Clay tiles were made here. We put them back on roofs here.
Stoke-on-Trent is the clay capital of England, and that applies to roofs as much as teapots. The blue-black tiles on Victorian terraces from Tunstall to Longton, the red plain tiles on cottages across Cheshire and Shropshire, the decorative club and fishtail bands on chapels and schools — most were fired from Staffordshire and Midlands clay. When we take a roof off, those tiles come back to our yard at Hot Lane, Burslem, get sorted by type and size, and go out again to roofers and homeowners who want a roof that matches the street.
This guide explains what you are looking at when you browse our reclaimed roof tiles, how to tell handmade from machine-made, and which fittings you will need. For the pros and cons of reclaimed versus new, read our earlier piece on reclaimed roof tiles and slates.
Plain tiles: the standard unit
A clay plain tile is 265 x 165mm (10½ x 6½ inches), double-lapped, with two nibs and two nail holes. Laid at a 100mm gauge you need about 60 to the square metre; at a tighter 90mm gauge nearer 65. Plain tiles need a minimum pitch of around 35° — check the original roof before you buy.
Almost everything in our plain tile stock is one of these:
Staffordshire blue. Fired from Etruria marl in a reducing (oxygen-starved) kiln, which turns the iron in the clay blue-black rather than red. Dense, almost vitrified, and extremely long-lived. We stock handmade Staffordshire blue tiles in both 10½ x 6½ and 11 x 7 inch, plus machine-made blues by the old local makers: Hartshill, Triton, Vitros and Metal. Read the full story in Staffordshire Blue: the Potteries' own clay.
Handmade reds. Softer colour variation, a slight camber and finger-marks on the back. We carry Whalley Silverdale handmade reds, BCM Silverdale handmade reds, Loughborough Tucker handmades and Shropshire handmades at 275 x 180mm — note the larger Shropshire size, common west of Market Drayton.
Acme Sandstorm. The sand-faced machine-made clay tile made for decades in Staffordshire and found on thousands of inter-war and post-war roofs. Acme Sandstorm reds, with matching eaves tiles, tile-and-a-halfs and arris hips. We also hold Dignus Sandstorm in the 11 x 7 inch size.
Rosemary. The best-known machine-made clay plain tile in Britain, smooth-faced, in red and brindle (a mottled red-brown-blue). We stock Rosemary brindle tile-and-a-half and Rosemary brindle eaves tiles alongside loose field tiles — call for current quantities.
Handmade or machine-made? How to tell
- Back of the tile. Handmade tiles show drag marks and often a thumbprint; machine-made backs are uniform.
- Camber. Handmades curve slightly along their length and across their width, which is why a handmade roof has that gentle texture. Machine-mades lie flat.
- Edges. Hand-cut edges are softer and slightly irregular; pressed tiles are crisp.
- Weight and ring. Blues ring like a bell when tapped and feel heavier than reds of the same size.
Neither is "better". Handmades suit listed buildings, conservation areas and anywhere character matters; machine-mades suit a straight match to an existing 20th-century roof and cost less.
Feature tiles: the detail that makes a Victorian roof
Decorative bands of shaped tiles were standard on better Victorian houses, schools and chapels across the Potteries and Cheshire. We stock the four classic patterns in Staffordshire blue — club, fishtail, arrowhead and beavertail — and in red: red club and red beavertail. Two or three courses of feature tiles between plain courses is the usual pattern; count the courses on a neighbouring roof.
The fittings you will need
A roof is not just field tiles. Budget for:
|
Fitting |
What it does |
Our stock |
|---|---|---|
|
Eaves / top tiles |
Short tiles (approx. 190mm) for the under-course at the eaves and the top course at the ridge |
|
|
Tile-and-a-half |
248mm-wide tiles for verges so you never cut a half tile |
|
|
Ridge tiles |
Cap the apex; half-round, hog saddle, roll-top, interlocking or crested, in 300mm and 460mm lengths |
|
|
Hip tiles |
Arris hips (plain tile roofs) or bonnet hips (handmade/traditional) |
|
|
Valley tiles |
Purpose-made tiles for a swept or laced valley |
|
|
Finials |
The ornament at the gable apex |
For exact counts, see How many reclaimed roof tiles do I need?. Everything above lives in roof fittings.
Pantiles and interlocking tiles
Not every roof in our area is plain-tiled. Single-lap pantiles and interlocking tiles cover a roof with far fewer tiles (roughly 10–17 per m² depending on profile) and work at lower pitches. We hold a large pantile and interlocking stock: Marley Double Roman red, Marley Ludlow Major, Redland Grovebury, Redland Regent, Redland Stonewold and clay Bretton red pantiles. Bring the maker's name from the back of an existing tile and we will match it.
Buying reclaimed clay tiles: our checklist
- Check nibs and holes. Reject tiles with broken nibs; we sort these out before palletising, but check on site.
- Frost damage. Look for lamination (layers lifting) on the face. Good blues almost never suffer it; soft reds from poor clay sometimes do.
- Mix sources. As with bricks, draw from several pallets to blend the weathering.
- Order fittings with the field tiles. Eaves, tile-and-a-halfs and ridges go fastest; buy them together so the colour matches.
- Allow 5–10% extra for cutting and breakage.
Frequently asked questions
How long do reclaimed clay tiles last? A sound Staffordshire blue is effectively permanent; the fixings and battens will fail long before the tile does. Handmade reds commonly give 100+ years.
Can I mix reclaimed and new tiles? You can, but new tiles will look new for a decade. Most customers use reclaimed on the front elevation and new on the back if budget is tight.
Do you deliver roof tiles? Yes, palletised across Staffordshire, Cheshire, Shropshire and Derbyshire. Contact us with your postcode and quantity.
What about natural slate? We stock Welsh and Spanish slate too, including Countess and 20 x 12 Welsh slate.
