An elegant country park development of ten luxury homes has used Marley's handcrafted Ashdowne clay tiles, in Aylesham Mix, to achieve the aged country style aesthetic required by planners.
The Cloisters is being developed by Signia, the house building arm of Jaysam, on the northern fringes of Stanmore Country Park in Middlesex. As well as the construction of ten five bedroom homes, ranging from £2.4 to £3.8 million in value, the unique project also includes the restoration of almost 70 acres of public land as an extension to the adjacent park.
Developed on the former Wood Farm site, the project is one of the largest recently created public spaces within the green belt, so the planning and community consultation process took many years and meticulous attention to detail was given to the choice of building materials and ecology.
Harish Raghwani, marketing manager from Jaysam, explains: “Planning requirements played a huge factor in the aesthetics of the new homes and our choice of building materials. The design of the properties needed to be sympathetic to their park surroundings, so we didn’t want them to look brand new. We set out to create homes with a country style look that would give the feeling they had been constructed a number of years ago. The selection of materials had to be very particular and we chose the Ashdowne handcrafted clay tiles in Aylesham Mix in order to achieve the aged look.”
Ashdowne handcrafted clay tiles have a mellow appearance and granular texture to provide slight random irregularities, giving each tile a unique character so no two roofs are ever alike.
Harish Raghwani continues: “We chose to use a handcrafted, rather than a handmade clay tile, as a more cost effective way of emulating the traditional look. When they are on the roof, the tiles give the aesthetic of an aged tile and although the planners were strict with our choice of materials, they did accept the handcrafted clay product in place of a handmade one. Marley delivered a number of samples to us from different ranges, so we could select the correct tile and we also used the technical helpline for fixings advice.”
The roofs on the Cloisters development are fitted using Marley's universal dry fix systems, to provide a secure fixing whilst meeting ventilation requirements.
Sarah Jackson, marketing product manager at Marley, adds: “We are delighted that our tiles have been used on such a unique development. The first properties are complete and the rest of the site is due to be completed in early spring. The blend of colours and textures on the handcrafted tiles helps to give that country, heritage aesthetic and ensures the new homes are in keeping with their rural surroundings.”
Ashdowne handcrafted clay tiles are available in two weathered colours making them the ideal choice to enhance the beauty of a new build development or for a refurbishment project. The traditional handcrafted finish ensures each and every roof takes on a beauty and character of its own. The tiles also offer impressive environmental credentials including the ability to achieve an A+ rating in the BRE Green Guide to Specification, BES 6001 Responsible Sourcing accreditation and certified carbon footprint data at product level.
