The great majority of recreated roundhouses are thatched in the 'Glamorgan' style, which is composed of successive layers of wheat straw or water reed held down by wooden or steel spars affixed by wooden staples. It is characterised by its thickness and smooth uniform finish typical of cottages in The Vale of Glamorgan, south Wales. Because this style is a 19th Century development of a much earlier form of thatching, its use detracts from the accuracy of these buildings as experimental constructs and produces skewed results.
'Thrust' thatching is the earliest documented form of thatching and is named after the action required for securing the thatch into place. It requires the roof rafters to be entirely weaved with hazel wands, rather than individual wands tied to the outside of the roof at 14 inch intervals, as is common today. Branches of gorse were then inserted into the weave to create a thick under-thatch. A wooden tool called a 'spurtle' or 'spud' was pushed into the gorse to create an opening into which handfuls of straw was thrust. Thatching roundhouses in this way would most likely be more representative of Iron Age practices.
'Thrust' thatching is the earliest documented form of thatching and is named after the action required for securing the thatch into place. It requires the roof rafters to be entirely weaved with hazel wands, rather than individual wands tied to the outside of the roof at 14 inch intervals, as is common today. Branches of gorse were then inserted into the weave to create a thick under-thatch. A wooden tool called a 'spurtle' or 'spud' was pushed into the gorse to create an opening into which handfuls of straw was thrust. Thatching roundhouses in this way would most likely be more representative of Iron Age practices.
RSS Feed