Brick, clay tile and the pull of Bridgwater
North Petherton lies along the eastern foothills of the Quantocks, about 4 km south of Bridgwater, and it shares much of its building story with its bigger neighbour. Local clay was made into bricks and tiles in the parish, and the hamlet of Somerset Bridge grew up around its brickyards. While many Somerset towns are defined by one building stone, the older streets here mix rubble walls with brick, render and roughcast, and clay double Roman tiles are a common sight on the older houses.
The town's listed houses show the range. On Cliff Road, Shovel House is early 19th-century Flemish bond brick under a hipped double Roman roof. No. 83 Fore Street, built in the late 18th century, is brick too, but its hipped roof is laid in fishscale and plain tiles. 1 Church Walk is rendered and 2 Old Road roughcast, both under double Roman tiles, while the Malt House on Mill Street pairs rubble walls and brick quoins with a hipped slate roof. Over them all rises the 34-metre tower of St Mary's, a Grade I church whose listing calls the tower one of the finest in the county.
Three generations of houses
The old centre
Fore Street, the main street running north from the church, was once lined by several inns, among them the George. Behind it are Queen Street, formerly Back Street, along with Clare Street and Mill Street, and in the 19th century houses spread west from Fore Street along Tappers Lane. Expect clay tiles, old roof timbers and brick chimney stacks here.
Growth along the new roads
Around 1821 a straighter road to Bridgwater was cut through the village, and larger suburban houses followed along it. During the 1900s the town grew on three sides, and by the 1970s most of the old orchards and gardens had been built over. Roofs of that age commonly have perished underfelt, softened battens and ridges that have worked loose.
Commuter estates
The M5 made North Petherton an easy place to commute from, and several new estates followed. Building has carried on since, with Chaucer's Meadow, 72 homes off Taunton Road on land east of the A38, and Willstock Village, which also lies within the parish. Modern homes like these typically have concrete interlocking tiles, dry-fixed ridges and verges, and uPVC fascias. The faults we see are lifted verge caps, blocked gutters and, where loft ventilation is poor, condensation dripping onto the insulation.
A town on a rise, a parish on the Levels
The old centre grew around the church, on sloping ground above a stream, but much of the parish to the east is flat, low moorland running down to the River Parrett. Moorland, also known as Northmoor Green, was badly hit in the winter floods of 2013 to 2014. The Environment Agency built an earth bank to try to hold the water back, and the church there stayed shut for two years. Huntworth, by contrast, sits just above the river's flood level.
For roofs in the town itself, the bigger enemy is wind-driven rain in winter storms. It lifts loose tiles, strips mortar from ridges and exposes any weak flashing. After a storm or flood, careful photographs and a clear written description of the damage help with any insurance claim, and our roofing insurance work provides both, although the insurer decides what is covered.
Listed buildings and permissions
The town has around two dozen entries on the national list, from the Grade I church and its Grade II* churchyard cross to Georgian brick houses and modest cottages, with more out at North Newton, Huntworth and Woolmersdon. Most roof alterations to a listed building need consent. Applications are made to Somerset Council, the planning authority for the town since Sedgemoor was wound up in April 2023. Even on an unlisted house, a full re-roof will normally fall under the Building Regulations, which means extra loft insulation too. If you are unsure what applies to your property, an email to the council's planning department will settle it.
The work North Petherton homeowners ask for
On the estates, many calls are about ridges and verges. Where mortar has cracked or plastic verge caps have blown off, our ridge and verge repairs put things right before water gets in. Garages and kitchen extensions with felt roofs wear out well before the tiled roofs beside them, and we replace them with modern flat roofing systems.
On older houses in the centre, a roof can reach the point where patching no longer makes sense. We strip it, repair or replace the timbers, and fit a complete new roof with breathable membrane and matching tiles. It is also the time to top up thin loft insulation to the Energy Saving Trust's 270 mm figure for mineral wool, using our loft insulation service.
How to get a price
- Call 07933 861 087, or message hello@somersetroofing.co.uk, describing what you have spotted.
- We come out and inspect the roof, free and with no call-out fee.
- You receive photos of each fault and a written price, which you can take or leave.
- If you go ahead, we carry out the work, sweep up and remove every bit of rubbish.
If it is easier, fill in our quote request form and we will get back to you.
Our patch around North Petherton
We work in every part of the town, from Fore Street and Queen Street to the newer estates and Willstock. Outside the town we cover North Newton, Huntworth, Moorland and Northmoor Green, Shearston, Woolmersdon, Melcombe and Fordgate, and we are just as often working up the road in Bridgwater.
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