After a year spent working on ‘Tales from the Green Valley’ (BBC TWO), Alex learnt a number of rural crafts but one that he really took to heart was thatching. As an archaeologist, Alex has studied the fabric of many standing historic buildings from churches, to cathedrals and medieval hall-houses. More often than not, the stone walls, foundations and timber work of these buildings is recorded whilst the roofs are almost entirely ignored.
‘Keith Payne (Master Thatcher) came down to The Valley and showed me how to thatch our cowshed. Whilst we were working away, he informed me that in some cases the first base-coat of thatch ever to be put on the roof will have survived and that only the weathered top-coat will have been replaced. This first coat will often predate the addition of a chimney to the main building and thus will have been ‘smoke-blackened’.
This got me thinking. If this is the case then crops harvested in the medieval period are lying preserved under later coats of thatch. What can these crops tell us about the rural medieval economy in the vicinity of the house? What kinds of materials have been used?
Thatching is a skill that is in decline. Regional styles, using regional resources and a local skills base are making way to modern practices employing alien materials often sourced from abroad. This trend is economically driven and soon we will have lost all evidence of historic and regional thatching styles.
I have set about looking at thatching styles in different parts of Britain, how they differ in the materials and techniques used. The potential of archaeologically researching thatch seems to me to be enormous’.
Alex has already archaeologically assessed a number of roofs on the west coast of Wales and is developing a methodology to be employed on sites in England. He has recently presented some of his research work, entitled 'The Archaeology of Thatch', in a seminar at University College London.
Over the next year, Alex is seeking further funding and support in reconstructing the thatched roof of a crofter’s black house on Berneray, North Uist. The project is not just about building a roof but is an experiment in sustainability. 'This project is about researching regional styles, ensuring that local resources and materials are to hand, preserving traditional techniques and developing a local skills base'. If you are interested in this project then do please get in touch.
Do you practice an ancient or countryside craft, one you feel is steadily in decline and at risk from dying out all together? If you are concerned about this and would like to take steps to reverse these trends then do get in touch.
Finally, if you have a thatched house or outbuilding that you know to be of some antiquity and you would like to look into getting that building researched and rethatched in an historical style then you can always contact Historic Thatch Solutions.
