Traditional clay peg tiles from Tudor Roof Tile Co. Ltd have been specified, as part of the extensive restoration work on St Andrews, the Grade II* parish church, in the village of Blunsdon in Wiltshire.

A fine example of an English historic church, originally dating back to Medieval times, St Andrews was sensitively restored to its former state, using old and new materials and combining modern construction methods with traditional craftsmanship.

The choice of replacement roof tiles was critical to maintaining the aesthetic integrity of the building and its Victorian roof, which was originally created in 1864-8 by the architect William Butterfield.

Tudor Roof Tile Co. Ltd was appointed by Richard Pedlar Architects to produce over 10,000 new handmade clay peg roof tiles plus eaves and gable tiles. The roof tiles were specially made for the project using natural fired clay, with no sand or colouring on the face, to 283mm x 147mm to match the size, thickness, camber and colour of the originals.

In order to preserve the character and detailing of the original roof, the North facing front elevation was re-roofed using old reclaimed tiles from the site, whilst the South facing rear elevation, which has to withstand harsher weather conditions, was roofed entirely with Tudor’s new handmade peg tiles.

“Although currently brighter than the existing Victorian tiles, the new plain tiles are an excellent match, which will fade and weather in appearance and over time will become almost indistinguishable from the originals,” said Richard Pedlar, Director at Richard Pedlar Architects.

Widely used on National Trust and English Heritage properties, Tudor roof tiles are recommended by Conservation Officers across Great Britain.

All Tudor roof tiles are made in accordance with BS EN ISO 9001:2000, and tested to BS EN 538:1994 for strength and to BS EN 539-2:1998 for frost resistance.