thatched roof n : a house roof made with a plant material (as straw)

thatch n.

1. Plant stalks or foliage, such as reeds or palm fronds, used for roofing.
2. Something, such as a thick growth of hair on the head, that resembles thatch.
3. Dead turf, as on a lawn.

thatched, (To cover with thatch) thatching, thatches thatcher n. 

[Middle English thacche, alteration (influenced by thecchen, thacchen, to thatch, from Old English theccan, to cover.  thaec, thatch), or thak from Old English thæc (Still sometimes used in the U.K. midlands  as ‘thaker’ to describe a thatcher) the word is common to many Teutonic languages in the sense of " roof," " cover "; cf. Du. dak, Ger. dach; from Du. dekken comes " deck"; the Indo-European root is stag, whence Gr. ffreyos, roof, Lat. tegere, to cover; the French equivalent to thatch is chaume   -   couverture en chaume literally  cover in stubble.

 Thatch

The material employed for roofs in the place of tiles, slates or shingles it consists of many different plant materials readily available in the part of the world suitable material is available, of which usually several layers are required, typically in the U.K. to the depth of from 12 to 14 in.,  

These can and do vary within quite small distances - even village to village as does the spelling! It is not complete and still being added too, it would be a shame if we lose some as we standardise so if you have any let me know before we older thatchers die off!!

·               Apron                       Single sided section constructed as a half ridge to make good the joint under a chimney or window

·               Arris Rail                 see tilting fillet

·               Back Filling             Laid above battens and under main thatch, used to adjust the tilt or angle of reed or straw

·               Band                        see bond

·               Barge Board           Solid vertical board used as an alternative to turned or cut gable end

·               Barge                      see gable

·               Barrel Gable           see rolled gable

·               Base Coat               Roughly thatched coat over the rafters to straighten undulations and provide a sound base for the final coat

·               Battens                   Horizontal strips of timber fixed to the rafters to prevent materials falling through and aid fastening

·               Batting                    see bolting

·               Bed                          A random heap of thatching material from which straws are pulled to remove unwanted rubbish and ensure the stems are parallel

·               Biddle:                     Working platform hooked into thatch and or battens instead of a ladder

·               Binder                     see sways

·               Bolder                     Bulrush

·               Bolting                    Bundle of tied, threshed straw from the thrashing process

·               Bond                        Twist of straw, reed, withy or bramble used to tie a bundle of thatch to roof can be sparred on or stitched

·               Bottle                      Small quantity of material tied at the small end, used for starting the angle needed for setting eaves and gables

·               Box Gutter              Leaded gutter and associated flashing behind a chimney or protruding structure passing through the roof

·               Broaches                see spar

·               Brow Course          The first course of material; after the eave wadd is put in, which sets the pitch of the roof and the point of the eave

·               Black Thatch          Heather thatching – mainly Scottish borders

·               Bunch                      see bundle

·               Bundle                    Quantity (of reed) of Water reed approximately 24" (600 mm) or continental at 39" (1 m) in circumference at the tie, A more accurate measure of reed quantity is for example 7 to the fathom (7 bundles of reed measured the butt with a 6 foot rope)

·               Butt                          The lower (cut) end of a bundle of straw or reed

·               Butting                    Dressing the butt ends by dropping on to a hard clean surface. i.e. a butting board / spot board

·               Casework                see half coat

·               Casing                     see half coat

·               Cheek                      Side of window

·               Coat                         Layer of entire thatch sometimes over an existing roof see half coat & face

·               Coatwork                The surface of the roof, same as face

·               Combed Wheat      Wheat straw which has been passed through a reed comber, a modification of a thrashing drum to mechanically straighten and clean out the unwanted leaf

·               Course                    A horizontal layer of reed or straw thatch

·               Cripple                    see biddle

·               Crooks                    Made from (6 - 10 mm) iron rod varying from 8" - 12" (200 300 mm) in length, pointed at one end, and with a forged right angle hook on the other to hold the sway. Driven into the rafters to secure the roof. See screw fix - now one of the most popular, a screw with stainless steel wire attached screws into rafter and wire twisted around the sway

·               Cross Rods            Mainly Hazel rods split and used for fixing and ornamentation between liggers.

·               Dolly                        see roll

·               Dressing                 Driving the material into final position by striking with a legget or drift

·               Drift                         see legget (strictly a combed wheat tool with a wooden grooved face)

·               Dutchman               Type of Legget originating from the Netherlands, so called as it is shaped like a clog

·               Eave                        First course of thatch forming the outermost point

·               Face                         The surface of the main roof

·               Fathom                    The quantity of water reed required to fill a 6 foot rope at the butt

·               Feather                   Seed head on water reed

·               Firring                     see battens

·               Flag                          Iris found in reed, was also used as a thatching material

·               Flashing                  Cement or lead sheet fixed over the thatch and onto brickwork at the chimney or wall abutments

·               Fleeking                  A woven mat of water reed used as an alternative to battens; rarely used now. Photo

·               Flue                         see gable

·               Gable                       The finished edge of the thatch over hanging the gable end of a property.

·               Gadd                        Length of Hazel Nut wood before splitting into spars or liggers

·               Goosenecks           see spar

·               Half Coat                 To thatch in any material over the existing thatch after it has been stripped to a reasonable level and re-fastened to the rafters if needed

·               Hazel                       Corylus Aveliana (L) - used for spars, sways and rods - said to be hardier than withy

·               Hook                        see crooks

·               Iron                          see crooks

·               Knuckle                   Handful of straw, bent double

·               Ledger                    see sway

·               Legget                     Tool that hits the ends of the reeds and pushes them into position

·               Liggers                    Split (mainly Hazel) 4' - 5' (1 - 1  m) used on the outside surface of ridges and in the case of long straw to the eaves and gables

·               Long Straw             Threshed wheat straw prepared by hand. More information Straw thrashed but not combed or combine harvested. Varieties of wheat : Little Josh, Red Standard, Square Headed Master

·               Nail                          see crooks

·               Needle                    Used to stitch on the thatch, an iron rod with an eye to apply stitching material around the sway and rafter/batten

·               Net                           Galvanised wire or polyethylene used to protect thatch from bird damage

·               Nib                           Portion of roof beside window or chimney

·               Nitch                        Bundle of combed wheat reed weighing 28lb

·               Norfolk Reed          Water Reed, Continental Reed,  Reed, (Phragmites australis) used to be classified as Phragmites communis Member of the grass - bamboo family 2 feet to 8 feet for thatching purposes. More information

·               Pattern Pieces       see cross rods

·               Peg                          see spar (usually untwisted)

·               Pin                           Pointed length of steel used to temporarily hold materials with a cross piece at the top to hold sways

·               Pinnacle                  A raised end of a ridge, gable or top point of a hip

·               Pricker                    Length of gadd about a yard long, used to fix sways on rick thatches not twisted as in spars

·               Reeding Pin           see pin

·               Ridge                       Capping on topmost part of the roof: a/ Plain - Finished flush to the surface of the roof with minimal decoration. b/ Decorated - Crossed or herring bone pattern pieces c/ Straight Cut Block ridge 3" - 4" (100 - 200 mm) thick cut straight line below bottom ligger. d/ Ornamental Cut Block Bottom edge of the ridge cut shaped to the desired pattern. Ridge Yealm A yealm of ridging material without pronounced taper at either end forming the topmost part of the ridge. Covering of supple straw or sedge grass, laid along apex of roof to bind and protect the main thatch. Other types include wrap-over, butt up, knuckle, rope, flush, straight cut and patterned. Patterns include dragons' teeth, diamond, scalloped, clubbed, herring-bone and crossed

·               Rod                          see sway

·               Roll                          Sausage like roll(s) of reed or straw 4" - 8" 100 - 200 mm) in diameter and of any suitable length used to build up the ridge to a sharp apex prior to capping

·               Rolled gable           The main roof continues round the gable end and is fixed with liggers

·               Rye Straw               Threshed and used now mainly for ridging.

·               Saddle                     The junction of a ridge with a main coat

·               Scraw                      Mainly Irish method of turf laid on the rafter as a substrate for thatch

·               Screw Fixing          A screw attached to a stainless steel wire is fixed into the rafter and the wire fastened to the sway.

·               Sedge                      (Cladium mariscus) Used for capping a water reed roof. Unusually may be used as long straw

·               Server                     Semi skilled thatchers labourer

·               Set                           see tilt

·               Sheaf                       Bundle of crops as cut from the field by binder or hand  - 8 sheaves make a stook, 16 make a stock

·               Skirt                         The lowest courses of a ridge thickened at the butt when used as a cut pattern roof

·               Spar Coat                see half coat

·               Spar                         Split (mainly hazel) rods 30"  pointed at each end and twisted in the centre into a staple shape and used to fix half coat work or the liggers/cross rods on the ridge

·               Spikes                     see crooks

·               Spit                          see spar

·               Spot Board             Board for 'butting up' of reed bundles see butt

·               Spragger                 see pin

·               Springing                see tilting fillet

·               Square                    Traditional measurement for the area of a thatched roof = 10 feet X 10 Feet

·               Stalch                      see stelch

·               Stelch                      Thatching in a vertical strip up the roof rather than horizontally as in course mainly Long straw

            Stinger                    A slim cricket bat shaped tool used to patch, or insert straw into the base coat for a type of half coat  thatching

·               Stool                        Clump of growing Hazel

·               Stulch                      see stelch

·               Sway                        Hazel or steel rod used to secure thatch to the rafters in the roof. The sways are fixed by stitching with tarred cord, screw ties, or by crooks driven into each rafter at intervals dictated by the length of the materials to be fixed, these are covered by each succeeding course or stelch

·               Sweep                     The forming of a valley

·               Tarred Cord           Strong cord treated with Stockholm tar. Synthetics are also used but tying is rare as a permanent fixture, when used the sway is tied to the rafter or batten or no sway is used.

·               Thatching Nails      see crooks

·               Thrashing               Methods of removing grain from straw manually or mainly mechanical now in a thrashing drum

·               Tilting Fillet            Timber used at the eave and gable to start the roof off at the right angle to ensure correct tension is started on the roof. Frequently triangular

·               Top Gabble            see ridge yealm

·               Twisle                      Hooked crank for twisting vegetable material into bonds

·               Twisters                  see spar

·               Verge                       see gable

·               Wadd                       Small bundle of material to continue the action of the tilting fillet.

·               Wand                       Length of unsplit willow or hazel, usually less than 1" diameter

·               Water Reed            Phragmites Communis now re classified as Phragmites australis obtained traditionally from East Anglia now additionally from European countries and Turkey see Norfolk Reed

·               Wibbler                    Hooked tool to fasten wire netting by twisting one strand to another

·               Wimble                    see Twisle

·                Withy                       Willow used for rods sways and spars

·               Yealm                      A prepared drawn arm full of long straw or sedge 14" - 18" (350 - 450 mm) wide and 4" (100 mm) thick. Used like a thick roof tile

·               Yelm                        see yealm

                                          A note on measurement. Thatch being a 'thick 3d' material is measured from the (projected) apex of the ridge, round the eave / gable to the wall, not by the rafter length

      Cut Away Roof Diagram    Tools