Modern performance and period aesthetics are perfectly combined in the natural slate roof of Fairfield Park Lower School near Letchworth in Bedfordshire. Newly constructed in Victorian style, the school has a roof that uses Cembrit’s Glendyne natural slates to create the look of a traditional school building that harmonises seamlessly with the estate surroundings.
The Fairfield Development comprises some 900 dwellings of different housing types and about 100 apartments in the converted Grade II listed former hospital building. The local council decided that this new development would be best served by a new lower school and a new 150 place school was built. The school building design reflects the Victorian country estate theme featuring brick facing, wood sash windows and a pitched Glendyne slate roof.
“The Glendyne were a pleasure to fit,” says Jason Hollis of Bedford Roofing Services Ltd, the roofing contractor for the project. “They are the ideal slate for this type of project because they resemble the Welsh slate used on Victorian buildings and combine this wonderful traditional appearance with the well-regarded performance of Canadian slate; the perfect natural slate for the modern construction environment.”
The Glendyne natural slates were specified by the building contractor, Hillson Builders Ltd of Maulden Bedford and fitted by Bedford Roofing Services Ltd. Glendyne is a high quality slate quarried from the Canadian town of Saint Marc du Lac Long, Quebec, Canada. A dark blue/grey, with a fine, consistent grain and smooth texture, it benefits from a combination of modern extraction technology and traditional finishing skills to ensure a consistently high standard product. Able to withstand the most all weather conditions including sunlight, UV light, and even acid rain, Glendyne is remarkably similar in character to the Welsh Ffestiniog Slate.
Available exclusively from Cembrit in the UK, Glendyne offers great value for money and laid correctly, will last the lifetime of a building.
Public Building - New
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