I've seen pictures of thatched cottages of course, and have seen programmes about how it is done but I've never seen it in the ...er... flesh, and thatched cottages are amazing!!
A roof ridge being rethatched. Apparently it is VERY expensive these days and needs doing every ten years. And the insurance is massive, it being such a fire risk. Yet, if you own a thatched house then you have to replace the thatch with like, them's the rules. No reeds, no clever German plastic straw thatching, just the old fashioned expensive kind.
This is the other half of the same house after it's been trimmed and shaped. Love the shaping they do on the ridges
Two cheeky little thatched birds on the roof of Pear Tree Cottage
I love the way this one looks so moulded and sculpted, not just from front to back but all around.
The Six Bells at Warborough, just outside of Wallingford- this pub is The Black Swan which is the local pub on Midsomer Murders. Particularly fine sculpting. It is on a real village green too, which is just a big triangle of grass with a tree on it and a few cottages around the edge, not even on the road. Good place to film and not block traffic!
You could thatch your apartment! Err...
ReplyDeleteDear Mrs. C.,
ReplyDeleteAbsolutely fascinating! I'd never seen thatching in progress before.
Down the street there is a house with thatchesque roofing...a standard shingle roof was designed with curves. A serious pain to re-shingle, but such fun to look at, although nothing like the real deal.
Thanks for showing us!
Very best,
Natalie
Hi Natalie, we've seen plenty of those houses too and usually side by side with the thatched ones, and we reckon that they were the ones who got rid of the thatch in favour of shingles before the law came in about preserving the thatch. They look amazing too, especially as the houses underneath are often as curvy and wobbly-looking as the roofs!
ReplyDeleteSince posting this we've been down to the south coast and I noticed a number of thatched places whose roofs are patched with polythene. I wonder if it's economics that has them not able to have them repaired, or the long wait for a thatcher to come and do it? I imagine there is quite a waiting list as there aren't too many of them any more. And apprently it's a way to spin straw into gold, the prices they charge! ;-)
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