DOI Artikel:
Jones, Sydney R.: Thatching
DOI Seite / Zitierlink: https://doi.org/10.11588/diglit.41879#0131
THATCHING. BY SYDNEY R. JONES
THE beauties of thatched roofs appeal to the popular imagin-
ation as well as to the trained artistic mind. They have been
praised so much and often, and with such skill, that it is idle to
attempt to write anew of their glories. The intrinsic qualities
of thatch may therefore be taken for granted; it fits its place, is right in
purpose, and pleasing to look upon. The thatcher’s craft is by no means
so much practised now as it was formerly. Old roofs are often re-covered
with tiles or slates and the use of corrugated iron is not unknown, while
similar materials are usually employed on modern buildings. But happily,
in recent times there have been signs of a new appreciation of the older
mode of roofing, and thatch is again being applied to new houses and
cottages.
Theuse of thatch dates back to days of remote antiquity. Itwas common
to many countries, made of divers materials, and served various purposes.
The protective qualities of dried grasses were probably first realisedwhen
pristine man fashioned them into rough clothing. He took a natural
progressive step when he plaited them together and formed screens
that could be moved to the windward side as a cover from the weather,
in the same way that hurdles still shield the lambs. And in time, when
the desire for a permanent abode arose, he would turn to the existing
system of things to provide a means of roofing his first rude dwelling.
The dried grasses with which he was familiar would have a new use and
be laid as thatch. At each stage of progress the same idea is evident,
natural grasses are used as a pro-
tective covering, and each of the
aforementioned conditionsexists
to-day among the primitive peo-
ples of the world. The old word
“thack,” signifying cover, is
still the vernacular of our own
countryside.
Centuries ago thatching must
have been general in the greater
part of England, not only in the
villages but in the towns, and on
important buildings as well as on
small ones. As its use diminished
it became confined to its natural
home, the grain-growing coun-
tries, or to those districts where
rushes or heather grew. Char-
acteristics were developed in
certain places ; they survive now dormer ax stoneleigh. designed by Sydney r. jones
1 *9
THE beauties of thatched roofs appeal to the popular imagin-
ation as well as to the trained artistic mind. They have been
praised so much and often, and with such skill, that it is idle to
attempt to write anew of their glories. The intrinsic qualities
of thatch may therefore be taken for granted; it fits its place, is right in
purpose, and pleasing to look upon. The thatcher’s craft is by no means
so much practised now as it was formerly. Old roofs are often re-covered
with tiles or slates and the use of corrugated iron is not unknown, while
similar materials are usually employed on modern buildings. But happily,
in recent times there have been signs of a new appreciation of the older
mode of roofing, and thatch is again being applied to new houses and
cottages.
Theuse of thatch dates back to days of remote antiquity. Itwas common
to many countries, made of divers materials, and served various purposes.
The protective qualities of dried grasses were probably first realisedwhen
pristine man fashioned them into rough clothing. He took a natural
progressive step when he plaited them together and formed screens
that could be moved to the windward side as a cover from the weather,
in the same way that hurdles still shield the lambs. And in time, when
the desire for a permanent abode arose, he would turn to the existing
system of things to provide a means of roofing his first rude dwelling.
The dried grasses with which he was familiar would have a new use and
be laid as thatch. At each stage of progress the same idea is evident,
natural grasses are used as a pro-
tective covering, and each of the
aforementioned conditionsexists
to-day among the primitive peo-
ples of the world. The old word
“thack,” signifying cover, is
still the vernacular of our own
countryside.
Centuries ago thatching must
have been general in the greater
part of England, not only in the
villages but in the towns, and on
important buildings as well as on
small ones. As its use diminished
it became confined to its natural
home, the grain-growing coun-
tries, or to those districts where
rushes or heather grew. Char-
acteristics were developed in
certain places ; they survive now dormer ax stoneleigh. designed by Sydney r. jones
1 *9