History Of Thatched Roof Cottages

This impossibly quaint semi detached thatch roof cottage is located in the small village of wendlebury in oxfordshire.

History of thatched roof cottages.

Most thatch used in england is made of long wheat straw grown specially for the purpose. A bit of tea some scones a good book. 25 lovely english thatched roof cottages. For every six or seven thatchers appearing in the 1851 census.

A thatched pub the williams arms at wrafton north devon england. But thatched cottages. A roof thatched by a skilled craftsman can last 40 to 50 years without needing refurbishment all the while providing excellent watertight insulation. This cane plant grows well in moist soils in temperate and fresh climates making it easily available in ireland.

Much later in the late 18th century thatched cottages became an extremely popular theme with the picturesque painters who tried to portray an idealized romantic sanitized version of nature. Thatched cottages are one of the most beautiful symbols of ireland. Holiday cottages with thatched roofs as you might imagine from a site like historic uk thatched cottages are our proverbial bread and butter. Thatch became a symbol of poverty after other materials became available but has seen a resurgence in popularity especially among the wealthy.

Even into the late 1800s thatching was really the only roofing material available to rural residents in england s countryside. Wouldn t it just be the perfect place for a summer in england or a writing holiday. So why do so many cottages in england have thatched roofs. Churches also used thatch frequently.

P erhaps the most important single event in the history of the craft of thatching is the massive decline. These traditional irish dwellings dot the irish country side built by a process kept safe by generations. At the time of writing we currently offer 50 properties across england and scotland with the majority of these cottages in the southern english counties of kent cornwall gloucestershire including the. A skilled thatcher uses domestic cane to create these beautiful roof lines.

While labour was cheap and thatch was close at hand the craft more than held its own thousands of thatchers covering. In 1300 the great norman castle at pevensey sussex bought up 6 acres of rushes to roof the hall and chambers. The thatched roof is the feature we associate most with the irish cottage. Thatching is the craft of building a roof with dry vegetation such as straw water reed sedge cladium mariscus rushes heather or palm branches layering the vegetation so as to shed water away from the inner roof since the bulk of the vegetation stays dry and is densely packed trapping air thatching also functions.

Thatched roof cottage in wendlebury england.