Tiling, bathrooms and kitchens in Towcester

Towcester sits on Watling Street, the Roman road now followed by the A5, and is often described as the county's oldest town. Its high street is lined with Georgian coaching inns and older buildings — the Saracen's Head even appears in Dickens' The Pickwick Papers — and period homes here deserve finishes that respect their character.

Around the old centre, the town has grown with new estates, attracting families drawn by easy access to Northampton, Milton Keynes and Silverstone. New homes usually come with neat but basic tiling, and upgrading to large-format floors, feature walls or a walk-in shower is a popular way to make them your own.

The surrounding villages — Silverstone, Roade, Blisworth on the Grand Union Canal, Greens Norton, Paulerspury and more — are full of stone cottages and barn conversions, where uneven floors and thick walls need careful preparation before the first tile goes down.