Background on the Thatching Straw Issues
Where to start with an article on Thatching Straw Issues ? Over the last few years, we have highlighted many of these important matters on our website via our articles and links, in our social media and in our newsletters. Recent phone calls, Radio broadcasts, social media and BBC reporting on some of these thatching straw issues has prompted us to want to add some additional and very relevant points on this situation. These points stem from the many enquiries, discussions, cases and concerns we have been involved in over the years, because thatching straw issues are not just about weather affecting straw availability and thatchers wanting to work, there is more to it than that.
Thatching straw issues of availability (and quality) affect both thatchers and homeowners, can be intertwined with other important factors and are definitely not black and white matters easily resolved. We will try to mention as many as possible to give a whole approach to what, in our opinion, is going on…. Or not.
Why an Article on the Thatching Straw Issues?
It is sincerely hoped that someone (in government perhaps) can read this, understand, ask questions and help make the right decisions so that our thatching straw has a sustainable future. There are big concerns that decisions will be made without knowledge and comprehension of the true and whole situation and the many facts which have been highlighted to us. We dealt with thousands of enquiries over the last few years and many relate back to these thatching straw issues.
We have worked with other concerned voluntary organisations but feel that it is time that those who are paid to do so start really making a difference. Time to understand and deal with the situation, in a timely, informed and appropriate manner, before it is too late. Everyone has been baling out the hole in the boat for years and it’s now too big. Those of us who have taken our own time and effort in working on and reporting on the situation have reached the stage where the Thatch Advice Centre putting it out there in an article makes logical sense.
Let’s start from the roots up with the topics we will cover.
Straw Issues Identified
When we started to think about the thatching straw issues, we realised that they are closely linked. It was decided to separate them into sections to make it easier to follow. Here is the list of headings we put them under.
- Heritage Wheat Varieties
- Farmers
- DEFRA
- The skills to grow and produce
- Longstraw and Combed Wheat Straw
- Old Machinery
- Straw Quality
- Listed Thatch and Conservation Areas
- Historic England
- Councils and Conservation Departments
- Home Owners
- Thatchers
- Apprenticeship
- Insurance
- Buying and Selling Thatch
- Related Straw Issues
Heritage Wheat Varieties
Thatching straw comes from growing older varieties of wheat (or hybrids) which are longer stemmed than wheats generally grown nowadays by farmers. Seed supply is an issue as the varieties are no longer on the seed bank. Blind eyes are turned on where growers get their thatching straw seed but this is a ridiculous situation when you look at the importance of maintaining our thatched properties.
Farmers
More smaller farmers growing thatching straw may help the situation rather than a few large ones as weather risk /regional and machinery issues are reduced. Labour supply could be shared. Harvesting thatching straw is not all mechanised, it is more labour intensive and requires those who understand the process managing it. The need for older farmers to pass on the skills and knowledge of growing, harvesting and producing thatching straw is so important. Inheritance tax on smaller farms means that even if the succession/ children who want to take on the farms have the skills to grow the straw they may not have farms left, another story..
Discussion with some of the few big acreage growers of thatching straw has highlighted the issue that if they cease, there would be huge concerns about capacity in the UK and replacing their contribution.
DEFRA
Defra support farmers in many ways but not with ability to grow thatching straw. Where is the financial support in the same way that it is given for land left fallow or paid for wild flower meadows? Surely growing a crop to maintain our thatched buildings is important too?
It is felt that DEFRA should prioritise this more highly than the current nil situation which seems to be in place. Look at the interest and draw of our UK thatched cottages. The traditions and history hugely benefit our tourism industry and the revenue it brings in. These buildings need to be maintained and the appropriate materials grown in order to do so. Surely growing thatching straw needs to be both encouraged and supported financially.
The Skills to Grow and Produce
As mentioned, many farmers who grow both Combed Wheat and Longstraw straw are older. Where is the motivation or assistance in passing down that knowledge and skill to grow, cut at the right time, thresh and produce our Combed Wheat and Longstraw. “When it’s gone its gone” is a term often bandied about but we don’t want it to apply to the knowledge for growing good quality Thatching materials.
We need more UK labour to assist with producing thatching straw. In the past, foreign labour was used and they had the ability to provide an excellent service where it was lacking here. This may need re-examining, e.g. fruit pickers, as getting British labour for such work seems unobtainable.
Longstraw and Combed Wheat Straw (Combed Wheat Reed).
These thatching materials are similarly grown and then are produced differently, applied differently and look different on the roof.
Combed Wheat Straw is the most commonly used straw. It is apparently less time consuming to produce than Longstraw (although it takes time and effort to put it through a thrashing machine and then the Comber!). Other straws are used such as hybrids but these are not always considered relevant in traditional maintenance of listed properties e.g. Triticale.
Straw is used for the majority of ridges. Even if the roof is not thatched in straw but Water Reed, most will have straw ridge (either block or flush style).
Longstraw issues have been highlighted over the years and we have asked our Longstraw Specialist Associate (with many years to knowledge and understanding) to summarise the Longstraw situation / issues as he sees it here. The section at the end on availability is of note.
Traditional Longstraw with an ornamental block ridge
Long Straw – For Thatching
“ What is it? For a start it shouldn’t be taken too literally as meaning only long stems of straw.
To define what and how long straw is produced very much defines the required preparation process and end result of authentic long straw thatching on cottages.
For centuries much of England’s dwellings and barns were thatched with long straw, this material would be normally wheat but sometimes oat or rye harvested by scythe and the grain threshed out by teams of men with flails.
Middleton’s comments about threshing, written in Hertfordshire at the end of the eighteenth century, indicate that straw was bruised and jumbled by the flails much as it was with the new threshing machines:
In places more distant from London, they strike perpendicularly, but incessantly without changing hands, or reducing the force of the blows, till the principal part of the corn be thrashed out on one side; they then turn the sheaf and repeat the operation on the other side – they next change hands and strike in a oblique direction, which draws the straw from the sheaf an inch or two at every such blow; till the whole is completed. This gives them an opportunity of seeing and hitting every ear, till it be cleared of the grain. I have observed them often, and think there is no other method of thrashing clean by flail. This practice, it is true, tosses the straw into every direction, as much as is usually done by the mills now coming into use, and it is, therefore, nearly as much bruised.
(Middleton 1798)
Long straw thatching (and we are referring to traditional authentic) developed as a process of having to align jumbled up threshed wheat (and other cereals) straw into manageable unit yealms (tiles) that would hold together before placing them on a roof to shed rainwater.
Crops would be threshed via a threshing machine since the early 1800s, the straw coming out the straw walker exit would be somewhat jumbled, and jumbled further by straw elevators loose on building a straw stack, not much differently from the days of the flail that tossed straw about to remove the grain.
With this knowledge of the harvest process it is no wonder thatchers thatched with a mix of heads and butts showing on the surface, no other type of thatch with all butt ends showing on the surface, such as contemporary ‘straw’ or combed wheat reed or water reed can replicate the soft aesthetics and techniques employed with long straw thatching.
Long Straw thatch owners are now being mis-sold the type of thatching they are paying for, with thatchers using variants of combed wheat reed and labelling it as long straw to avoid scrutiny from local conservation officers and sidestep the listed buildings regulations, unfortunately it is generally the thatch owner that is held responsible for infringements by local authorities.
This relabeling of materials and subsequent thatching form is for all intents and purposes ‘Identity theft’
The Current Situation for Long Straw Material Availability
Two bad wet autumns for establishment of newly sown thatching wheats have been a concern for both combed wheat reed and long straw produced, yields have been down.
A number of traditional long straw producers have gone out of business over the past 10 years, primarily they were struggling to make their business pay, some struggling to sell their product as it wasn’t like combed wheat reed that many of the newer generation of thatchers preferred.
There is now a greatly reduced acreage of traditional long straw grown now, and what is grown this way is by either old machinery enthusiasts as a by-product to their hobby or die-hard long straw thatchers that rent land and use maintained old necessary harvest machinery.
Two thirds of all remaining long straw thatchers in the UK purchase their straw from one supplier in Essex, called Essex Farms. Essex Farms thatching straw is not traditionally produced as such, but their method of production is very similar to the softening effect of drum threshed straw once round baled up following a stripper header combine and swathing cutting machine.
Essex Farms has said it has enough long straw available at current demand levels until the end of 2025, not taking into account this year’s harvest, if that goes well without extreme poor weather?
So, at present there is no shortage of long straw, the problem is more like a shortage of authentic long straw thatchers! “
Variant Combed Wheat Reed labelled as longstraw with an eaves ligger (as would be on Longstraw). A ploy to make people who don’t know think it is Longstraw? Just decoration?
Old Machinery
Availability and age of machinery used in thatching straw production has been highlighted as an issue recently by Historic England. This is perhaps, currently, not the main problem, in our opinion. Changes in production from the older ways is already being questioned, (e.g. from Binder and threshing machine to header stripper on a combine). It was seen as a way forward but the question has often been additionally raised on straw quality (as it is harvested later than would be for threshing and the potential impact on longevity as deemed to be a more brittle material? Worth more discussion? Many old machinery enthusiasts also have viable equipment which could be utilised in thatching material production. Who knows how many working machines are still available?
Straw quality is hugely important to the thatcher and the homeowner as the costs involved means that maximising longevity of the roof is important. We are not just needing more thatching material to be grown and produced for thatch but for it to be good straw. Another thatching straw issue? The growing, harvesting and producing affect the quality. NB Straw quality is not the only factor affecting roof longevity.
Listed Thatch and Conservation Areas
It is universally understood that on rethatching a listed property “Like for like” means the same material, same style and appearance e.g. ridge. For example, if the roof is thatched in Longstraw it should be rethatched in the same material. How the same? Should it be the correct variety of wheat? Changes of thatching material from one to another e.g. Longstraw to Combed Wheat or Water Reed will require Listed Building Consent.
Historic England have tweaked their guidance (see below for detail) due to recent harvests but it still seems to be a postcode lottery on Councils’ responses to this information. This makes things very confusing and impossible to guess which councils will respond in what way. Surely there should be some standardisation rather than leaving it to individuals in departments to make the choice? In the past, we heard that when a change to Water Reed was approved it was expected to be put back to straw when it was next rethatched. In our experience this never happened to roofs changed to Water Reed from Straw.
It has been suggested that a national or regional database be kept for reference on all changes of material on listed thatch. This would be based on the original material also being correctly identified. Who would manage this?
Historic England and Listed Thatch
We are so proud of our historic thatched properties and they are also a huge tourism draw. The majority of these cozy, characterful “deep” thatched delights are mainly using straw on the roof. They are unique and their maintenance now needs help. The application of Combed Wheat Straw and Longstraw also show regional styles which should surely be recognised.
Historic England do a lot of research and planning around thatch. With the NFU, they funded the Fire Protection Association research into woodburning stoves and solid fuel burning. We also reported on their Tradtional Thatch Research Update in 2024 They also funded thatching straw machinery research.
Unfortunately, grants for listed domestic properties have disappeared and VAT is no longer reduced on thatching works, as it was previously. Our friends at LPOC have tirelessly worked to try to get this VAT issue addressed (for all listed properties) and we have always promoted their efforts. This would help with the issue of the costs involved in maintaining our thatched roofs.
These financial disincentives, coupled with the straw shortages makes sale of a listed thatched property more complex and potentially less attractive to purchasers? It is intertwined with our straw issues. The online Historic England information is somewhat convoluted, “hard to find and sends visitors round in circles” we have been told. “Seems to be open for variable interpretation”.
It needs clarity for everyone as rumours abound about the future of our straw roofs.
Historic England advice on maintenance in times of straw shortages is also interesting. We don’t know of any homeowners of listed properties who have been interested in spending money temporarily on “rick thatching” as mentioned on their website as a way to use less straw until more becomes available. This, we presume, is primarily due to the cost implications and maybe the “look”. We also wonder how many thatchers actually know how to thatch a rick?
Their advice on tarpaulins on badly worn roofs make sense for homeowners (especially with such long waiting times for thatchers to do the work).
It is interesting that block ridges, in particular those with a patterned cut, are fairly recent application of straw to roofs and not historic. The Historic England Guidance on returning block to a flush ridge (should perform as well but uses less straw) makes a lot of sense. Do all conservation officers understand this? Not so pretty you may say but still perfectly functional and should last as long.
Historic England research and reports need to have actions afterwards. With only guidance towards conservation officers’ decisions, their advice seemingly adds to the ability of homeowners and thatchers to do what they like. Recent use of SPAB for queries led to our concerns (mentioned in our October 24 Newsletter) that the SPAB web advice on thatch was strangely out of date e.g. pre the Historic England funded fire research. We found this frustrating and highlighted these errors accordingly, nagged at lack of progress and now, at last, it appears some relevant corrections have been made. It is appreciated that financial cuts seem to be affecting all government organisations. Lack of being on top of situations allows for abuse/ignoring of regulations and the general mayhem which we hear about.
The Thatch Advice Centre have never been so busy with queries on listed thatch properties, availability of straw (and thatchers) as well as potential for change of materials.
Appreciating that any application has its individuality based on that particular property, it would still be helpful if there were more standardised responses from Councils based on the Historic England guidance. It would make our motto of working together much easier!
Home Owners
Maintenance and insurance costs are high on the agenda for thatched property homeowners.
Rebuild valuations of all thatch include the roof value and costs involved with the different materials surely need to be taken into account? Do those doing the rebuild valuation have a standard price for thatch or the different materials?
Availability of competent thatchers to apply thatching materials appropriately is also a problem. Even getting a quotation can be tricky. How will a thatcher with a 2-year waiting list know what the price of material will be in two years? Or even three?
The topic of changing materials on Listed thatch and those in Conservation areas e.g. from Longstraw to Water Reed is an interesting one. Similarly changes from Combed Wheat Straw to Water Reed is happening as previously mentioned. Is it due to cost, ideas that Water Reed is longer lasting (this is another topic worthy of investigation/discussion), or due to availability of materials? Don’t forget the need for Listed Building Consent and all the palaver which goes with that.
The time taken and costs in obtaining listed building consent for any material changes can also be an issue which homeowners have to contend with.
Thatchers
Thatchers’ skills and knowledge have been mentioned before but is extremely important.
All thatchers now call themselves a Master Thatcher irrelevant of their skills, knowledge or even if they are proven master men who have trained others. There also appears to be a variance in expertise and understanding of the materials they are using, their production and application. Most thatchers can apply Water Reed but how many can apply Combed Wheat well and it will be interesting to find out how many (or how few) can apply proper Longstraw.
All thatchers will want to continue to work and, in times of straw shortages switching to Water Reed is the obvious route. Changing material on a listed property or one in a conservation area is also one of the straw issues previously mentioned and it can change the look of a property considerably. Water Reed can be applied to look more like Combed Wheat but looking like a Longstraw roof !! Hmmm. Many thatchers are busy with long waiting lists and it is often said that we are reaching the situation where we don’t have enough proficient thatchers to maintain our roofs properly. This is why we have been working with a motivated group of passionate Master Thatcher to reintroduce a sustainable Government Funded apprenticeship (see section below) to endeavour to increase the numbers of well-trained thatchers. Thatchers who have undergone independent assessment to meet standardised criteria. Knowledge of the materials is part of this. Some thatchers still grow their own straw and have the competence and understanding to do so, but the majority don’t. It has been said to us “they don’t have a clue” which is concerning.
It is not that we think thatching should be more regulated. The Government funded apprenticeship being created should improve self-regulation. Knowledge and understanding of Combed Wheat and Longstraw, their production, differences and application will benefit everyone maintaining our thatched properties in the future.
Concerns over thatchers taking on apprentices and then it putting them over the VAT threshold has been mentioned. Are the majority of good thatchers who are working full time VAT registered? How many are not? Will this impact the apprenticeship? We hope not. If they take on apprentices, more straw will be needed.
Planned increase in national insurance contributions is another issue raised. Harvesting thatching straw is labour intensive and this will affect the costs of producing the straw either for a farmer or if a thatcher grows his own.
Social media has highlighted some improvement in that it shows that thatchers like to be in touch with each other. However, pretty pictures of new thatch are not always as wonderful or well thatched as they are purported to be. Correct depth over the fixings, tightness and spar alignment are areas of concern where we see more and more situations evolving. If the straw material is in short supply, we want the thatching to maximise its longevity not hinder it with these mistakes. A convoluted but relevant point on the thatching material issues we feel.
Being a paid member of an organisation is no guarantee that you get a better thatching job done on a roof. It depends on the organisation. We get as many reports of issues with member thatchers as we do from those who are independent. Membership of organisations is no longer is a guarantee of skill (which is a big shame we feel). Another postcode lottery or is it just a lottery? Due diligence and doing one’s homework on employing a thatcher is always recommended, especially if you have a listed property needing relevant maintenance in straw.
Thatching is also an unregulated, fragmented and mainly self-governed craft. The majority of thatchers are independent of any of the thatching groups. The paid for membership organisations have their own agendas (usually based on those who are running them) and do not always fulfil their mission statements. Regional thatching organisations exist and some are strong and provide a great service for our straw thatched properties in preserving skills, techniques and style. Sadly, these Associations do not cover the whole country, another postcode lottery? As they are voluntarily run, it is understandable. The internet is used by so many for information nowadays. Sadly, thatching information found can be variable, out of date or unreliable.
Thatchers used to book their materials for their jobs, purchase and put in their barns so they were organised and prepared. Some even grew their own. The majority of thatches now just order materials from the few larger material suppliers in the country, often no forward planning. Why are they surprised when none is available immediately following a phone call? Understanding the situation following bad harvests should be apparent. We have had several homeowners contact us with this thatching straw supply issue and, if works have started, it is an awkward conversation. Material suppliers are probably more likely to find supplies for regular customers who are good payers.
Apprenticeship
Concerned thatchers who contacted us were eventually pulled together to work on a new and sustainable, independently assessed Thatching Apprenticeship. This group knew very well about the straw issues above, lack of knowledge in growing, preparation and application of those materials. They have obviously allowed for both Combed Wheat Straw and Longstraw in the knowledge, skills and behaviour sections of the new thatching apprenticeship course.
In the past, thatchers who met other thatchers from around the country at the apprenticeship college training, forged friendships with like minded craftsmen. This helped to unite the trade by making thatchers feel less isolated and giving them a forum for discussion. We also know that work we have done at the Thatch Advice Centre has helped to build a better community, as we include all thatchers (the good the bad and the ****!!).
An apprenticeship, open to all and sustainable will be so important for the future of our currently fragmented trade.
Insurance
All insurances are an issue for homeowners, and thatch insurance is a topic on which we are regularly contacted. Waiting for thatchers for maintenance is an issue and can affect insurance cover, so straw supply issues are having a knock-on effect here too. We help organise many roof inspections for insurance purposes (sensibly we think to avoid spurious claims) and availability, quality of materials, longevity and application are all considerations. Straw when threshed to remove the corn can vary in its residue which can be attractive to vermin. Is this another issue?
Buying and Selling Thatch
Straw roofs needing maintenance can affect the seller’s ability to complete a sale or have an effect on sale price. This can be due to straw shortages or no thatchers being booked to maintain it or, on request, they find availability is a long way ahead (some thatchers have years’ waiting lists).
Unapproved changes of material to listed properties from straw to water reed also can cause issues with lack of paperwork. These are related situations which have been drawn to our attention.
Related Straw Issues
Thatching straw conversations are not new but these thatching straw issues are seeming to have a worse impact than previously. Other associated issues to the straw situation are apparent.
How many thatchers know how a spar is made, can make one or can they even twist one? Imported spars are pre twisted. Another area which needs looking at is the national woodland management and availability of material for UK made spars and liggers. The issue of knowledge and skills again raises its head – along with the value. More money in making a hazel hurdle than there is in making spars. Older thatchers could make their own spars if they got needed to or the weather was too bad for thatching. Coppicing is important to thatching and so we are mentioning this under the thatching straw issues as it is relevant too. Straw thatching needs spars and world events caused even an issue with spar supply which then affecting thatching of these straw roofs.
Some Other Points on Straw Issues
The whole issue of maintenance and care of our thatched properties, both listed and non-listed and those in conservation areas would benefit from being looked at and properly addressed with understanding and inclusion of all relevant parties. We strongly believe that all straw issues mentioned are intertwined. Time to deal with these issues in a collaborative way.
We decided not to mentioned the building regulations in this article but…. We wondered, what percentage of new thatched properties are thatched in straw? And of those that are, what percentage Combed Wheat to Longstraw. Is it regional? The majority seem to use Water Reed as it is deemed to last longer (but there seems to be a question mark on that too). Tonnes of Water Reed are also imported and only a small percentage produced in the UK. Our sustainability is perhaps then in question for all thatching materials. But that’s another article. Production of UK Water Reed.
While mentioning the huge quantity of imported Water Reed, the point was raised on the impact on the environment and Net Zero in bringing this material from places such as China, Romania, Turkey etc. If we were able to produce a lot more straw (or Reed) it could hugely reduce this impact along with the sustainability of the craft. Less reliance on others.
Based on the lack of governance, consistency across the country and independent nature of the trade we feel it is important that everyone is included in any discussions before decisions are made which could affect them and the thatched property owners. We are happy to be included as we communicate with everyone regardless of their affinity and have a good grasp of the situation for everyone.
Are we going to end up with houses looking like all those in Europe with coatwork in Water Reed and tiled ridges? Perhaps the idea of tiled ridges for non-listed properties is a good one in the short term when straw is short? Or even Water Reed Ridges, not so easy to thatch and do we have many thatchers with the skill to do so – even in the short term. Surely the emphasis, hopefully in the short term if supply issues can be improved, should be to preserve the straw for our heritage and think outside the box for the other thatched properties.
Too many short cuts, ignoring of regulations, personal gain over logical thatch maintenance advice and progression have sadly reared their heads. This and the wider issues mentioned above need proper resolution and to be looked at as whole. We are happy to discuss this with those who can make a difference or who have additional ideas on how it can be achieved.
Working with Others
Working with other interested parties, attempts have been made to remedy some of the above issues with some success – even if only to enlighten about situations.
This has included liaising with Historic England, the NTSGA, HM Government Apprenticeships, farmers, thatchers and vintage machinery enthusiasts to highlight and attempt to improve situations. We agree that increasing the number of farmers growing thatching straw is important to reduce weather pocket issues and potentially improve quality. The thatching straw issues above, on seeds supply and skills /labour to produce, still stand and go hand in hand with these initiatives.
We have worked hard to promote fire safety for thatch, because sadly if an old listed straw thatch is destroyed it usually seems to be reinstated in Water Reed rather than Straw. Thatchers skill and availability along with straw attainability are often part of this equation.
Historic England have also picked up on the situation and research etc has been commenced and reports are available on line. Whilst drafting this article we received their confirmation that they are
“aware of the growing, and concerning, shortage of thatching straw, following the last 2 difficult harvests, and the pressure which this is placing on thatchers and thatched property owners. In response to this situation we have recently added an update to the section of our web-site concerning thatch and thatching. This expands our guidance in relation to proposals to change thatch on listed buildings. It can be found at this link:
Our guidance already advises that in cases where a change of material is justified because the building is in urgent need of repair, supplies of combed wheat reed or long straw are not available, and patching or protecting with a tarpaulin is not possible, then listed building consent can be granted. We have now added further clarification on the type of evidence needed to support such applications including a suggested list of information that will need to be provided by the applicant and their thatcher to justify the change of material”
We have been asked to circulate this information and this timing was just right. We understand that they are also:
“disseminating it to local planning authorities and, where needed, offering further advice to those dealing with applications for a change of thatch material, to try to ensure that our guidance is applied consistently and decisions are made efficiently, in response to the emerging material shortage.
In the meantime, we are continuing our work to support thatching straw producers to try to ensure a more consistent supply for the future.”
This, we hope, will help in better dealing with some of the issues we have mentioned earlier in this article. #workingtogether is our motto and we truly hope that this year will have better growing conditions to alleviate the pressure.
Links to Relevant Thatching Straw Articles
Links to information on our Website
Thatching Straw Harvesting Workshop
Producing Straw for Thatching – A Farmers View
A Plan to Encourage More Farmers to Grow Thatching Straw
National Thatching Straw Growers Association
Thatching Straw Availability 2017-2018 season
Thatching Straw – Wheat Varieties
How Thatching Straw is Harvested and Produced
Harvesting and Producing Thatching Straw (with great videos)
Outside Links
Historic England
Challenges to Thatch Supply Threaten Vital Rural Industry
Updated Advice from Historic England
Type of evidence needed to support change of material applications
List of information To be provided by applicant and their thatcher for change of material
SPAB
SPAB Scholars thatch climate crisis and chance to bring heritage crafts back
Working Together on the Thatching Straw Issues
Helping people navigate many of these issues is what we do, for free. How long this can continue (based on the increasing number of enquiries) we don’t know as our time is finite. While we are, it is hoped this article is read, understood and acted upon by those who have the ability and finances to help improve things and deal with the important thatching straw issues we have raised. Then we can help visitors more easily.
It seems there is no overall governance or responsibility for our thatched properties. Is governance needed? Perhaps just better understanding and support for the maintenance of our wonderful variety of thatched properties is all that is required?
Indeed, no one has a list of all thatched properties in the country. A question we are regularly asked. It makes sense to have a list for the Fire Service if nothing else but knowing what material they are thatched in would be a bonus. A plan perhaps? but not one which we feel we have the resources for, even if we have the inclination!
These issues which we have highlighted are many and intertwined. Maintenance of these straw thatched properties is currently with the majority of private individuals. It is of concern that the attraction in owning them is waning, probably due to the areas we have mentioned and the perceived costs involved.
So much time and effort has already been put into dealing with some of the thatching straw issues identified. Everyone must surely continue to move forward, but together.
Do we want the easier to apply, more profitable, and majority imported, Water Reed to just be put on all of our buildings? The English landscape will look very different indeed if that’s the way it continues to go. It is absolutely not what we want to see.
In Summary
Thatching Straw Issues start with supply of grain to grow, and pass through to the growers (or lack of) the harvesters and sellers. Government assistance here, as a start, would be welcome. Weather conditions have always affected straw supply and recent winters have exacerbated the situation to an unprecedented level. We have also been told that “at present there is no shortage of Longstraw”.
The thatchers and their abilities obviously have an effect on the application of both Combed Wheat Straw and Longstraw to the roofs. Homeowners also play a part in who they choose to maintain those roofs.
The Listed Thatched properties and the situation with Conservation areas and the Councils dealing with them along with requests for change of material are also to be noted of concern. Historic England have even updated their guidance.
Costs involved in all of these issues are a factor for everyone.
Insurance of thatch, purchasing or selling thatch are all other areas affected by the thatching straw issues in one way or another.
The current abilities and training of thatchers is also a factor affecting the thatching of our straw roofs.
So much good work has been done so far. Is it too fragmented? Does it need a higher level of government/management to understand what is happening so that the future can be secured? We don’t think so if self regulation can be improved.
Decisions need to be made on how we move forward, involving everyone in that process so that good plans and resolutions are made which will work.
And Finally
Again, we say well done to those who have raised these thatching straw issues in the past, have done work to get to this stage and raised particular issues recently. Thank you to those of you who have contributed to this article, both growers, thatchers and organisations. We are grateful for your reading this article (apologies for its length but it was time to put it all out there). Hoping you appreciate our efforts in trying to show the whole picture as we see it.
If you have anything to contribute, please email us with any helpful ideas or offerings and we will endeavour to pass it on or deal with it.
