Slating
The cutting of slates for use in roofing, and the associated skills of fixing the slates to the roof.
| Status | Endangered |
| Craft category | Stone; Building crafts |
| Historic area of significance | |
| Area currently practised | |
| Origin in the UK | |
| Current no. of professionals (main income) | |
| Current no. of professionals (sideline to main income) |
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| Current no. of trainees | |
| Current total no. serious amateur makers |
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| Current total no. of leisure makers |
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| Minimum no. of craftspeople required |
History
Techniques
Local forms
Vernacular slating techniques are highly regionalised, depending on the local stone.
Sub-crafts
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Cutting/riving slate: the craft of cutting slates, usually in the quarry, for use in roofing
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Fixing slate: the skills associated with fixing slates to the roof. A particularly skilled area is the fixing of receding courses where large slates are fixed to the bottom of the roof and smaller slates fixed to the top
Issues affecting the viability of the craft
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Vernacular slating techniques are highly regionalised, and the viability of the craft varies depending on the slate or stone type, and hence depends on the region.
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The protection/conservation for vernacular slating styles and techniques vary across the country, and in some places they are discarded and substituted with modern slating.
Support organisations
- Stone Roofing Association
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Historic England – for Grade I and II* listed buildings where grants are involved
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Cadw – for Grade I and II* listed buildings where grants are involved
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Historic Scotland – for Grade I and II* listed buildings where grants are involved
Craftspeople currently known
Other information
Status: The endangeredness of slating depends on the region. Vernacular slating techniques are highly regionalised, and the viability of the craft varies depending on the slate or stone type, and hence depends on the region. In Wales and southwest England, for example, vernacular slating is critically endangered because vernacular techniques are not understood and are simply discarded and substituted with modern slating. In the Cotswolds, by contrast, there are many roofers who can produce authentic limestone slating because it isn’t possible to substitute other slating methods.
References
