Marple rooflights, from the Goyt up to the moor edge

Skylights and rooflights for Marple's hillside homes above the Goyt

Marple's homes climb from the River Goyt towards the moorland, from terraces built for mill workers to suburban houses that came with the buses and trains. The right rooflight depends on the room and on who opens it.

Canal-side and All Saints addresses checked with Stockport Council before we quote
Higher streets near the moor edge get the opening and rain question settled first
Mill-era terrace lofts matched to the covering on the roof

5 road miles east of Stockport

Marple is a town in the Metropolitan Borough of Stockport, on the River Goyt, and it covers just over 11 square miles of countryside, from wooded valleys to hill-top moorland. The land rises from about 262 feet at the Goyt to 1,073 feet at Cobden Edge. From 1790 the village grew around Samuel Oldknow's lime kilns and mills, with terraces built to house the workers and a village centre of private businesses. It grew again as a residential suburb of Stockport once frequent bus and rail services arrived in the 1920s.

That mix sets the daily questions. A terrace near the old village has a loft to turn into a room. A house on a higher street has a window that catches more weather. A suburban house may have an extension at the back under a flat roof. For each, we start with the person at the handle, the height of the glass and the cleaning of the outside, and a fixed written quote follows.

Rooflights that suit Marple's slopes

Conservation rooflights for older and protected roofs, roof windows and VELUX windows for lofts, electric opening where the window is out of reach, and lanterns for wider extensions.

Close-up of a white roof window handle with its key lock

Marple rooflights in everyday use

A loft room in a hillside terrace may have its window high on the slope, so we agree early whether you open it with a rod or a motor.
A loft bedroom wants a blind that darkens the room fully, while a stair window is happy with a light filter. We choose with the room.
On a higher street, a rain sensor on a VELUX electric or solar window closes it as the first drops fall, which suits a house left empty.
The outside glass of a window high on a steep slope is hard to reach, so we show how each model is cleaned from inside before you order.

Marple: hillside, canal and suburb

Higher streets, mill-era terraces, canal-side conservation areas and later extensions each raise a different question at a Marple survey.

Does a higher street towards the moor edge change what we should fit?

Marple's land rises from about 262 feet at the River Goyt to 1,073 feet at Cobden Edge. A house by the river and one near the top are both in Marple, but their roofs meet different weather. On the higher streets a roof takes more wind and rain, and a window left open in the morning may meet a shower by noon.

Closing the window for you

Rain sensors come on VELUX electric and solar roof windows and shut the window at the first drops. They are not part of a manual window, so the idea only helps where a motor does the opening. For a bedroom or a bathroom at the top of the house, it can be the difference between a damp sill and a dry one. Our rain sensor guide shows how the sensor behaves and what it cannot do.

Reaching it at all

A window high on a steep slope is also hard to touch. Electric opening takes the effort out of it, and the blind can run on the same remote. If you would rather have a manual window, a rod does the job. Our comparison of electric and solar opening helps decide.

Not every house on a hill

None of this applies to every Marple roof. A sheltered house in the valley meets less weather than one on the ridge, and we look at yours before saying what it needs. The honest answer is sometimes a plain manual window.

Hillside habit

If the window is high and the house is empty by day, let the window close itself. If neither is true, keep it manual.

We live in a terrace from the mill era. What goes into its roof?

From 1790 the village grew, with terraces built to house mill workers. Houses in Pennine-edge villages are commonly built of local gritstone and roofed in stone slate or Welsh slate, so if your Marple terrace is one of them, the roof covering is the first thing we check. It decides the flashing kit, and it is also what a conservation rooflight is judged against.

A loft room in a terrace

A terrace loft is usually narrow and long. The window sits close to the bed or the desk, so the handle position matters more than the glass size. Stand where you would stand to open it and ask whether you can reach it without leaning. If you cannot, a rod or motor saves regret later. The flashing page for slate and tile explains how a window is sealed into the covering.

Cleaning on a steep slope

Stone-slate and Welsh slate are slippery underfoot, and nobody should climb a slope to wipe a pane. Some roof windows pivot or tilt so the outer glass can be cleaned from inside the room, and we show you how on the model you choose. It is the sort of detail that matters in the second year, when the glass starts to show the weather.

Blinds in a small room

A bedroom in a loft usually wants a blackout blind. A study under the same roof may need only a roller. Whatever you choose, it should work from the same control as the window itself. The blinds and controls page lays out the options.

Paperwork for a loft

Converting a loft counts as building work, and anyone using the new floor must be able to leave it safely in a fire. The Building Regulations guide explains the rules. For a rooflight alone, the planning guide gives the position. Our page on loft conversion roof windows goes into placing them.

Parts of Marple are in conservation areas. Where does that leave a rooflight?

Conservation areas recorded in Marple include All Saints and the Macclesfield Canal, and Stockport Council publishes its own documents for each. Living in one does not by itself take away the right to add a rooflight in England. Parts of Marple also carry Article 4 directions. Across many of Stockport's conservation areas, a direction brings changes to a roof on the sides of a house facing a road, a waterway or public open space under planning permission. The council keeps a list of its Article 4 directions, and we check your address against it before we quote.

The canals

The Peak Forest Canal runs through the town with the Marple Lock Flight and Marple Aqueduct, which opened in 1800, and the Macclesfield Canal passes through as well. For a house near either canal, the address check comes first.

If your house is listed

Historic England has listed buildings here, among them the Manor House and 24 and 26 Church Lane, both at Grade II. For a listed house, listed building consent is almost always required before a rooflight is added or changed, and the design is the council's decision as much as yours. Our page on listed houses and conservation rooflights covers the route.

Choosing a rooflight that suits an older roof

A conservation rooflight lies flush with the covering and has a slim central bar. From the lane it blends into the slope. Choosing one is a short read before the survey.

Words from the council's papers

Article 4 area: A council order that takes away certain building freedoms across a mapped area.
Setting: The surroundings of a protected building or place, which can matter as much as the building.
Flush rooflight: A rooflight sitting level with the roof covering.

Our suburban house has been extended at the back. Which kind of rooflight lights the new room?

Marple grew as a residential suburb of Stockport after frequent bus and rail services arrived in the 1920s, and Marple still has two stations, Marple and Rose Hill Marple. If your house dates from that suburban growth and has been extended at the back, the flat roof over the new room is where light can come in, and the question is how much of it you want and how you will manage it.

The choice

A flat rooflight is low on its upstand, easy to wipe and neat from the garden. A lantern rises above the roof and gives a wider room more height. Both can be fixed or opening, and a motor takes the stepladder out of opening one. We look at the kitchen table, the cooker and the sun and suggest the one that suits how the room is used. The lantern sizes and kerbs page covers the structure a lantern needs.

Planning for a lantern

A lantern has its own planning route, set out in the lantern planning guide. A flat rooflight sits under the general rules in the planning guide.

Cleaning and sun

Cleaning is easier on a single pane than on a lantern with several glazing bars. A room that gets strong afternoon sun benefits from a blind or a solar control glass. Both are easiest to settle before the order is placed.

An extension roof, decided at the survey

Narrow room: A flat rooflight on its upstand
Wide room: A lantern, for height and more sky
Opening: Fixed, or a motor from a wall switch
Blind: Chosen with the glass, not added later

Marple and its hillsides

Marple

Marple sits well within the circle around Stockport shown on the map. That circle is a crow-flies radius and our service area is measured in road miles.

Is your Marple postcode within reach?

Marple is 5 road miles east of Stockport, and we work in every part of it, from the Goyt and the canals up to the higher streets. Enter your postcode to confirm cover and ask for a survey.

Nearest town pages

Marple questions, plainly answered

Who deals with planning for a house in Marple?

Stockport Metropolitan Borough Council. Marple is in the Metropolitan Borough of Stockport, so planning and building control both sit with the same council, though you may use a registered building control approver for the building work.

Is Marple Bridge covered by this page?

This page is about Marple. Marple Bridge has its own page, and our service area covers it as well. Enter your postcode in the box above and we will confirm either way.

How do I know whether my house is in a conservation area?

Stockport Council publishes the boundaries, and they are mapped on planning.data.gov.uk. The council check on your address is part of the survey, so you do not have to work it out alone.

Is replacing an old roof window in a stone-slate roof straightforward?

Often, yes. If the replacement matches the old opening, the lining inside can stay. We read the old window's label and look at the covering first. Our guide to same opening or new opening explains the difference.

Is the survey free, and is the work guaranteed?

The survey is free. The fitting we carry out on a Marple roof comes with a 10-year workmanship guarantee, while the makers give their own guarantees on glass and motors, and those vary from model to model.

Free survey

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Tell us about the room and the roof. We visit, measure and send a fixed written quote for the job in Marple.

Fixed written quote
We handle the Building Regulations notification where the work is notifiable
10-year workmanship guarantee

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