![]() ![]() These are open-hall buildings with multiple layers of thatching that, through the years, have taken on certain characteristics that enable us to track the history of the buildings themselves. The oldest surviving structures in England with thatching still intact date back to the 14th century. To date, we have numerous records from the 12th and 13th centuries indicating thatched roofing being used not only for family homes but also castles, churches, and even university buildings. As the Normans conquered England and eventually integrated with the English, their methods for thatched roofing became the standard. The Normans were well known for roof thatching when they made their way to the British Isles in the 11th century. Fast forward to the 11th and 12th centuries, and it's a different matter altogether. No specific archaeological evidence directly points to such early dates because none of the structures from the era remains standing. ![]() The earliest documented record of thatched roofing we have to date is circa 700 AD.Īlthough little is known of thatched roofing history during the eighth and ninth centuries, historians assume that thatching with wild grasses and straw was probably fairly common for the day. There have been some suggestions that thatching dates as far back as the Bronze Age, but such assumptions have never been proven. Quite a bit of debate exists over how far back thatched roofing history actually goes in Britain. To that end, there are now efforts being made by a handful of organisations to preserve existing thatched roofs for posterity's sake. In Great Britain, we view thatching as a way to preserve history more than anything else. Roofs are constructed by gradually layering the chosen materials to create a surface that is heavy enough to act as an insulator and thick enough to keep moisture out.Īs a craft and construction method, thatching is still used in developing countries around the world. Base materials can be anything from straw to water reed to heather – and even rushes, too. Thatching is the craft of constructing a roof using dry vegetation. But the more we learn about this historical construction method, the more we are coming to appreciate the genius behind its design.Īs a starting point for this discussion, let us define what thatching is. In fact, very little research had been done into thatched roofing history in Western Europe until the early to mid-1990s. The history of thatched roofing in Great Britain is not as clear as we'd like it to be. That's because thatched roofing was a staple of British home construction for centuries. Some of the thatching you would see would be fairly modern by comparison, but many of the roofs could be hundreds of years old. Drive down any country Lane in England and you are likely to see quaint family homes and farmhouses with thatched roofs.
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