Thatching for beginners

Because the Irish thatched cottages prompted some discussion, I thought I'd post this one today.  It shows the re-thatching of the Great Barn at the Home Farm in Wimpole, Cambridgeshire, which is an approved conservation centre for the Rare Breeds Trust.  Not only do they provide a home for many rare breeds of farm animals, they also manage a working farm.

I lived in a thatched house for almost 20 years.  Before we saw it, I was convinced a thatch was more trouble than it was worth, but I fell in love with the house at first sight and decided to learn to love the thatch.  It has many advantages: warm in winter, cool in summer, very quiet (you never hear rain falling on it) and very eco-friendly.

English thatches are a great deal thicker than the Irish ones pictured the other day because often repairs are done just by removing the worst of the weathering and replacing with another layer of thatch.  It can build up to quite a depth.  Different types of thatching material are used such as wheat straw or water reed, and the style of thatching varies not only from area to area, but from thatcher to thatcher.  Each has their own signature.

Straw needs to be renewed more often and has to be netted to prevent birds using it as convenient nesting material.  Reed lasts very much longer but the appearance is stiffer and less rounded.

The second card shows some thatched cottages in Somerset.  The one at the bottom left looks as if it has been thatched more recently than the others.  They generally weather from a straw-like colour until they become almost black.

This is a post for Postcard Friday, which is hosted by Beth Niquette at The Best Hearts are Crunchy.