How great to see on social media that a thatcher, Tom Allan, had written a book called “On the Roof – A Thatchers Journey” From initially becoming a thatcher, to his visits encompassing other thatchers, their techniques and even other countries. The book is cleverly entitled.
We were happy to mention On the Roof in our latest bi-annual Newsletter No 31 (October 2024) and decided to let our website visitors know a bit more about it, and perhaps why he decided to write it, before buying their own copy?
Here some words from Tom who is based in South Devon but was thatching in the Highlands when he sent us his input.
My Background
“I never planned to be a thatcher. I read English literature at university and after graduating, I worked for a book publisher in London for five years. But before that, I had grown up in a remote and very rural part of the Scottish Borders. From a young age, I was used to spending most of my time out of doors when the weather allowed (and often when it didn’t). I missed that in my five years at a desk.
So, when I finally accepted, I was unsuited to a life behind a desk, I took a leap of faith and decided to move out of the city and try and find work in the countryside. The only problem was, I wasn’t very sure exactly what I was going to do.”
Why I Chose to be a Thatcher
“I did a winter of hedge planting and tree work in the Borders, before starting a traineeship with the National Trust as a Countryside Ranger. That took me and my wife to Devon.
While I was with the Trust, I heard that a local thatcher was looking for an apprentice. At that point I knew absolutely nothing whatsoever about thatching. I didn’t even really know it was still a job that people do. But something about the idea of a thatching apprenticeship appealed to me. There seemed something intriguing about it. It was a chance to learn a very tangible and specific skill – the opposite of an English degree, which kind of equips you to do anything but also nothing in particular.
So I gave the thatcher a call, did a trial day with him, and from the first moment I was entranced. That was twelve years ago, and I haven’t looked back.”
Why Write a Book
“The idea of writing something about thatching was in my mind from the start:
I was keeping a journal from the very first day of my apprenticeship. I then started to write occasional articles about thatching for the Guardian’s Country Diary column. After reading one of my articles, an editor contacted me to ask if I had ever thought of writing a book. That gave me the push I needed to think about exactly what kind of book I wanted to write. I was very keen that it wouldn’t just be an account of my own experience as a thatcher. I wanted to write about other craftspeople, and to broaden it out to including writing about thatching traditions in different parts of the world.
So, I contact a literary agent, who helped me to put together a proper book proposal and secure a deal with a publisher. In the end, the book took over four years to research and write, and my travels took me from the Scottish Hebrides to the Baltic, and Rotterdam to Japan.”
Where to Buy this Book
On the Roof was published in August by Profile Books. It is available at all major booksellers, including Waterstones, Bookshop.org, Blackwells, Foyles, and Amazon.
And Finally
This article gives some insight into what is involved in writing a book about something you love, enjoy and are passionate about. We thank Tom for his words and use of his pictures.
This book has been a very enjoyable read, giving interesting insight and personal perspective into a trade we also love and care about, along with its application in other countries too! Great pictures throughout and the story is well written, so that it is possible to identify with the content. It is interesting that Tom also writes for the Guardian and the travel section of the Financial Times.
In short, we have enjoyed reading this book and we are sure some of our visitors will too.