Calverton, 8.2 road miles out and bearing north-north-east from Nottingham
Skylights & rooflights in Calverton
A village of old framework-knitters' cottages, colliery estates and 1960s housing, all within a short walk of each other. The roofs differ a great deal, and so does the daylight under them.
Cottages built for work, then estates built for a mine
Calverton kept its knitters' cottages and its old hosiery factory, then doubled down on housing when the colliery arrived. A low cottage roof and a council-built estate roof are different problems, and a rooflight has to suit the one it is going into.
Calverton, one roof at a time
Calverton counts 7,318 residents, which is a lot for a village, and it got there in layers: an old core, a colliery, then estates packed around both. Each layer left a different sort of roof. What follows takes them in turn, then covers the council, the weather and the drive out. For who we are and what we fit, begin on our skylight installation in Nottingham page.
01
The old core: cottages, farmhouses and a factory
The oldest buildings in Calverton were made for work. The listed buildings recorded in the village include former knitters' cottages and a former hosiery factory, together with farmhouses and their outbuildings, a war memorial, and the church of St Wilfrid. The church is listed at Grade II*. Everything else on the list is Grade II.
Knitters' cottages and a hosiery factory tell you what the village once did for a living. What they mean for a roof today is simpler: buildings of very different ages stand side by side, and each has been altered over the years in its own way, so no two slopes can be assumed to match.
Cottages like these can have low eaves and thick walls, and a knitter once needed every scrap of light that reached the frame by the window. Today the rooms behind those little windows can feel dim from October onwards. The roof is often the easiest place to add daylight without touching the front of the house.
Working with an older roof
Size comes after structure. In an older cottage the rafters can be spaced unevenly, and a loft room may have been boarded out at some point. Where a roof window sits between two rafters, the structural trimming stays simple and the opening stays clean. We note the pitch, the covering and what is under the ceiling on the survey, then explain what fits.
An old farmhouse or converted outbuilding is different again. Deep rooms with a single small window are common, and a flat rooflight set into a new roof section, or a lantern over a kitchen extension, will do far more than another window on the wall. Our page on roof lanterns covers sizes and how the raised frame is built.
If yours is one of the listed buildings, consent has to be granted before a roof opening is cut. We would rather learn that on day one than after an order has gone in.
02
Which council decides, and what is protected here
Calverton has a conservation area of its own, centred on the village.
14listed
buildings recorded inside the Calverton conservation area
16listed
listed entries around the village, 1.5 km across
Calverton falls under Gedling Borough Council for planning, not Nottingham City Council. Anything that needs the planning team, a conservation officer or Building Control starts there.
The conservation area at the centre
The Calverton conservation area takes in the middle of the village and dates from 1 January 1974. Historic England lists 14 buildings inside it, one at Grade II* and thirteen at Grade II. Draw the circle at 1.5 km around the centre and the count comes to 16, split one and fifteen.
Woodborough has its own conservation area about 1.6 km off. It belongs to the neighbouring settlement, so do not assume it covers a Calverton street.
- Grade II*
- A higher listing grade than the usual Grade II. St Wilfrid's Church holds it here.
- Conservation area
- Land designated for its character; a house there is normally free to add a rooflight, bar an Article 4 direction.
- Listed building consent
- Approval required before a listed building is altered, a new roof opening included.
What that means for a rooflight
The boundary is simple to check for any address. Live inside the boundary, or unsure whether you do, and we ask Gedling before anything is ordered. Being inside it does not remove the permitted development right on its own; the check is for an Article 4 direction, which is what would bring a front slope under an application.
England-wide rules on permitted development sit in one place, our planning permission guide, rather than being retyped here. This page sticks to what is particular to Calverton.
If Building Control needs notice, we give it, whether the body is Gedling or a registered approver, and you are given the finished paperwork.
03
Colliery Estate, Council Estate and the 1960s housing
When the colliery opened, two housing developments followed. The Colliery Estate sits within Mansfield Lane, Crookdole Lane and Park Road East. The Council Estate is bounded by Park Road, Lee Road and Flatts Lane. In the 1960s more homes went up inside Crookdole Lane, Bonner Lane and Park Road East, and by 1971 the village numbered 6,283 people.
Housing built in those decades has things in common even when the streets differ. Where a flat-roofed kitchen or a conservatory has been added at the back, that addition is usually where the light fails first. A kitchen that runs back from the original house gets a window at one end and nothing in the middle.
Choosing for the room
For a flat-roofed kitchen or garage conversion, a flat roof rooflight set over the darkest part of the room does more than a second window. Fixed units keep the line of the roof clean, and an opening one lets steam out. Over the width of a larger extension, the lantern comes into its own.
Above a loft room on a pitched roof, a roof window offers a view out and fresh air. Set where you can see sky from the pillow or the desk, it alters a winter morning.
Light for a landing or a rear bedroom
Where a house has a narrow landing at the top of the stairs, or a bathroom lit only by a small frosted pane, look there first. Those are the rooms where a roof opening makes the quickest difference, because the light arrives from above and reaches the middle of the floor instead of the edge.
When a Calverton rooflight has had its day
Where a house already has an older rooflight, such as an early dome, its condition decides the job. Yellowed plastic, a cracked frame or misting between panes means the unit is finished. Where the opening and its frame are sound, swapping only the unit is usually neater than cutting anew. We judge that once we are on the roof.
04
Forest edge, small becks and a long wet season
The area is a good place to see how land shapes roofs. Calverton was one of the forty or so townships within the old bounds of Sherwood Forest, and so came under forest law. The village stands, like its neighbours Woodborough and Lambley, on one of the small tributaries of the Dover Beck. A fish farm was opened here in 1940 by the Trent Fishery Board to stock rivers and still waters around the country.
None of that tells you the forecast. What it does say is that this is old forest ground with small watercourses nearby. For a roof, the useful points are plain.
Leaves, moss and the upstand
Trees mean leaves, and leaves pile up on a flat roof at the foot of the kerb that carries a rooflight. Wet litter sits there for weeks. We raise that kerb so pooled water stays under the glass line, and lay the roof covering to fall away from it.
Damp mornings
Cold glass collects the breath of a kitchen first. Pick a unit with a warm-edge spacer and the inner pane stays closer to room temperature; add an opening sash and steam leaves before it turns to drips. We specify glazing for the grey months because that is when Calverton lights are on all day.
Roofs that carry moss
Shaded slopes grow moss. The flashing around a roof window should be made for the exact tile or slate, so water runs past instead of lodging at the sides. It costs little to get right at fitting and a lot to redo.
05
Getting to Calverton for a survey
8.2miles
miles of road to Nottingham centre
19minutes
at the wheel, traffic allowing
Expect about 8.2 road miles from Nottingham city centre, bearing north-north-east, and around 19 minutes at the wheel. No A or B road comes within about 1 km of the village middle, and no rail or tram stop lies within 2 km, so everything here is reached by van along local lanes.
Your visit
Nothing is charged for it. One of us stands in the room first and works out where the daylight stops. Then it is up to the roof to inspect the pitch, the covering and the timbers below. A written price follows, and it stays put: what is on paper is what you pay.
On the estates, the questions are about access: where the van can park, whether a side gate leads round the back, and whether a ladder can reach the roof without passing through the hall.
Rules and paperwork
Each fitting meets the Building Regulations in force today. A guarantee on our workmanship, lasting ten years, comes in writing.
Beyond the village
Villages around Calverton are listed on the areas page, and the whole 30-mile ring is covered. A landing, or a bathroom without any window, is where a sun tunnel earns its place: it carries daylight down from the roof.
Asked by people with a dark room in Calverton
Is Calverton's conservation area a problem for a rooflight?
On its own, usually not. Gedling Borough Council is the authority, and what would put a rooflight under an application is an Article 4 direction for the street. We check your address against Gedling's Article 4 list before any order is placed, then pick the slope that suits the room. Listed houses need their own consent.
Our estate house has a flat-roofed kitchen built onto the back. What would light it best?
A flat rooflight over the middle of the room, where the window light runs out, usually does more than extra wall glazing. A wider extension may suit a lantern. At the visit we examine the room first, climb up to the roof second, and quote third one written price for whichever suits, not a range.
The old dome on our extension has gone yellow. Can it just be replaced?
Often. When the kerb and surrounding roof are sound, a fresh unit can sit on the opening already there, which is neater than cutting again. If the kerb has failed, or the hole is too small for the light you want, we tell you during the visit.
Do you work in Calverton itself, given there is no railway station or main road?
Yes. Calverton is about 8 road miles out, well inside our 30-mile ring, and the visit costs nothing. There is no showroom, as we go to you, and we will ask beforehand where the van should stop.