Thatching,
which has been practised for many centuries, is one of the oldest
building crafts and has changed little since the Middle Ages. Apart from
Phragmites australis, which is considered to be the prime thatching material, two
other materials, long straw and combed wheat reed, are used. Long straw comes
from wheat and must be wetted before use. Combed wheat reed, which is neither
a straw nor a reed, is so-called because it has been passed through a comber.
Different
materials have different life spans. Long straw lasts for between 10 and
20 years, combed wheat reed has to be replaced after 24 to 40 years nd reed may
last for up to 80 years. Sedge, which is used on the ridge of the roof, needs
renewing after 20 to 25 years.
The
thatcher has a number of tools, most of which are hand-made. These and their
uses are as follows:
a) leggett
for dressing the reed into position,
b) mallet
for driving in the spars,
c) needles
for holding the bundles in position,
d) knife
for cutting the bonds, etc,
e) long
eaves knife for trimming the sedge and reed,
f) shears
(the old-fashioned sheep shears) for trimming the reed.
Before
a thatching job is begun, the reed is graded according to bunch length. It is
carried out on site, and placed in three heaps of short, medium and long material
respectively. Once sorted, up to six bunches at a time are then taken onto the roof.
The first bunches are laid at the eaves and the leggett is used to dress these into
position. They are held in place by a needle before being fixed with a hazel sway.
The sways are placed 45 cm (18 in) apart and each is fastened either with an iron
hook, made by the thatcher or a local blacksmith, or by tarred twine. A long needle
is used to push the twine through the reed and around the rafter. Work progresses
until the thatcher reaches the roof ridge.
He
fashions the 10 cm (4 in) diameter ridge roll from coarser reed. Having made
sure that the roll is long enough for the ridge, it is secured with twine at intervals of
roughly 30 cm (12 in) before being attached to the ridge. The final bundles of reed
are trimmed with a long eaves knife. The 30 cm (12 in) layer of reed which covers
the ridge is then completed with a layer of sedge.
The thatcher can stamp his individuality
on the roof when he completes the ridge
because, although the ridge is sometimes left plain, it is more often decorated with
a variety of patterns, including cross-sparring. In an ornamental ridge, the bottom
edge is finished with a variety of shapes. Before the sedge is fixed, it will usually be
soaked for a day to make it supple. Bunches of sedge, called yealms, are laid
along the ridge with a good overhang. Spars are driven into the reed to hold the
sedge in position. As further yealms are added, needles are used to hold them
together. It is important that the thatcher gets each yealm close to the next one.
Lengths of hazel or willow, called spars or broaches (brotches) hold the sedge in
position. Broaches placed along the length of the ridge are termed liggers and
those used for cross-pattern effects are called cross-rods.
The top ligger is arranged first and is
secured with hazel staples, made from split
hazel rods, bent over and twisted. These are driven in at a slight angle for added
security. With all liggers in position, the cross-rods are fastened between them to
form various patterns. Generally, each cross-rod is 15 cm (6 in) from its neighbour.
Hazel staples are used to hold these in position.
Once the ridge material is in place, the
thatcher tidies it up with a long eaves knife.
If he wants a more decorative edge, he will use a shorter knife and his shears.
Recent
developments have helped prolong the life of the thatch. Fine-gauge wire
netting, particularly on the ridge, will prevent birds from making their nests in the
reed and a copper strip 2-5 cm (i in) wide, attached to the whole length of the
ridge, will allow minute traces of copper to be released when it rains. This prevents
the growth of algae and moss.
In
addition to the thatch, the spars, liggers, cross-rods, sways and staples have to
be obtained. Some come from the marsh, and hazel, which is preferable to willow,
is obtained by coppicing trees. In the past, if not so much now, the thatcher would
either have his own patch of coppice or have an arrangement for its supply.
Hazel
needed for thatching has to be coppiced every 5 to 10 years. Once cut down
to ground level, new shoots grow up from the stool, providing a supply Of hazel
rods, which are cut into 75 cm (30 in) lengths. These are often referred to asgadds,
although Norfolk people call them broaches or brotches, and there are numerous
other names from various parts of the country, e.g. spies, roovers and scollops.
