New roof over North Wing at La Maison de Haut
Crowning Glory for Historic Home
La Maison de Haut has been developed over a number of centuries from the 14th Century onwards, with the oldest
section, tourelle and external walls included on the Protected Building register. The north wing was constructed in 1906
with an unusual plan form incorporating a tourelle stair case and projecting corner tower, but surprisingly topped with a
flat roof. It seems likely that this was due to financial constraints at the time, also indicated by granitework towards the
top of the walls being constructed from smaller, cheaper stones.
The appearance of the flat roof was visually unappealing and also created issues with water ingress, particularly due to
the junction of the roof with the perimeter granite parapets.
In order to solve these practical and design issues a new turreted slate roof was constructed on the existing walls. The
emphasis on the design was to accommodate the existing construction of the north wing, and be sympathetic to the
setting of the Protected Building elements. There were a number of challenges in achieving this as the existing stone
parapet was not ‘square’ or level, and a suitable method had to be found of forming guttering on a circular plan. The
resultant roof was achieved through careful design and craftsmanship bringing together natural roof slates, copper
guttering and downpipes, and a rendered soffit to accommodate the variation in existing parapet position. The turreted
roof at last provides a fitting crown to this historic building.
