Slate and stone slate roofs, chimney stacks, dormers and gutters across Far Headingley and Weetwood, from the cottages around Moor Road to the villas off Otley Road and Weetwood Lane. Every job starts with a free survey and a fixed quote in writing, and emergency callouts run 7 days a week.
Far Headingley lies about 5 km north-west of Leeds city centre, where Weetwood Lane meets Otley Road. Leeds City Council’s appraisal traces it to cottages built on the common of Headingley Moor. After Lord Cardigan’s Enclosure of 1829, a small village of about 30 cottages and two shops grew up around that junction, with Moor Road and Cottage Road laid out and the Three Horse Shoes opening in 1832. St Chad’s Church followed in 1869, and the tram reached Far Headingley in 1875, bringing red-brick terraces and back-to-backs to the Highburys in the 1880s. Prosperous Leeds families built large villas along Otley Road, Shaw Lane and in Weetwood. Inter-war estates such as the Moor Parks and Beckett’s Park filled in much of the rest. The result is one of the most varied roofscapes in north Leeds, and every roof gets a free survey and a fixed price in writing before we start.
The council’s Far Headingley appraisal describes simple pitched roofs: heavy, textured stone slate on the cottages of the old village core, and slate on the Victorian villas and terraces. The Far Headingley, Weetwood and West Park Neighbourhood Design Statement, which the council adopted as a supplementary planning document, adds that over the years stone flags gave way to slate, then to plain clay tiles, and lately to “less attractive concrete tiles”. Each material needs a different repair:
For more on materials, see slate and tile roofing.
Both council documents treat chimneys as part of the area’s character. The appraisal notes brick and stone stacks, “often featuring tall chimney pots”, and the Design Statement calls chimneys an integral part of most Victorian architecture here. Tall pots catch the wind, so the flaunching that holds them cracks and lets water into the stack. Other common faults are eroded pointing, split lead flashings and stacks that have started to lean. We repoint stone stacks in lime mortar, renew lead, re-bed or replace pots to match, and rebuild unsafe stacks from sound masonry.
As a starting point: repointing from £350, lead flashing from £450, partial rebuild from £600, full rebuild from £1,500, scaffolding from £400. Access and the stack’s real condition set the final price, which is fixed in writing after a free survey (by drone if the stack is hard to see). See our chimney repair costs guide or chimney repairs.
The neighbourhood includes three conservation areas, each with its own council appraisal. Far Headingley started life as the Cottage Road Conservation Area in 1972 and was later merged into Headingley. In November 2008 it was split off along Shaw Lane and Grove Lane and extended to take in terraces around Brookfield Road, houses on Hollin Lane, St Chad’s Church (Grade II*) and large 19th-century houses on Otley Road. Weetwood was designated in 1986 as part of the Meanwoodside Conservation Area, became separate in December 2008, and had its boundary reviewed in the Weetwood appraisal of 2010. West Park, covering the first Arts and Crafts houses there, was adopted in 2008.
The Weetwood appraisal describes Victorian mansion roofs with turrets, steep gables, decorative fish-scale slate, ridge tiles and finials, barge boards and tall ornate chimneys. Most are in blue and grey slate, some lodges have red tile, and the oldest buildings have stone slate. It counts 21 listed building entries, with Weetwood Hall (1625) and Spenfield both Grade II*.
We’ll flag anything that looks likely to need consent at the survey. Boundaries changed in 2008 and 2010, so check the current maps on Leeds City Council’s conservation area pages.
Early 19th-century cottages in short rows and courts off Moor Road, Cottage Road and Otley Road, some set gable-end to the street. Built of local millstone grit, much of it quarried at Meanwood.
Stone slate or slate · stone stacks · terracotta potsStone villa-terraces in the Claremonts, many of them listed, beside Edwardian brick rows. Down the slope, the 1880s–90s red-brick terraces and back-to-backs of the Highburys, where the Design Statement says some dormers have marred the roofline.
Welsh slate · brick or stone stacks · small gabled dormersHigh Victorian villas off Weetwood Lane and Otley Road by architects including Cuthbert Brodrick, John Simpson and George Corson. Many are now university halls or apartments, so roof work often goes through a managing agent.
Blue-grey slate · turrets, finials & fish-scale slate · tall stacksMoor Parks and Beckett’s Park semis in brick and render. Castle Grove Avenue has modernist pairs with curved bays and flat roofs.
Plain clay tile · flat roofs on the modernist pairsMany roofs here already have rooms in them, either in original gabled dormers on the larger villas or in later loft conversions. The Design Statement notes that Beckett’s Park’s plain-tiled roofs began almost dormer-free, but many have since had their roof spaces converted. Leaks around dormers usually come from cracked lead on the cheeks and aprons, a worn felt top on a flat-roofed dormer, or poorly flashed rooflights. We renew the lead, re-cover small flat dormer roofs and re-flash rooflights, all with a fixed written quote. Small dormer roofs are covered on our flat roofing page.
The appraisal lists horse chestnut, sycamore, beech and copper beech among the trees lining Far Headingley’s roads, most of them in front gardens close to the houses. Every autumn their leaves and seed cases fill gutters, valleys and the hoppers on downpipes, and overflowing water soaks fascias and stonework. Clearing and repairing gutters after leaf fall prevents that. Where timber fascias or barge boards have rotted, we replace them to the original profile on period houses; see fascias and soffits.
Matching stone slate on village cottages, Welsh slate on villas and terraces.
Learn More →Flaunching and tall pots re-bedded, lime repointing, new lead, rebuilds.
Learn More →Flat dormer tops, rear extensions and the flat roofs on Castle Grove Avenue’s modernist semis.
Learn More →Leaf-filled gutters, valleys and hoppers under the street trees cleared and repaired.
Learn More →Slipped slates, cracked clay tiles, leaking valleys and ridges.
Learn More →Storm damage and sudden leaks made safe, 7 days a week.
Learn More →We cover Far Headingley and Weetwood streets in LS16 and the neighbouring part of LS6, including Otley Road, Weetwood Lane, Moor Road, Cottage Road, Shaw Lane, Grove Lane, Monk Bridge Road, Hollin Lane, Hollin Road, Glen Road, Brookfield Road, Burton Crescent, Castle Grove Drive, Castle Grove Avenue, Claremont Drive, Highbury Terrace, Highbury Mount, Wilton Grove, Spring Hill Terrace, Park Terrace, Weetwood Mill Lane and Spen Lane.
See every area on our coverage map.
Book a free survey: you get a fixed price in writing, and major work carries a 10-year workmanship guarantee.
