Looking at Buildings

picturesqueGlossary Term [1] qualities, and conservation of historic buildings has encouraged the continued use of traditional forms of thatching into the present century.

Raw materials for thatching were often readily available on or near the building site but in parts of East Anglia special beds were formed for cultivating reeds specifically for this purpose. The benefit of thatching as a roofing material is its lack of weight and simpler forms of wall construction, such as mud and chalk, could therefore support it. Even in areas where brick was available, roofing might be of thatch rather than tiles; often because suitable reeds or wheat stalks could be cut from the same clay soil from which the bricks would be made.

• Read about different thatching materials and techniques [2].