The Cotswold Stone Tile Company (CSTC) has received planning permission to quarry six times the area of Forest Marble originally consented in order to satisfy a burgeoning demand for the roofing stone.

The company are, however, quick to point out that this will not mean a massive hole in the ground because as the working face moves forward the land behind will be reinstated. Only a small working area will be exposed at any one time.

That area may get bigger, though. Production is limited by the conditions of planning permission to 1,000 tonnes of finished tiles a year, but that level of production is proving inadequate to meet demand and Chris Harris, technical director, expects it to be increased within the coming year. He does not anticipate any opposition to a proposal to increase production.

The historically important Forest Marble comes from a site known as Gold Hill Quarry, a virgin site discovered serendipitously by Chris Harris as a result of which the Cotswold Stone Tile Company was formed in conjunction with the land owner, Chris Capper, and Ham Hill Stone Co director Mike Lawrence in 2000. The site of the quarry is still being kept secret. Prices start from £1,350 per roofing square (9m2).

The company has rapidly gained a reputation as the producer and supplier of top quality new stone tiles that are geologically correct for most of the Cotswold stone belt from Banbury to Bisley, Bath to Bridport and everywhere to the south.

"We\'re very pleased to say our customer base is snowballing," says Chris Harris.

As well as numerous smaller projects for private clients, major and highly prestigious projects this year have included Farleigh Hungerford Castle (English Heritage, on the Wiltshire/Somerset border), Dorchester on Thames Abbey (south-east of Oxford), The Ashleworth Tythe Barn (National Trust, north-west of Cheltenham), Shipton Court (near Chipping Norton) and the Yelde Hall (in Chippenham).

"Most of these were major supply contracts where the company worked very closely with the country\'s top conservation bodies to ensure that work was carried out professionally and to the highest standards," says Harris.

He has been supplying stone roofing for a decade, importing it from France before discovering the source of Forest Marble. He has become one of the country\'s foremost authorities on the production and supply of stone roofing.

"At long last we are able to supply the needs of every customer, from the very large and prestigious to the smallest porch or patch-up of an old roof."I am happy to work with anyone, from architects to builders, roofers and homeowners; from initial concept through to the completed project in order to help ensure that the finished roof is as good as it can be."

As well as the Forest Marble, Harris has been looking for sources of Collyweston, another famous roofing stone, and believes he has identified a site. However, it is next to a Site of Special Scientific Interest (SSSI) and he is still working on the planning application.

Collyweston needs to be exposed to frost in order to be worked, which has limited its production. Harris believes he has a viable way of artificially frosting it to speed up production and obtain a higher yield of tiles from the stone.

He would also like to re-open a Horsham stone quarry, another historically significant roofing stone, but the site he has been looking at is now a pond that has been designated an SSSI. "That\'s slightly on the back burner at the moment," he says.

For now, producing enough Forest Marble to satisfy demand is keeping the Cotswold Stone Tile Company busy. "I\'m extremely happy with the way it\'s going," says Harris.

More about stone roofing with the Hereford Stone Tile Roofing Project on page 19.

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