Handmade Roof Tiles in Bedfordshire
Heritage Tiles: Emblematic of the finest craftsmanship
Heritage tiles are the professional roofer's choice for the highest quality clay roof tiles. We pride ourselves in manufacturing, stocking, and delivering the very finest in prestige clay roof tiles.
Heritage Tiles have several tile ranges that satisfy every architectural requirement. Vintage and historic properties right up to modern new builds are covered by the diverse range of clay roof tiles that we stock.
So, whether you are in the building trade, or simply wish to choose your own tiles, Heritage Tiles have the right product for your specific requirements.
What Heritage Tiles have to offer our customers?
- We offer specification and technical solutions to help you achieve the perfect build.
- We also offer expert design advice to all our customers.
- We are happy to engage in site visits with our clients.
- We have stockists and distributors throughout the United Kingdom to ensure that we can provide our expert service to a wider area.
- We can provide estimated quantities from plans supplied by our clients.
- We offer battening plans.
- We can deliver a standard and bespoke colour choice for our clay tile products.
- All our tiles are assessed and approved by Lucideon.
- We provide a nationwide delivery and collection service.
The ranges of clay roof tiles we supply.
The Clayhall Range of roof tiles:
Clayhall Medium Blend - Carefully crafted to replicate all the features of handmade the Clayhall hand crafted range of tiles offers an excellent alternative when budget restrictions are a concern, but without compromising quality or durability.
Clayhall Dark Blend - Quality and durability in a budget clay roof tile. The Clayhall dark blend is sure to turn heads.
Clayhall Red Blend - A beautiful rustic clay roof tile. The Clayhall red blend is a firm favourite with our customers.
Clayhall Hamlet Mix - The Clayhall Hamlet mix is a gorgeous light and sandy looking clay roof tile that is a perennial favourite in the building trade.
Clayhall Birchwood Mix - The Clayhall Birchwood mix offers a gorgeous blend of lighter and darker shades in this diverse clay roof tile. If you are concerned that your roof tiles could look monotonous, the Clayhall Birchwood mix is the clay roof tile to choose.
The Conservation Range of roof tiles
The Conservation range of roof tiles are available in a range of distinctive colours, created by using a very fine sand, The Conservation Weathered; A natural warm tone, achieving an instant mellow and settled look and The Conservation Red; perfect for vertical tiling especially suited for villages and hamlets with olde world vernacular charm.
Manufactured using high quality clay, achieving high strength and durability properties, giving homeowners and contractors peace of mind for many years to come. The conservation range comes with a complete set of associated fittings, including Hog Back Ridge, Half Round Ridge, Bonnet Hips, Valley tiles and External Angles.
The Conservation range of clay roof tiles comes in the following variations:
- Conservation Red
- Conservation Weathered
- Conservation Dark
Conservation Peg Tile
Plain clay roofing tiles laid to a double lap have been used for roof covering in England since before the Norman Conquest and tiles dating back to Roman Times have been discovered under excavation. From the outset clay plain tiles were made incorporating fixing features.
The Classic Edwardian roof tile
The Classic range of plain tiles is one of the finest ranges of clay tiles.
We source only the best raw materials for our craftsman to create beautifully handmade clay tiles of the highest quality and durability.
Tile Fittings available from Heritage Tiles
There are many fittings that are available from us a Heritage Tiles to complete your build to perfection. We stock and supply the following:
- Gable Tile
- Eave Tile
- Baby Porch Ridge
- 90 Degree Ext. Angle
- Universal Bonnet Hip
- Half Round Ridge
- Hogs Back Ridge
- Mono Ridge
- Third Round Ridge
- Universal Valley
- Ornamental Club
- Bat Tile Set
Bat Tiles:
Provide help for our bats with our range of bat friendly roof tiles.
Did you know that all UK bats and their roosts are protected by law? The Wildlife and Countryside Act introduced in 1981, gave legal protection to all bat species and their roosts in England.
Distinct species of bats prefer differing places to roost. The two most usually found species of bat in the UK are the Pipistrelle and Brown Long-Eared Bat. Pipistrelle prefer confined spaces such as under tiles on roofs and hanging spaces. The Brown Long-Eared Bat prefer roof timbers and ridges inside lofts. Heritage Clay Tiles can provide purpose made access points within your roof tiles or ridge tiles. The Bat Tile Set can form part of a mitigation package required by law for existing roosts or as potential access where a roost had not previously been present.
Select a Blend
Getting the right blend for your roofing project can feel daunting, but with our blend generator you can mix and match various blends of tiles to achieve the perfect blend.
Click here to make use of our online tool to choose your own unique blend.
Because our strict quality control provides a consistent tile size you can mix assorted styles and colours of tiles to make your roof unique to you. Please use the tool below to experiment with various blends.
Adjust the sliders to set the ingredients for your desired blend then click on the update mix button.
Alternatively click on any blend or tile to display it.
Whatever type of clay roof tile you want, Heritage Tiles will be able to help.
Handmade Roof Tiles
The manufacture of handmade roof tiles
You may be surprised to learn that the clay used for making handmade roof tiles isn't processed as soon as it comes from the ground. Following the clay being excavated from the earth, it has to be weathered for around nine months to a year.
The clay is then ground into very fine particles with water added to make the clay workable. Even more surprisingly, a substance which is previously fired clay pieces that have been ground down is added to the fresh clay to help reduce the shrinking, cracking and warping that can happen during the firing process. This addition of pre-fired particles also adds to the texture of the handmade roof tile.
In the past, handmade roof tiles would have been hand thrown into the mould before being finished. Owing to time constraints in production, nowadays they are often mechanically pressed either by hand or by using a hydraulic press to ensure a more consistent density and to speed up production. The consistency that is desired extends to the shape of the handmade roof tile too. After all, without this consistency of shape, the builder would have a much harder job fitting handmade roof tiles to the building project. You want to achieve a handmade look to the roof tile, but they still need to marry up to prevent water and other weather ingress.
The handmade roof tiles are then handled and dried in several ways to create the different character variations of shape and colour. The shape is created either by hand or machine and the colour can be varied by adding different oxides or pigments.
Temperature variations within the firing kiln will also lead to variations in tile colour, with a higher temperature resulting in a darker handmade roof tile.
What to look for in handmade roof tiles
It is recommended that handmade roof tiles have been mixed from at least three different crates that are not part of the same manufacturing run, to allow for the desired variations within batches. Laying a roof using handmade roof tiles picked from sequential crates is likely to result in pronounced stripes or blocks of colour on the finished roof and this will detract from the natural look, or blend that you want to achieve.
Handmade roof tiles to withstand the English winter
The density of any handmade roof tile is vital as the denser the tile, the less water it is going to absorb, which means the tile, is less susceptible to frost damage. Frost damage can cause handmade roof tiles, or any other clay product to crack. It's important to check that your handmade roof tiles have been tested for frost resistance as a poor-quality handmade roof tile could lead to very expensive repairs or possibly a complete re-roof.
A handmade roof tile can cost up to 50% more than a machine-made, or stock clay roof tile, but they offer a far more pleasing shape, texture and colour variation. The real benefit of a handmade roof tile tends to centre on the aesthetic appeal and for period properties; this is what you will be looking for. A period property with an entire roof made from machine made, dimensionally perfect roof tiles just looks wrong. Handmade roof tiles simply enhance any period property, which is why they are so sought after.
So, if you have a building project and you feel that it would benefit from the aesthetic superiority of a handmade roof tile, why not drop us a line and discuss your options?
A little information about Bedfordshire
Bedfordshire is a favourite destination for aircraft enthusiasts
The Shuttleworth Collection is a working aeronautical and automotive collection located at the Old Warden Aerodrome, Old Warden in Bedfordshire.
History of the Bedfordshire collection
The impressive collection was founded in 1928 by aviator Richard Ormonde Shuttleworth. The collection and works we see today were borne out of tragedy, for while flying a Fairey Battle at night on 2 August 1940, Shuttleworth fatally crashed. His mother, in 1944, formed the Richard Ormonde Shuttleworth Remembrance Trust for the teaching of the science and practice of aviation and of afforestation and agriculture.
A wonderful collection in Bedfordshire
Restoration and maintenance work is carried out by a staff of twelve full-time and many volunteer engineers. These volunteers are all members of the 3,000-strong Shuttleworth Veteran Aeroplane Society. Without these dedicated engineering enthusiasts, the preservation and restoration of this fantastic, historical collection would be lost forever.
As well as the aircraft, the Bedfordshire collection houses a number of vintage and veteran cars. Events include model-flying days, and once a year, there is a special flying day for schools in the area.
The Shuttleworth Collection isn't just a museum one can visit to see old aircraft. The engineers at the Bedfordshire site work tirelessly to restore as many aircraft as possible to flying condition, in line with the founder's original intention. There are typically about ten air shows per year, including evening displays and an annual Flying Proms event.
The Edwardian aircraft at the Bedfordshire collection
Some of the most interesting aircraft in the Bedfordshire collection are the five Edwardian aeroplanes, of which one is the oldest British aeroplane still in flying condition. The oldest, with British civil registration G-AANG, is the Bleriot XI which dates back to 1909; this aircraft still boasts its original engine. This particular flying machine was completed six years after the Wright brothers' aircraft and remains the world's oldest airworthy aeroplane, the next oldest being, at only three weeks newer by date of manufacture; the Old Rhinebeck Aerodrome's own restored original Bleriot XI in the United States of America.
Marvel at the Bedfordshire collection
Should you want a memorable day out and love vintage aircraft and cars, the Bedfordshire collection really is worth a visit. Why not put a date in your diary to visit soon?
Products available from Heritage Clay Tiles Ltd in East Sussex
Clay Roof Tiles in East Sussex
Clayhall Roof Tiles in East Sussex
Conservation Peg Tiles in East Sussex
Conservation Roof Tiles in East Sussex
Edwardian Roof Tiles in East Sussex
Georgian Roof Tiles in East Sussex
Handmade Clay Tiles in East Sussex
Handmade Roof Tiles in East Sussex
High Quality Roof Tiles in East Sussex
Traditional Clay Tiles in East Sussex
Traditional Roof Tiles in East Sussex
Victorian Roof Tiles in East Sussex
Products available from Heritage Clay Tiles Ltd in Essex
Conservation Peg Tiles in Essex
Conservation Roof Tiles in Essex
High Quality Roof Tiles in Essex
Traditional Clay Tiles in Essex
Traditional Roof Tiles in Essex
Products available from Heritage Clay Tiles Ltd in Hampshire
Clayhall Roof Tiles in Hampshire
Conservation Peg Tiles in Hampshire
Conservation Roof Tiles in Hampshire
Edwardian Roof Tiles in Hampshire
Georgian Roof Tiles in Hampshire
Handmade Clay Tiles in Hampshire
Handmade Roof Tiles in Hampshire
High Quality Roof Tiles in Hampshire
Traditional Clay Tiles in Hampshire
Traditional Roof Tiles in Hampshire
Victorian Roof Tiles in Hampshire
Products available from Heritage Clay Tiles Ltd in Hertfordshire
Clay Roof Tiles in Hertfordshire
Clayhall Roof Tiles in Hertfordshire
Conservation Peg Tiles in Hertfordshire
Conservation Roof Tiles in Hertfordshire
Edwardian Roof Tiles in Hertfordshire
Georgian Roof Tiles in Hertfordshire
Handmade Clay Tiles in Hertfordshire
Handmade Roof Tiles in Hertfordshire
High Quality Roof Tiles in Hertfordshire
Traditional Clay Tiles in Hertfordshire
Traditional Roof Tiles in Hertfordshire
Victorian Roof Tiles in Hertfordshire
Products available from Heritage Clay Tiles Ltd in Kent
Conservation Peg Tiles in Kent
Conservation Roof Tiles in Kent
High Quality Roof Tiles in Kent
Traditional Clay Tiles in Kent
Traditional Roof Tiles in Kent
Products available from Heritage Clay Tiles Ltd in London
Conservation Peg Tiles in London
Conservation Roof Tiles in London
Edwardian Roof Tiles in London
High Quality Roof Tiles in London
Traditional Clay Tiles in London
Traditional Roof Tiles in London
Victorian Roof Tiles in London
Products available from Heritage Clay Tiles Ltd in Surrey
Conservation Peg Tiles in Surrey
Conservation Roof Tiles in Surrey
Edwardian Roof Tiles in Surrey
High Quality Roof Tiles in Surrey
Traditional Clay Tiles in Surrey
Traditional Roof Tiles in Surrey
Victorian Roof Tiles in Surrey
Products available from Heritage Clay Tiles Ltd in West Sussex
Clay Roof Tiles in West Sussex
Clayhall Roof Tiles in West Sussex
Conservation Peg Tiles in West Sussex
Conservation Roof Tiles in West Sussex
Edwardian Roof Tiles in West Sussex
Georgian Roof Tiles in West Sussex
Handmade Clay Tiles in West Sussex
Handmade Roof Tiles in West Sussex
High Quality Roof Tiles in West Sussex
Traditional Clay Tiles in West Sussex
Traditional Roof Tiles in West Sussex
Victorian Roof Tiles in West Sussex
Products available from Heritage Clay Tiles Ltd in Bedfordshire
Clay Roof Tiles in Bedfordshire
Clayhall Roof Tiles in Bedfordshire
Conservation Peg Tiles in Bedfordshire
Conservation Roof Tiles in Bedfordshire
Edwardian Roof Tiles in Bedfordshire
Georgian Roof Tiles in Bedfordshire
Handmade Clay Tiles in Bedfordshire
High Quality Roof Tiles in Bedfordshire
Traditional Clay Tiles in Bedfordshire
Products available from Heritage Clay Tiles Ltd in Berkshire
Clayhall Roof Tiles in Berkshire
Conservation Peg Tiles in Berkshire
Conservation Roof Tiles in Berkshire
Edwardian Roof Tiles in Berkshire
Georgian Roof Tiles in Berkshire
Handmade Clay Tiles in Berkshire
Handmade Roof Tiles in Berkshire
High Quality Roof Tiles in Berkshire
Traditional Clay Tiles in Berkshire
Products available from Heritage Clay Tiles Ltd in Buckinghamshire
Clay Roof Tiles in Buckinghamshire
Clayhall Roof Tiles in Buckinghamshire
Conservation Peg Tiles in Buckinghamshire
Conservation Roof Tiles in Buckinghamshire
Edwardian Roof Tiles in Buckinghamshire
Georgian Roof Tiles in Buckinghamshire
Handmade Clay Tiles in Buckinghamshire
Handmade Roof Tiles in Buckinghamshire
High Quality Roof Tiles in Buckinghamshire
Traditional Clay Tiles in Buckinghamshire
Products available from Heritage Clay Tiles Ltd in Cambridgeshire
Clay Roof Tiles in Cambridgeshire
Clayhall Roof Tiles in Cambridgeshire
Conservation Peg Tiles in Cambridgeshire
Conservation Roof Tiles in Cambridgeshire
Edwardian Roof Tiles in Cambridgeshire
Georgian Roof Tiles in Cambridgeshire
Handmade Clay Tiles in Cambridgeshire
Handmade Roof Tiles in Cambridgeshire
High Quality Roof Tiles in Cambridgeshire
Traditional Clay Tiles in Cambridgeshire
Traditional Roof Tiles in Cambridgeshire
Victorian Roof Tiles in Cambridgeshire
Products available from Heritage Clay Tiles Ltd in Oxfordshire
Clay Roof Tiles in Oxfordshire
Clayhall Roof Tiles in Oxfordshire
Conservation Peg Tiles in Oxfordshire
Conservation Roof Tiles in Oxfordshire
Edwardian Roof Tiles in Oxfordshire
Georgian Roof Tiles in Oxfordshire
Handmade Clay Tiles in Oxfordshire
Handmade Roof Tiles in Oxfordshire
High Quality Roof Tiles in Oxfordshire
Traditional Clay Tiles in Oxfordshire
Products available from Heritage Clay Tiles Ltd in Suffolk
Clayhall Roof Tiles in Suffolk
Conservation Peg Tiles in Suffolk
Conservation Roof Tiles in Suffolk
Edwardian Roof Tiles in Suffolk
Georgian Roof Tiles in Suffolk
Handmade Clay Tiles in Suffolk
Handmade Roof Tiles in Suffolk
High Quality Roof Tiles in Suffolk
Traditional Clay Tiles in Suffolk
Traditional Roof Tiles in Suffolk
Victorian Roof Tiles in Suffolk
Further Information
If you would like to know more or are interested in a quote we would be happy to help. Phone us on 01634 471 344, email us at sales@heritagetiles.co.uk and we will be in touch as soon as possible.
