Traditional roofs vary greatly in their design and materials. The use of Welsh slate (see examples) became very widespread from the mid to late Victorian period. Other types of slate such as Westmoreland (examples shown with Welsh slate) and Delabole Cornish slate (see examples), although less common in the midlands, provide an interesting contrast to the sometimes blanket use of Welsh slate. Hand made red clay tiles have been in use for centuries, less pleasing machine made versions became common by the 1930's (see examples).

Roof  finishers add greatly to the character of old roofs,   finishers such as finials and ridge tiles were used to great effect on Victorian houses. These finishers were usually done in contrasting red or buff terracotta. Chimney stacks also added to roof character, the use of tall decorative stacks culminated into a tour de force of design for many later Arts and Crafts and 'Queen Anne'  houses in the late 19thc and early 20thc.

Nothing beats the look of an old weathered roof, particularly where lichen, moss or even 'house leeks' has taken hold. William Morris in 1877 set perhaps the worlds first preservation group, known as The Anti Scrape. This group was so called because it opposed the scraping of old roofs of their character! This group is now known as SPAB (The Society for the Protection of Ancient Buildings).

As with doors and windows the major threat to roofs is wholesale replacement by materials that are at least visually inferior.

The main modern material that is so visually unsuitable is the 'concrete pantile'. This tile is an extremely crude imitation of a true pantile, usually coloured a dirt red or brown. These tiles appear incapable of weathering, indeed they look worse age! The worst examples can be found where re-roofing has taken place on one half of a semi, leaving either original slate or clay tiles on the other side. The effect is quite devastating. There is even concerns about the structural integrity of placing these heavy tiles onto the original roof structure not designed for this weight.

The replacement of original slate by imitation slate  made up of re-constituted slate dust and epoxy is less damaging, but still leaves a lot to be desired. Preserving original tiles is of paramount importance to house character. It rarely is the case that wholesale replacement of tiles is needed. The life of slate and clay tiles is usually far in excess than the life they are being given. Note how roof contractors carefully pack them up for re-sale! Houses from the Victorian period and beyond have roof tiles that can last well into this century and beyond with the right care. In most cases only partial replacement is only necessary, and often it is not the tiles that are failing it is their fixing nails - known as 'nail sickness' when associated with slate roofs.

The roofs shown here are a small cross section taken from a small locality within Birmingham.