The Studio yearbook of decorative art (1915)

THATCHING


as local traditions and are still followed. It must be remembered that
the life of a thatched roof is of necessity comparatively short. The
practice of this craft therefore relies to an unusual extent upon the un-
written code transmitted from father to son, and such ways and means
as have been handed down from generation to generation. Work con-
sequently varies as does human nature, for each man has imparted to
his own something peculiar to himself. Thatching seen in one part
of the country is rarely exactly like that to be observed in another.
Localities have their own styles and distinguishing marks. The noble
roofs of Norfolk are finely wrought; those in Devonshire have a homely
look; a certain ridge belongs to north Somerset; and the Herefordshire
thatcher plaits thoseconceits he knows so well. Manifold inventions and
deviations in the use of straw or reeds represent the heritage of centuries
of work.
Thatch has also had an important bearing on the development of local
architecture. Such roofs bring certain features to the buildings they
cover, evinced by the gentle curves, the half-hidden dormers nestling
at the eaves, and the acute pointed gables which result from the steep
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