A
Anonymous
Guest
A Thatchers View
Thatched roof’s have, it has been seen by some owners to be singled out for discrimination by the implementation of the ’like for like’ thatching policy usually meaning precluding the use of any other materials but long straw with the specification that long straw be thrashed (in a thrashing drum) and applied so that the cut ends and ears are randomly distributed.
The historical evidence for this practice can clearly be seen to be unsound in that the thrashing drum was not in widespread use until the 1850’s onwards. For hundreds of years prior to this sickle cutting of the ears only and the pulling out by the roots of the straw and thatching with the roots up was commonplace, Later scythe cut materials were tied into stooks and flailed retaining the straw in an ears and butt aligned condition (combed wheat emulates this)
It has to be remembered that thatch was historically the cheapest and least long lived roofing material, with any ‘suitable’ material being used, long stemmed vegetable material being employed with frequently a very short roof life of 3-10 years. This was not acceptable to home owners in the 20th century and indeed many are not available today.
Water reed was and is indisputably the most long lasting thatching material; this was not a waste product but had to be cut especially for roofing. This disadvantage being mitigated by the cutting period falling in the worst months of the year when the lack of other agricultural work released labour for the task.
There are it is felt to be arguments for all of the three thatching materials, long straw, combed wheat reed, and water reed to be considered as one and the same. Method of application and life are today to be of more importance. The skill and method used by an accomplished thatcher can make any straw roof impossible to distinguish the material that has been used.
Even water reed although traditionally identifiable by its more severe lines in the hands of an expert can follow the flowing lines and retain the ‘poured on’ effect. Reed can indeed be thatched over existing historic layers of thatch.
Some of the conflicts seen today arise from the perception by a few thatchers that the loss of straw to reed with a life of up to three times more reduces the amount of work available in the future, the home owner sees a differential cost of 25 years for long straw, 40 years for combed wheat, 50 years for water reed at approximately the same price.
The conservation officer has the unenviable task of having to define the material to be used without the benefit of any in depth knowledge of techniques or the vast variation within all the materials. For example flax was extensively used in living memory.
Are we now to try and guess the material used at the original property construction date, fix a date and fit the local crops and threshing techniques to it, or as at present blanket fit a material and technique to the 19th century.
Thatch with its relatively short life span has always reflected the agricultural life and economy around it and of course transport. Should we now be considering oil seed rape?
As a thatcher of 40 years and living under a thatch for 50 should I expect the state who insists on the material being historically correct pays me the extra costs for insisting on a material that never existed when my 17 century house was built!
Thatched roof’s have, it has been seen by some owners to be singled out for discrimination by the implementation of the ’like for like’ thatching policy usually meaning precluding the use of any other materials but long straw with the specification that long straw be thrashed (in a thrashing drum) and applied so that the cut ends and ears are randomly distributed.
The historical evidence for this practice can clearly be seen to be unsound in that the thrashing drum was not in widespread use until the 1850’s onwards. For hundreds of years prior to this sickle cutting of the ears only and the pulling out by the roots of the straw and thatching with the roots up was commonplace, Later scythe cut materials were tied into stooks and flailed retaining the straw in an ears and butt aligned condition (combed wheat emulates this)
It has to be remembered that thatch was historically the cheapest and least long lived roofing material, with any ‘suitable’ material being used, long stemmed vegetable material being employed with frequently a very short roof life of 3-10 years. This was not acceptable to home owners in the 20th century and indeed many are not available today.
Water reed was and is indisputably the most long lasting thatching material; this was not a waste product but had to be cut especially for roofing. This disadvantage being mitigated by the cutting period falling in the worst months of the year when the lack of other agricultural work released labour for the task.
There are it is felt to be arguments for all of the three thatching materials, long straw, combed wheat reed, and water reed to be considered as one and the same. Method of application and life are today to be of more importance. The skill and method used by an accomplished thatcher can make any straw roof impossible to distinguish the material that has been used.
Even water reed although traditionally identifiable by its more severe lines in the hands of an expert can follow the flowing lines and retain the ‘poured on’ effect. Reed can indeed be thatched over existing historic layers of thatch.
Some of the conflicts seen today arise from the perception by a few thatchers that the loss of straw to reed with a life of up to three times more reduces the amount of work available in the future, the home owner sees a differential cost of 25 years for long straw, 40 years for combed wheat, 50 years for water reed at approximately the same price.
The conservation officer has the unenviable task of having to define the material to be used without the benefit of any in depth knowledge of techniques or the vast variation within all the materials. For example flax was extensively used in living memory.
Are we now to try and guess the material used at the original property construction date, fix a date and fit the local crops and threshing techniques to it, or as at present blanket fit a material and technique to the 19th century.
Thatch with its relatively short life span has always reflected the agricultural life and economy around it and of course transport. Should we now be considering oil seed rape?
As a thatcher of 40 years and living under a thatch for 50 should I expect the state who insists on the material being historically correct pays me the extra costs for insisting on a material that never existed when my 17 century house was built!