The Ham Hill Stone Company in Hampshire have re-discovered the technique for producing natural Ham Hill stone roofing slates. No Hamstone roofing slate has been available for more than 100 years.

Mike Lawrence, managing director of the Ham Hill Stone Company, has developed a method for manufacturing the Ham Hill roofing slates, which have been put through a rigorous testing regime devised by the BRE and carried out in the environmental testing chamber at Sheffield Hallam University.

Testing has included flexural strength, tile peg pull-out strength and accelerated ageing using freeze-thaw tests.

Having passed all the tests with flying colours, the stone has now been used to re-roof part of Lytes Carey, a Grade One listed medieval manor house in Somerset. The roofing contractors were West Country Tiling, who say they found the slates extremely easy to lay.

Helen Brown, from the National Trust, now has plans to use the stone for the restoration of a listed dovecote and there are plans for future use of the tiles to includes repairs to the roofs of Barrington Court and Montacute House.

The Hamstone roofing slates are being manufactured by the Harvey Stonemasonry Partnership, tenants of the Ham Hill Stone Company at Ham Hill Quarry.

Enquiries about the roofing slates should be addressed to Mike Lawrence on Tel: 08702 406193.