Indiana Molloy
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Brian Molloy is the Branch Manager at Wedge Roofing of Loughborough – and he has unearthed a treasure that local roofers
prize above all others.
The East Midlands? Not the first place to go looking for mystery, adventure and natural beauty.
So what was I doing next to Brian Molloy as we sped away from his branch of Wedge Roofing in Loughborough?
He was going to show me something special, he explained. He had unearthed a treasure that roofers had been seeking for generations.
In minutes, we were among rolling hills, and dense woodland dotted with villages. A picturesque rural world I never suspected existed, with buildings from small cottages to grand farmhouses that all shared a common style.bIt took me a few moments to realise just why – they were all roofed with the same distinctive slate.
Brian nodded to a village name plate, “Swithland” he said. “The quarry here closed down nearly 50 years ago, and there can never be any more of these slates. The Swithland slate has a unique thick, textured grain. Build a roof with anything else around here and it looks out of place – and with many buildings listed nothing else will do.”
Anyone in the roofing business in the area could tell stories about customers desperate for slate, jobs that could not be done, extensions that would never get off the drawing board…
Then Brian showed me just what he had found. A precious stone, securely locked away (in the boot). I looked around at the
roofs, and at the thick, grainy slate he held. They were identical – but his was clearly new.
He had found the local roofers equivalent of the holy grail.
“A replica natural Swithland slate,” he explained. “We’ve finally tracked down a quarry with an identical stone.”
Brian’s find was immediately approved by enthusiastic planning officers, and with the sole rights in the UK he wasted no time in setting up a display in his showroom.
“It is a diminishing lay, and whenever reclaimed stone turned up, the roofer would have to spend days sorting sizes. Now we have size graded crates to select from, and with holes ready for nailing. Roofing in Swithland slate is not only possible again – it’s easier and faster than it has ever been before.”
It’s not just roofing. Brian also stocks dressed walling slate from the same source, all trimmed to 100mm and ready to build to modern cavity spec, but with the unique Swithland look.
I looked at the precious stone. Guaranteed 60 years, available in any quantity, and trimmed and ready to lay. For local roofers, it could be the key to untold riches – or at least, plenty of very
satisfying extra work.
THE SEQUEL
Like all great adventures, the discovery of the Swithland slate deserves a sequel. Brian’s detective work has also unearthed a
natural Collyweston Replica.
The original Collyweston slate is actually a limestone and it has been used in the village of Collyweston (near Stamford) and
the surrounding areas for centuries. Again, the quarry has been closed for years and again the Collyweston is very distinctive, rustic and epitomises the local area. The replica Collyweston
can be seen at the Asphaltic Roofing Services showroom in Leicester.
prize above all others.
The East Midlands? Not the first place to go looking for mystery, adventure and natural beauty.
So what was I doing next to Brian Molloy as we sped away from his branch of Wedge Roofing in Loughborough?
He was going to show me something special, he explained. He had unearthed a treasure that roofers had been seeking for generations.
In minutes, we were among rolling hills, and dense woodland dotted with villages. A picturesque rural world I never suspected existed, with buildings from small cottages to grand farmhouses that all shared a common style.bIt took me a few moments to realise just why – they were all roofed with the same distinctive slate.
Brian nodded to a village name plate, “Swithland” he said. “The quarry here closed down nearly 50 years ago, and there can never be any more of these slates. The Swithland slate has a unique thick, textured grain. Build a roof with anything else around here and it looks out of place – and with many buildings listed nothing else will do.”
Anyone in the roofing business in the area could tell stories about customers desperate for slate, jobs that could not be done, extensions that would never get off the drawing board…
Then Brian showed me just what he had found. A precious stone, securely locked away (in the boot). I looked around at the
roofs, and at the thick, grainy slate he held. They were identical – but his was clearly new.
He had found the local roofers equivalent of the holy grail.
“A replica natural Swithland slate,” he explained. “We’ve finally tracked down a quarry with an identical stone.”
Brian’s find was immediately approved by enthusiastic planning officers, and with the sole rights in the UK he wasted no time in setting up a display in his showroom.
“It is a diminishing lay, and whenever reclaimed stone turned up, the roofer would have to spend days sorting sizes. Now we have size graded crates to select from, and with holes ready for nailing. Roofing in Swithland slate is not only possible again – it’s easier and faster than it has ever been before.”
It’s not just roofing. Brian also stocks dressed walling slate from the same source, all trimmed to 100mm and ready to build to modern cavity spec, but with the unique Swithland look.
I looked at the precious stone. Guaranteed 60 years, available in any quantity, and trimmed and ready to lay. For local roofers, it could be the key to untold riches – or at least, plenty of very
satisfying extra work.
THE SEQUEL
Like all great adventures, the discovery of the Swithland slate deserves a sequel. Brian’s detective work has also unearthed a
natural Collyweston Replica.
The original Collyweston slate is actually a limestone and it has been used in the village of Collyweston (near Stamford) and
the surrounding areas for centuries. Again, the quarry has been closed for years and again the Collyweston is very distinctive, rustic and epitomises the local area. The replica Collyweston
can be seen at the Asphaltic Roofing Services showroom in Leicester.
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Also in: Insight magazine - articles
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