Matlock: a north-westerly run of 25.6 road miles from the city centre
Skylights & rooflights in Matlock
The county town of Derbyshire, on the River Derwent in the south-eastern part of the Peak District. Seven conservation areas lie near the centre, so a new rooflight starts with a check on listing and Article 4 status.
Stone from the hills, houses on the slopes
The valley's sandstones and gritstones were quarried for building, and the limestones for building and for lime. Where a house has thick stone walls, they hold warmth well and let in little daylight, which is why a rooflight can do the work a window cannot.
Matlock, from the Derwent upwards
Matlock is the county town of Derbyshire, a town of 11,990 people in the south-eastern part of the Peak District, with the National Park directly to its west. At 25.6 road miles it is towards the outer edge of our area, and its centre carries several conservation areas and many listed buildings. We start with those, then cover the stone, the river, the road in and what we would fit. See also skylight installation in Nottingham for how a job runs.
01
Seven conservation areas within 1.4 km
The local planning authority for Matlock is Derbyshire Dales District Council. The planning dataset records seven conservation areas close to the centre, and five of them carry the town's name.
Matlock Bridge is the one under the centre point of the town: designated 3 October 1989, with three listed buildings inside. Matlock Bank, 0.17 km away, dates from 5 August 1986 and has five. Old Matlock, 0.27 km out, was designated on 7 October 1980 and has 17. Matlock Dale, 0.31 km away, was designated on 8 September 1972 and has eight. Lumsdale lies 0.75 km out, designated 1 April 1980, with eight listed buildings. Matlock Bath, 1.39 km away, designated on 8 September 1972, has 35. Riber, 1.25 km away and probably a neighbouring settlement, was designated on 25 June 1971 and has six.
Historic England lists 48 buildings in the 1.5 km surrounding area, eight at Grade II* and 40 at Grade II.
What it means for you
Seven separate boundaries in a short walk is a lot to keep straight.
Your house may be inside one of these. Conservation areas do not ban rooflights, and a rooflight on a house is still permitted development there; an Article 4 direction or a listed building is what changes that, and we check for both before work starts. Conservation-grade rooflights, which sit flush and are slim in the frame, are often the right type here. A listed house must get consent before its roof is opened, whichever conservation area it sits in.
| Area | Distance | Designated | Listed |
|---|---|---|---|
| Matlock Bridge | 0 km | 1989 | 3 |
| Matlock Bank | 0.17 km | 1986 | 5 |
| Old Matlock | 0.27 km | 1980 | 17 |
| Matlock Dale | 0.31 km | 1972 | 8 |
| Lumsdale | 0.75 km | 1980 | 8 |
| Riber | 1.25 km | 1971 | 6 |
| Matlock Bath | 1.39 km | 1972 | 35 |
02
Quarried locally, built on the slope
Quarrying here is old trade. The sandstones and gritstones were cut for building at places such as Bentley Brook Quarries, while the limestones went into building and lime-making at sites like Harvey Dale Quarries. Where a Matlock house is built of that stone, the walls are thick, the windows small and the roof often a heavy covering on strong timbers.
A few Matlock details are recorded. The Victorian bandstand in the park hosts brass bands in the summer and the annual Victorian Christmas Weekend on the first weekend of December. Holt Terrace is a five-house terrace looking down on the southern junction of Holt Lane with Dale Road.
What stone walls change
A house with thick stone walls rarely gets enough light from windows deep in the reveals. Adding daylight from the roof avoids touching the stonework at all, which suits a protected street. A flush conservation rooflight keeps the roofline clean from outside and brings a lot of sky inside.
Heavy coverings
Weight is the other thing a hillside roof adds to the list. Stone slate and thick tile are heavy, and the timbers beneath them were sized for that load.
Stone slate and heavy tile need care. The roof has to be opened and re-laid around the frame without breaking the pieces. We plan that on the survey, not on the roof on the day, and we say if the covering can be lifted and reused.
- Reveal
- The depth of wall around a window opening, which shades the glass in a thick-walled house.
- Flush rooflight
- A low-profile unit whose glass lies nearly level with the slates or tiles around it.
- Dormer
- A small vertical window set in a pitched roof, with its own roof above.
03
The gorge, the hills and the weather in a valley
What the shape of the ground does to a roof.
The River Derwent cuts through Matlock. Its valley marks a boundary between the gritstones of the Dark Peak to the north-east and the limestones of the White Peak to the south-west. South of the town the river has carved a limestone gorge below High Tor, which rises 120 m above the river. Masson Hill is 1.9 km from the centre and Oker Hill 3 km. A mill pond sits near the town, and the watercourses were once harnessed to power corn mills, cloth mills and other mills.
Green space is close: Hall Leys Park is 0.1 km from the centre, The Ship Loads 0.3 km, Allenhill Park 0.4 km, Sparrow Park 0.6 km and Asker Lane Fields 1.1 km.
Steep ground, wet roofs
A valley town is shaped by its slopes, and so are its roofs.
Weather is easiest to describe in plain terms. A valley funnels wind and holds damp air, and a hillside house takes rain at an angle. Details matter: the flashing has to be fully lapped, and the frame fixings must suit the heavy covering.
120m
High Tor above the river
0.1km
Hall Leys Park from the centre
Light in a deep valley
Rooms on the shaded side of a valley meet the worst of the winter. Steep valley sides cut the day short, and low winter sun may not clear the ridge at all. That is the case for placing the opening over the part of the room that is farthest from every window. Good glazing helps in the same cold, since an inner pane that stays warm mists less.
04
A drive up the Derwent and three stations at hand
Matlock is 25.6 miles up the road, bearing north-west from the city centre, a drive of about 41 minutes in a van. That is close to the limit of our patch, and we plan our visits with that in mind.
The A6, A615 and A632 all run near the town centre. An access road with its own bridge over the Derwent lets the A6 bypass the town centre. For rail, the map shows Matlock station 0.3 km away, Matlock Riverside 0.9 km and Matlock Bath 1.7 km, all open. Our ladders do not travel by train.
Boundaries first
An address near the edge of town can sit under a different planning authority.
Matlock's position at the park edge makes this a real question, not a formality.
The Peak District National Park sits directly west of the town. Before we quote, we find out which side of a boundary your house stands on, and which authority therefore decides.
25.6road miles
north-west of Nottingham
41minutes
usual van time
The survey
It costs nothing. Inside first, in the room that stays dark; then the roof. A written price follows, and the figure is not changed on the day. On hillside streets we want to know beforehand where the van can stand and how the ladders reach the back.
Everything within our radius of Nottingham is covered, and you can see the neighbouring places on the areas we cover page.
05
What suits a protected stone town
Start from the room, then the roof, then the rules. For the national picture, our planning permission for rooflights page covers what applies across England, and the local detail is Derbyshire Dales.
Roof window on a pitched slope
A roof window takes care of most bedrooms and attic rooms under a slope. In a conservation area we choose a slim, low-profile frame in a dark finish so it blends with the covering, and we favour the back slope.
Sun tunnel for the stair
Stone houses often have a stair running through the middle of the plan with no daylight. A sun tunnel leaves the roofline almost untouched: only a small dome shows. It lights the stair and landing without moving a wall.
Lantern or flat rooflight on an extension
Where a kitchen has been added behind an older house, a roof lantern or a flat roof rooflight gives the new room the light the old one never had. These sit at the back and are seldom seen from the street.
The paperwork
Our quote already allows for the extra checking, so nothing is added later.
Where a listed house needs consent, we would rather carry the paperwork than leave it to you.
Where a Building Control notification is required it is ours to make, and the written guarantee on the work runs for ten years.
Inside a hillside house
Houses cut into a slope often have a dark back room against the bank and a landing that never sees the sky. From inside, you notice it at once: the lamp on at noon, the curtains pulled to catch any brightness. A rooflight does not change the hill, but it can bring daylight to the back room from above, where the hill cannot block it. Thick walls also mean deep window reveals, which soak up light, so a unit in the roof often does more than a larger wall window would. We stand in the room, look up and mark the spot before choosing the size, and we point out which positions can be cleaned from a landing or a step.
Matlock: planning and light, answered
Which Matlock conservation area am I in?
There are several, including Matlock Bridge, Matlock Bank, Old Matlock, Matlock Dale and Lumsdale, with Matlock Bath just beyond. Derbyshire Dales District Council holds the maps. Give us your postcode and we find out for you before a rooflight is specified, so the type and position are right from the start.
Will the council allow a rooflight on a listed house?
It needs listed building consent, and each case is judged on its own merits. A slim, flush unit on a back slope has the best chance. We prepare the right product and position, and tell you plainly whether we think it is worth applying.
Is Matlock too far out for you?
It is 25.6 road miles from Nottingham, still inside our 30. We come to the house for the free survey, because there is no showroom to visit. The written quote is fixed, and the distance does not appear as an extra on the day. We also try to do the survey in one visit.
Our stone house has almost no light on the stairs. What can we do?
A sun tunnel is often the neatest answer, because it only needs a small dome on the roof and leaves the walls alone. If the stairs sit under a slope, a roof window is another option. Both get measured at the survey, and you receive a single fixed price for the one that suits.