Traditional clay tiles in Suffolk
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.
Traditional clay tiles
Traditional clay tiles for a traditional home
Traditional clay tiles have a very long heritage in the United Kingdom. In fact, you don't have to look very hard to see traditional clay tiles finishing off some of the country's most iconic and historic properties.
Traditional clay tiles are still very popular, and with good reason too. While modern concrete tiles lose their colour over time, clay tiles hold their hue and even mature gracefully with age. They're incredibly durable, typically lasting around sixty years or even longer.
Modern, machine-made clay tiles can be used in both contemporary and traditional builds. But where authenticity is a primary concern, there's no substitute for traditional clay tiles.
What are Heritage Clay Tiles Ltd traditional clay tiles?
Historically, the clay for roof tiles was dug locally and left to weather before being worked. The blocks of clay were mixed with water and moulding sand before being thrown into wooden moulds, wire-cut to size and finished by hand. The tiles were stacked to dry out in the sun before being kiln-fired to secure the colour and texture.
The regional variation in the type of clay and moulding sands available, as well as the firing methods used, led to the many differences in the finished traditional clay tiles we see across the country today.
Differences could even be seen between tiles made by the same craftsman. His skills would add to the rich texture of the traditional clay tiles, providing the kind of individuality that's almost impossible to copy with a purely mechanised tile production process.
Types of traditional clay tiles
Handmade designs are available in wide range of shapes and sizes, including unusual ornamental styles, such as club and bull nose designs. However, the most common options are plain tiles and pantiles.
Plain clay tiles were standardised in the 15th century to a size of 6.5" wide, 10.5" deep and 0.5" thick. Those dimensions remain today, though machine-made versions are produced in equivalent metric sizes. Handmade traditional clay tiles are still crafted in imperial sizes to maintain the right proportions on restoration projects.
Traditionally, clay roof tiles were arched only along the length and had no other decorative features; however, they did have nibs and nail holes included for fitting purposes. Plain tiles are laid in a broken bond, known as double lapping, to achieve a watertight finish.
Pantiles tend to be more popular in certain parts of the country, such as the east coast of England and Scotland. These single-lap tiles are moulded into a flattened 'S' shape, creating a characteristic wave-and-trough look, although they have been used on many properties in the South East of England for many years too. The laying pattern and the fact that pantiles are larger than plain designs means that you only need around seventeen or so tiles per metre squared of roof space.
The clay used in traditional clay tiles from Heritage Clay Tiles Ltd
Generally, the clay used in traditional clay tiles is coarser than that used for machine-made tiles, while the finish is typically 'sand faced' to give a rough texture. The firing process can be used to enhance the colour, for example to create a brindled appearance.
A little information about Suffolk
Lowestoft in Suffolk
Lowestoft is a vibrant coastal town and civil parish in the East Suffolk district of Suffolk. As the most easterly settlement in the United Kingdom, it is 110 miles north-east of London, 38 miles north-east of Ipswich and 22 miles south-east of Norwich, and the main town in its district. The estimated population in the built-up area exceeds 70,000. Its development grew with the fishing industry and as a seaside resort with wide sandy beaches. As fishing declined, oil and gas exploitation in the North Sea in the 1960s took over. While these too have declined, Lowestoft is becoming a regional centre of the renewable energy industry.
History of Lowestoft in Suffolk
Some of the earliest signs of settlement in Britain have been found in this Suffolk resort. Flint tools discovered in the Pakefield cliffs of south Lowestoft in 2005 allow human habitation of the area to be traced back 700,000 years.
Habitation occurred in the Neolithic, Bronze and Iron ages and in the Roman and Saxon times. Several finds have been made at a Saxon cemetery at Bloodmoor Hill in south Lowestoft. The place name derives from a Norse personal name, Hlothver, and toft, an Old Norse word for homestead. It has been spelt historically as Lothnwistoft, Lothuwistoft, Lestoffe, Laistoe, Loystoft and Laystoft.
The 1086 Domesday Book gives Lothuwistoft village some sixteen households in three families, with ten smallholders and three slaves. The manor formed part of the king's holding in the Hundred of Lothingland, worth about four geld in tax income. Roger Bigod was the tenant in chief. The lost Suffolk village of Akethorpe may have lain close by.
In the Middle Ages, this part of Suffolk became an important fishing town that came to challenge its neighbour, Great Yarmouth. The trade, particularly for herring, continued as the town's main identity into the 20th century.
The naval Battle of Lowestoft in June 1665 was the first in the Second Anglo-Dutch War. Held 40 miles off the coast, it was a victory for the English.
Suffolk pottery in Lowestoft
Lowestoft Porcelain Factory, in 1757-1802, was in production for longer than any English soft-paste porcelain manufacturer other than Royal Worcester and Royal Crown Derby, producing domestic pots, teapots and jugs. It stood on the site of an existing pottery or brick kiln, and used later as a brewery and malt kiln. Most of its remaining buildings were demolished in 1955.
A railway to connect Suffolk towns
Sir Samuel Morton Peto's arrival in Lowestoft in the 19th-century brought a change in the Suffolk town's fortunes, including its fishing industry. Peto was given the task of building a line for the Lowestoft Railway and Harbour Company, connecting with Reedham and the city of Norwich. This had a major impact on the town's industrial development, as now its fishing fleets could sell to markets across Suffolk and further inland, and other industries such as engineering gained from increased trade with the continent. Peto's railway enabled Lowestoft to become a flourishing Suffolk seaside holiday resort; much of Peto's seaside resort in south Lowestoft still exists, including the Grade II listed Kirkley Cliff and Wellington Esplanade terraces.
During World War I, Lowestoft was bombarded by the German Navy on 24 April 1916 in conjunction with the Easter Rising. The port was a major naval base during the war, including for armed trawlers such as Ethel & Millie and Nelson used to combat German U-boat actions in the North Sea such as that of 15 August 1917. In World War II the town was heavily bombed by the Luftwaffe for its engineering industry and role as a naval base. It is sometimes placed among the UK's most heavily bombed towns per head of population. The Royal Naval Patrol Service was mobilised in August 1939, mainly by trawlermen and fishermen of the Royal Naval Reserve in Suffolk. Its depot, HMS Europa, was also known locally as the Sparrow's Nest.
Products available from Heritage Clay Tiles Ltd in East Sussex
Clay Roof Tiles in East Sussex
Clayhall Roof Tiles in East Sussex
Conservation Roof Tiles in East Sussex
Edwardian Roof Tiles in East Sussex
Victorian 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
Products available from Heritage Clay Tiles Ltd 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 Roof Tiles in Hampshire
Edwardian Roof Tiles in Hampshire
Victorian 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
Products available from Heritage Clay Tiles Ltd in Hertfordshire
Clay Roof Tiles in Hertfordshire
Clayhall Roof Tiles in Hertfordshire
Conservation Roof Tiles in Hertfordshire
Edwardian Roof Tiles in Hertfordshire
Victorian 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
Products available from Heritage Clay Tiles Ltd 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 Roof Tiles in London
Edwardian Roof Tiles in London
Victorian Roof Tiles in London
High Quality Roof Tiles in London
Traditional clay tiles in London
Traditional roof tiles in London
Products available from Heritage Clay Tiles Ltd in Surrey
Conservation Roof Tiles in Surrey
Edwardian Roof Tiles in Surrey
Victorian Roof Tiles in Surrey
High Quality Roof Tiles in Surrey
Traditional clay tiles in Surrey
Traditional 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 Roof Tiles in West Sussex
Edwardian Roof Tiles in West Sussex
Victorian 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
Products available from Heritage Clay Tiles Ltd in Bedfordshire
Clay Roof Tiles in Bedfordshire
Clayhall Roof Tiles in Bedfordshire
Conservation Roof Tiles in Bedfordshire
Edwardian Roof Tiles in Bedfordshire
Victorian Roof Tiles in Bedfordshire
Georgian Roof Tiles in Bedfordshire
Handmade Clay Tiles in Bedfordshire
Handmade Roof Tiles in Bedfordshire
High Quality Roof Tiles in Bedfordshire
Traditional clay tiles in Bedfordshire
Traditional roof tiles in Bedfordshire
Products available from Heritage Clay Tiles Ltd in Buckinghamshire
Clay Roof Tiles in Buckinghamshire
Clayhall Roof Tiles in Buckinghamshire
Conservation Roof Tiles in Buckinghamshire
Edwardian Roof Tiles in Buckinghamshire
Victorian 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
Traditional roof tiles in Buckinghamshire
Products available from Heritage Clay Tiles Ltd in Cambridgeshire
Clay Roof Tiles in Cambridgeshire
Clayhall Roof Tiles in Cambridgeshire
Conservation Roof Tiles in Cambridgeshire
Edwardian Roof Tiles in Cambridgeshire
Victorian 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
Products available from Heritage Clay Tiles Ltd in Oxfordshire
Clay Roof Tiles in Oxfordshire
Clayhall Roof Tiles in Oxfordshire
Conservation Roof Tiles in Oxfordshire
Edwardian Roof Tiles in Oxfordshire
Victorian 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
Traditional roof tiles in Oxfordshire
Products available from Heritage Clay Tiles Ltd in Suffolk
Clayhall Roof Tiles in Suffolk
Conservation Roof Tiles in Suffolk
Edwardian Roof Tiles in Suffolk
Victorian 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 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.
