Renovation fit for a king

Some buildings deserving of protection are symbols of Europe’s turbulent history – manor houses, castles, and palaces should be preserved for reasons of interest and research. An English manor house was given a new but authentic roof comprising tens of thousands of handmade clay roof tiles.

Protecting symbols of European history

The Tudor manor house, The Vyne, in Sherborne St John, near Basingstoke, is a historical gem from the 16th century. The property requires constant maintenance and care must be taken to preserve the original aesthetics. The building’s listed status and faithfulness to the original appearance of the house were the top priorities when the 1 600 m² roof was renovated in 2015, and all 71 000 roof tiles were replaced.

Original model

The manor house was built between 1500 and 1520 as a home for one of the lords under the Tudor King Henry VIII. It was privately owned from then until 1956, when it was bequeathed to the National Trust. This non-profit organisation protects natural and architectural monuments in Great Britain. They wanted the new roof to be as close a match as possible to the original.

For this reason, the clay tiles were manufactured by hand, using traditional methods and the local Weald clay. This clay occurs naturally in the local area, including in the ground beneath the manor house, so the tiles that formed the original roof were very likely made from this same clay.

There was another advantage to making the tiles by hand: visitors were invited to immortalise their hand prints on the clay tiles in exchange for a voluntary donation. As a result, there are 12 885 individually ‘signed’ roof tiles in the renovated roof, and around £ 64 000 was raised towards the work in donations.

Comprehensive renovation

The roof had undergone a series of minor repair works in the past, but this major project was the first truly comprehensive renovation of the roof in more than 150 years. All the tiles were replaced, the chimneys were dismantled and rebuilt, slats and cables were reattached and new insulation was fitted. It took a total of 18 months to complete the restoration project. The highly authentic clay roof tiles will age naturally over the years like their original predecessors, becoming even more beautiful over time.