Urmston, the commuter town the railway made

Skylights and rooflights for Urmston's railway-age streets and later estates

Urmston was farmland until the railway of 1873 turned it into a place to live. The streets built since, and the extensions added to them, ask for rooflights chosen for daily use.

Houses built in groups of four: roof windows planned with the neighbouring roofs in mind
Rear extensions: lantern or flat rooflight settled at the survey
Flixton conservation area checked with Trafford Council before the fixed written quote

11 road miles west of Stockport

Until the Cheshire Lines Railway opened in 1873, Urmston was a small farming community. The railway let it grow as a commuter town, and between 1871 and 1901 it went from a village of farms to a middle-class residence, with farming virtually gone by 1901. The River Mersey forms the southern boundary, and the southernmost part lies in the Mersey flood plain, known as Urmston Meadows. The town sits on ground about 20 metres above sea level.

Growth of that kind leaves streets built in waves. Houses went up for commuters from the railway years on, and later estates followed, including one with houses built in groups of four and a boiler house supplying hot water to 200 homes by 1948. The roofs belong to different decades, and so do the extensions behind them. We start every survey with the room, the roof and the person who will open, shade and clean the window.

What suits Urmston's streets and extensions

Five rooflights that fit the commuter-era houses, the later estates and the flat roofs added at the back.

Urmston roofs, and the questions that follow them

From railway-age houses and blocks of four to the extensions behind them and a conservation area at Flixton, four questions that come up in Urmston.

Our house was built when the railway made Urmston a commuter town. How do we light the loft?

Houses put up for commuters in the railway years were built for families with a daily routine. If yours has a loft you want to light, or turn into a room, the first question is what the roof can take, and a survey is the way to find out.

What we look at

On the roof we look at the covering, how it is laid and what the rafters do. In the loft we measure the height at the ridge, find the chimney stack and see what runs between the joists. A roof window is then sized to the rafter spacing and placed where the stair can reach it. A smaller window in the right place usually does more than a big one in the wrong one.

Who opens it

A window above a bed or a stair is out of arm's reach. For a room used every day, an electric or solar opening is easiest to live with. It works from a handset and the blind can run from it too. For a loft that gets a visit now and then, a manual window and a pole is enough. The blinds and controls guide goes through the choices.

Making a room of it

If the loft is to be a bedroom, the room needs a safe way out of the house, and the Building Regulations guide explains it. Where the work is notifiable, the notification for the windows we fit is ours to make. Planning is covered in the planning guide.

Lighting a railway-age loft

Survey: Roof covering, rafters, ridge height, chimney
Window: Sized to the rafter spacing, near the stair
Opening: Pole now and then, handset every day
Blind: Blackout for a bedroom, pleated for a desk

We live in a house that is one of a group of four. Does that change how the roof is handled?

One estate in Urmston had its houses built in groups of four, with a boiler house supplying hot water to 200 homes by 1948. If yours is one of a group, your roof is joined to others, and the way a new window sits is seen by everyone in the row.

Your slope, your window

A rooflight goes in your own roof slope, and we do not touch the neighbours' side. The survey notes where the party walls fall, because they decide where a roof window can go without cutting into a shared structure. If a window would sit on a slope that faces the side, the planning guide sets out extra conditions, so we raise that early. See the planning guide.

A matching look

In a row or a group, an odd window shows. Choosing the same colour of frame, a flush fit and a similar position to a neighbour's makes the roof read as one. At the survey we talk through the options and how each sits against the covering, so you decide with the whole roofline in mind.

Cleaning and blinds

A window in a long roof is cleaned from inside if it pivots, which is simpler than trying to reach it from outside. A blind keeps the afternoon sun off the bed. If you have a neighbour with a window nearby, you may want the same blind type so the two look alike from the street.

Talking to the people next door

Telling the people next door before work starts is courteous, and it avoids surprise when scaffolding or a hoist appears. Where the work needs access from a shared side, we agree the arrangements with you in advance. Our guide to replacing a skylight without scaffolding explains when it can be avoided.

In a group of four

Plan the window for your slope and your neighbours' view. The best result is one nobody notices from the road.

Is a lantern or a flat rooflight better on a rear extension?

A rear extension can be the first place an Urmston household thinks of for more light, and its flat roof is the obvious spot. Which shape suits depends less on taste than on the room underneath and on who is going to look after the glass.

The low option

A flat rooflight stays close to the roof on a raised upstand. It is tidy from the garden and takes little room. The glass is flat, which makes it simple to wipe from a short ladder. It suits a narrow kitchen or a utility room. If you want it to open for steam and cooking heat, an electric version works from a wall switch.

The tall option

A lantern is a glazed frame that stands up from the roof. It lets in light from several sides and gives the room height, which makes a difference over a table. It also collects more sun, so a pleated blind or solar control glass is worth thinking about. The glazing bars take longer to clean. Set on an existing flat roof, a lantern will normally need a planning application unless the council says otherwise, and the lantern planning page sets out why.

The ground and the weather

Urmston sits on low ground near the Mersey, so we do not treat exposure as a theme. The questions are the same as anywhere: how the room is used, how the glass is shaded and how the outside is kept clean. Our guide to adding a lantern covers the practical side.

The roof underneath

If the flat roof is old, renew the covering when the rooflight goes in, so the roof is opened once. A rooflight is a fixture for years, and a covering that has been patched in places will want attention first. The survey looks at the upstand, the edges and the way water leaves the roof. Our page on the best rooflight for a flat roof helps you weigh the options before we visit.

Sun at the back of the house

A glass roof facing the garden gets the afternoon sun, and a kitchen or dining room can feel it. A blind under the glass is one answer. A pleated one lets light through and takes the edge off the glare, while solar control glass reduces the heat before it arrives. Which suits you depends on how the room is used between midday and tea.

Parts of the town are in a conservation area. Does that touch our plans?

The national planning dataset records Flixton as a conservation area in Urmston, designated in 1975. Being in one does not in itself stop a rooflight on a house in England. What counts is the address, so we put it to Trafford Council before we quote and pass on the answer. The planning guide sets out what can change the usual position.

Listed addresses

The Historic England list includes Urmston buildings such as the Church of St Michael, the Church of St Clement, the Urmston Memorial Cross and the Church of St Mary the Virgin. If your own house is listed, a rooflight added or changed there almost always needs listed building consent, settled before any order. Our listed buildings page explains the steps.

Choosing the window

Where a roof is seen from the street, a slim, flush window keeps the line of the covering. A conservation-style roof window is made for that, and the choosing guide shows how the frames differ. They also suit any older roof where appearance matters.

The same daily questions

The address check changes what we may fit, not how you will use it. Who opens it, how it is shaded and who cleans it come back at the survey. A window you cannot reach is a window you will not use, and a blind you forget is a room you cannot sleep in.

Conservation-file terms

Flixton: The conservation area the national dataset records in Urmston.
Consent route: The council approval a listed house almost always needs before a rooflight is added or changed.
Flush fit: A window set level with the roof covering.

From the station streets to the Mersey meadows

Urmston

Measured in a straight line from Stockport, the ring on the map takes in Urmston comfortably.

Does your Urmston address fall in range?

Urmston is 11 road miles west of Stockport, and our area covers the railway-age streets, the later estates and the roads running down towards the river. Add your postcode.

Nearest town pages

Urmston: your questions, answered

Which council handles planning in Urmston?

Trafford Council. We ask it about your address, including Flixton, before the quote is fixed. Either Trafford's building control or a registered building control approver will inspect the work, and the Building Regulations notification is ours to make when the work is notifiable.

Does living near the Mersey meadows affect the window we choose?

It does not change the choice of rooflight. Urmston is low ground at about 20 metres above sea level, and we do not make exposure a theme. The roof, the room and who opens the window decide.

Could a sun tunnel brighten a dark hall in a family house?

If there is loft space above, yes. A small dome and a tube carry daylight to a diffuser fitted into an opening cut in the ceiling. Nothing opens and there is no view. The rooms guide has more.

Can we replace an old roof window in the same opening?

Frequently, if the replacement is the size of the opening. If the old unit carries a size code, we go by that. See new opening or same opening.

What blind should go under a lantern?

A pleated blind softens the light and sits close to the glass. A roller is simple. Whether either can run from a handset depends on the maker and the model. See the blinds and controls guide.

What guarantee comes with the work?

A lantern, rooflight or roof window we fit in Urmston has our 10-year workmanship guarantee on the fitting. Makers' own guarantees on the products vary, and we explain the difference when we 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 Urmston.

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

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