In conservation architecture, detail matters. Not just as a component of restoration, but as a gesture of respect toward the building’s original character. This is particularly relevant in the treatment of the roofscape, where the addition of rooflights demands both sensitivity and precision to balance modern performance with period aesthetics.
The Rooflight Co has a deep understanding of these requirements and have spent more than three decades refining their delicate craft to achieve the balance of authenticity and modern performance.
Based in the Cotswolds, the company has been quietly reshaping the way natural top lighting is introduced into historic buildings since 1993. Best known for its pioneering Conservation Rooflight, a faithful reimagining of Victorian cast-iron originals, The Rooflight Co has become a trusted partner to architects, conservation officers and heritage clients across the UK. Whether specified for a grand municipal restoration or a discreet rural conversion, their rooflights exemplify how contemporary engineering and traditional sensibility can successfully coexist.
What distinguishes rooflights from The Rooflight Co is not simply the product, but the process. A meticulous blend of hand craftsmanship, digital precision and a culture of care rooted in its employee-owned ethos. Every rooflight begins its life as an architectural solution, a response to the specific challenges of integrating natural light from above into historic fabric and is shaped with the kind of material intelligence that only comes from a deep heritage experience.
Rooted in Conservation
The Conservation Rooflight is the product that defines The Rooflight Co's legacy. Engineered to sit flush with the roofline and featuring a genuine steel frame, it provides visual authenticity and architectural integrity, whether on a Grade I listed stately home or a modest historic barn. Every detail, from the slim glazing bars that echo 19th-century ironwork to the hand-finished putty-effect silicone, is designed to honour traditional aesthetics while delivering 21st-century performance.
Projects such as the restoration of the Derby Roundhouse, where 48 bespoke trapezoidal rooflights were installed, illustrate the company’s bespoke capabilities. More recently, The Rooflight Co has contributed to the conservation of Blenheim Palace and proudly features The Conservation Rooflight on The Cowshed by Design Storey, winner of the RIBA South West Conservation Award 2025. In each case, the approach is consistent: to collaborate closely with conservation architects, planners and heritage bodies to deliver rooflight solutions that respect, enhance and protect the historic fabric of the building.
Precision and Craft
Every rooflight that leaves The Rooflight Co's workshop in Bourton-on-the-Water bears the hallmark of craftsmanship. While advanced manufacturing plays an essential role, from CNC-cutting aluminium extrusions to powder coating steel frames, the process remains resolutely human. The company’s philosophy is rooted in doing things “the right way”, which means hands-on design, rigorous inspection, and fastidious hand-finishing.
This is especially evident in The Conservation Rooflight from the Pitched Roof Collection. The company’s production team works from architectural drawings and digital models, considering structural and environmental performance, planning requirements, ventilation, aesthetics, and heritage detailing. The manufacturing process begins with frames fabricated from steel, which are then shot-blasted, primed and powder-coated to exacting standards.
Glazing is crafted in-house to ensure every unit meets BSI Kitemark standards. Each insulated glazing unit is constructed with a desiccant-filled spacer bar, argon gas cavity fill, and low-e coatings to optimise thermal performance. For heritage applications, a hot-melt edge seal is used; for contemporary installations, a structural silicone seal is preferred. These choices reflect the company’s nuanced understanding of the differing demands across building types and periods.
At its core, the process goes beyond performance. Each rooflight must have the visual and tactile finish that you would expect from such a premium product. Decorative glazing bars are applied for aesthetic authenticity, both internally and externally. Each silicone joint is carefully hand-trimmed to emulate the character of traditional putty, celebrating the handcrafted nature of every rooflight.
A Heritage of Innovation
While The Conservation Rooflight remains a central pillar of The Rooflight Co's identity, the company has continued to innovate. Its Conservation Plateau, a flat-roof variant for heritage contexts, has extended the potential of traditional-style rooflights into new architectural applications. Meanwhile, its Neo and Neo Advance solutions serve the contemporary market, offering flush-fit and walk-on rooflight options with cutting-edge aesthetics and performance credentials.
Even with this expansion into modern design, the heritage DNA of the business remains intact. In 2019, Peter and Val King handed ownership of the company to its 40-strong team, making The Rooflight Co an employee-owned enterprise. This transition has only deepened the company’s commitment to quality and integrity, with every team member invested in the delivery of exceptional products.This employee-led model also dovetails with the company’s sustainability ethos. Certified by both Planet Mark and B Corp, The Rooflight Co operates with an acute awareness of its environmental responsibilities. By keeping design and manufacture on a single site, the company reduces its carbon footprint, maintains rigorous quality control, and ensures a seamless dialogue between the design, engineering and fabrication teams.
Light, Legacy and Longevity
At the heart of The Rooflight Co's work is a simple but profound belief: that great architecture, whether historic or contemporary, deserves the best expression of daylight.
The company’s rooflights are more than building components; they are instruments of architectural storytelling. Whether channelling light into a restored Victorian reading room or subtly illuminating a converted rural barn, these rooflights help bridge past and present.
As our built heritage continues to evolve with historic buildings being adapted, reused, and reinterpreted, products like The Conservation Rooflight play a vital role in enabling sensitive, sustainable transformation. They allow for performance upgrades without aesthetic compromise, and for innovation without the erosion of character.
Whilst the engineering precision from The Rooflight Co is a key part of the story, there is another narrative. One that speaks of reverence - for craftsmanship, for architectural integrity, and for the light that brings spaces to life.
For more information on The Conservation Rooflight from The Rooflight Co, or their extensive experience in heritage projects, visit therooflightco.com.