the council record for your address and report back; the decision is the council's. For the rules behind that, read our rooflight planning guide, and for older houses see rooflights in conservation areas. The council's own pages are at Chichester District Council and Historic England explains listing.
Where a cottage is being re-roofed, the rooflight is best fitted as part of that work. The tiles are off already, the battens can be renewed around the opening and the flashing is dressed into the new covering in one go. It avoids lifting a sound roof twice, and it gives the roofer one set of sizes to work to.
Timing with a village builder
Where a builder's diary is booked well ahead, a rooflight that arrives late is felt by everyone on the job. The aim is to fix the unit while drawings are still being finished, or as soon as a start date exists, then hand the size to the builder and set the order date by counting back from the roof's finish. Delivery time is the maker's to set; the quote states it, and a firm date follows when the order is accepted.
Building Control hears about a new rooflight or a full replacement, and we file that notice when the work needs it. Workmanship on the fitting carries a ten-year guarantee. The survey is free, and from Southampton it is a drive of 25.8 road miles, so we aim to measure everything in one visit.
Just over the Hampshire border, Westbourne lies 25.8 road miles east of our Southampton base, and we plan the survey so every measurement is taken in one visit.
