Whitehaven roofs, done the way a conservation area needs.
A Georgian grid, hundreds of listed buildings and a conservation area over most of the centre. That changes what can go on the roof, and we work to it. A family firm of 20 years. Free quotes, 24 hour call-outs.
Get a free quote.
No call-out charge, and no obligation.
Written prices
the quote is the price, agreed before we start
Free quotes
no call-out charge, and a written price before anyone starts
24 hours
someone answers the phone, storm or shine
Fully insured
every job covered, from a single slate to a full re-roof
01/
Roofing in Whitehaven.
Whitehaven is not an ordinary West Cumbrian town to work on. It was laid out on a grid by the Lowthers from the 1680s, one of the earliest planned towns in Britain since the Middle Ages, and the centre is a conservation area with a great many listed buildings inside it. Those Georgian and early Victorian terraces are tall, steep-roofed, packed tight, and they were built with natural slate and lead. That is what has to go back on them.
In practice that means a few things you will not run into in a 1970s estate. Concrete interlocking tile is not an option on a street elevation, and neither is a cement fillet where a lead flashing belongs. A rooflight on a roof slope that can be seen from the street generally needs consent, and a conservation rooflight that sits flush with the slate rather than proud of it. If a building is listed, changing the covering is listed building consent territory, not permitted development. We will tell you which category you are in before you spend anything.
The chimney stacks are the other Whitehaven speciality. These houses have tall stacks with several pots, often shared across a party wall and often not touched since the fires went out. Flaunching cracks, pots loosen, the lead soakers perish, and water runs down inside the stack into the top bedroom. A good proportion of the leaks we are called to in the town centre are the chimney, not the roof.
Away from the old centre there is plenty of ordinary work too — the Victorian terraces up the hill, the post-war estates, and the commercial and flat roofs round the harbour and the retail edges. It is a five mile run from the yard, so we are in Whitehaven most days of the week.
02/
What the weather does here.
Whitehaven faces the Irish Sea with nothing in the way, and the prevailing south-westerlies arrive carrying salt. Salt is quietly destructive on a roof: it corrodes ordinary nails and fixings from the outside in, and it eats at the mortar bedding under ridge tiles until a gale takes them off.
The town's own shape makes it worse. Wind funnelling up between tall terraces gets under the edge of a slate in a way it never would on an open estate, so the eaves course and the verges are where roofs here start to go.
It is why we specify differently on the coast. Stainless or copper nails rather than galvanised, and mechanically fixed ridges rather than bedded ones, on any roof close enough to the sea to taste it.
03/
What we do most of in Whitehaven.
Every town on this coast wears its roofs out differently. These are the jobs that come up here — but we do the lot, so if yours is not on the list, ring and describe it.
Heritage roofing
Listed and conservation-area property, done in the right materials.
Heritage roofing in Whitehaven
Chimneys and leadwork
Tall shared stacks, parapets and secret gutters — the town's signature work.
Chimneys and leadwork in Whitehaven
Slating and tiling
Natural slate re-covering, like for like, as the conservation area requires.
Slating and tiling in Whitehaven
Repairs and leaks
Salt-corroded fixings mean slipped slates after every real blow.
Repairs and leaks in Whitehaven
04/
What people round here say.
“Bryan and his team fitted a new slate roof on my house and did a fantastic job. Brian explained fully what the work entailed and answered all of my questions. They are professionals and I would highly recommend them.”
Amanda Wright
New slate roof — , 30 November 2020
“I contacted Riverside roofing with an emergency issue at my holiday let. He ( Bryan) returned my call immediately, offered to go to the property in less than an hour to assess the problem, without any charges for looking at the problem. Absolutely fantastic service, with customer service to match, reliable with a positive attitude. I thoroughly recommend Riverside Roofing.”
lisa McAleavey
Emergency call-out to a holiday let — Google, 24 August 2024
“Excellent service. I phoned on Monday & they were able to start work on my badly leaking roof on the Friday. Job finished on the Saturday. Thank you to Brian & the lads. Highly recommend this company.”
Joanne Whitehead
Badly leaking roof — Google, 21 November 2022
“Fantastic service. Prompt, friendly and 100% professional. Explained everything clearly and got job started and finished with remarkable quality. ( a visiting friend is a roofer and ‘remarkable quality’ are his words) left yard clean and tidy. Team singing and happy on job- really cheered us up. CWould recommend to anyone. Thanks guys!!!”
Lucy Wills
Roof damage repair and installation — Google, 28 November 2022
“Great job done on guttering, quick and efficient, very friendly”
malcolm cavanagh
Guttering — Google, 22 November 2019
“Top service! Came out after some storm damage to my roof by storm Eowyn. They were there within the hour from me making contact and carried out a temp fix and make the roof watertight whilst i logged a claim with my insurers. Once my insurance claim was authorised they came straight back out to do the permanent repairs and even waited for the insurance payout to hit my bank before I paid them. All done in good faith and nothing was too much trouble. Would definitely recommend.”
Wayne McCarron
Storm damage and insurance repair — Google, 10 February 2025
“Bryan and his team did an excellent job replacing my roof, facias and guttering, leaving everything clean and tidy when they finished. I would have no hesitation in recommending Riverside Roofing.”
diane harrison
New roof, fascias and guttering — Google, 6 July 2024
“Great response, only a small job but done within 24 hours of the initial enquiry.”
Kevin Howland
Small repair — Google, 12 February 2025
“Would highly recommend, very professional and all work completed on the agreed time. Exceptional work!”
Mark Gillgrass
Roofing work — Google, 25 June 2025
100%
of the 15 reviews on our page recommend us, and Google has us at 4.7 out of 5. Every word of them is somebody else's, so go and read them there rather than here.
Get the Whitehaven roof priced properly.
Coming out to look costs nothing and there's no call-out charge. You get a written price before anyone lifts a slate.