In 1980 the then Director of the Roofing Division Nick Nicholson was asked to meet the architect working on this project, Michael Reardon to discuss using stainless steel for   one of the main roofs of the Swan Theatre in Stratford-Upon-Avon.  

At this point in time stainless steel had only just been introduced into the UK although it was known to have been used on many buildings in Europe.  Norman & Underwood had limited knowledge of stainless steel roofing and British Steel had just set up a unique division for producing stainless steel especially for roofing and this was later passed over to Lee Steels of Sheffield. 

After intial discussions between the architect and Mr Nicholson it was decided that it would be used on this very important building. 

All of the embellishments on the ridge and hips of the roof were constructed of cast lead.  This showed the compatibility of using lead and lead coated stainless steel together.

The roof was constructed mainly of stainless steel and was coated with 4 microns of lead to make it more acceptable to the eye by taking the glare/shine from the roof as it was very visible from all directions. 

After working on mock-up samples to perfect the art of laying the metal, four of our most experienced craftsmen worked on the roof over the duration of the project. 

Stainless steel is notoriously sharp when cut so great care had to be taken when forming the roof sheets.  A machine was specially designed and developed for forming standing seems. 

One advantage of stainless steel is that it can be laid in long lengths and joined together with standing seems.  The same procedure applies to Copper. 

Specialist tools were also specially designed to produce the flat sheets due to this relatively new metal.

The stainless steel roof will last for at least 100 years.