The new thatched cottages in Church Lane Welford are thatched in Norfolk reed to a minimum thickness of 12” over the battens, over a fire retardant barrier. (masterboard)

The reed is built up in horizontal strips over the woodwork using the extra height of the fascia board at the bottom of the rafters. This is used at the eave and gable to start the roof off at the right angle to ensure correct tension is started on the roof. This bend and tension in the reed is all that keeps the material on the roof.

As the bundles are put on the roof, sways of hazel stick and high tensile steel rod are fastened to the rafters by inserting a steel spike. The hook end holds the sway over the thatch and the point is driven into the rafter 1” to 2”. Adjusting the angle of the spike and positioning of the sway ensures that the fastenings are at least 5” under the following courses. (See diagram)

13 courses build up each side. Although known as Norfolk Reed the material on these houses came from Southwold marsh in Suffolk. Each one measures about 25” around the butt (the base end you can see) and varies in length from 4 to 8 feet long and weighing 5 to 8 pounds each.

(Sorry for the non-EC measurements but I still measure in fathoms, long and short hundreds and squares!)

For these three cottages 2,970 bundles have been used. 1,170 spikes ranging from 8 to 14 inches, 2,496 feet of hazel rod and the same in high tensile steel. A blacksmith at Buntingthorpe makes the spikes for me.

I coppice Hazelnut wood with other members of Rutland & Leicestershire Master Thatchers Association in part of Rockingham great forest. All the pattern “wood work” that can be seen is Hazel cut and prepared as I require it.

At the apex of the roof timbers a roll of reed is laid to maintain the bend in the bundles, as the top course is laid, reed oversailing the other side is cut off. When the other side thatched this is also cut so that the cut ends link into each other forming a watertight seal.

Straw for the ridge is used because reed is brittle and cannot be bent over the apex and the fastening method would open up the surface. One ton of straw from Dunmore in Essex has been used (Maris Widgeon for the farmer readers)

The straw is shaken into a loose heap and pulled out a hand full at a time and bundled up so that all the straws are parallel and the leaves and rubbish are removed. The ridge is made of three components, the first (Skirt the second covers this and the ends are bent over the other side of the roof, the final layer is bent over the apex and a third fixing roll.

The internal fixings in the ridge and the surface fixings are all of hazel rods mainly split from the round into quadrants of 4, 6, or eight held by shorter split sticks or spars twisted and bent into a “hair pin” shape.

The spars are driven into the rolls some, 4,000 of these have been used together with 1,600 feet of liggers or the horizontal wooden patterns you can see, The diamond shape patterns that can be seen are a modified type of spar, 800 being used.

To protect the ridge and gable ends from bird, squirrel and gale damage they are netted with 340 feet of 20 gauge galvanised ¾ “ mesh 4’ wide netting held with 16 gauge wire pins. I have not calculated the tea and coffee.

The U value of 12 inches of Phragmites australis (water reed) on a pitch of 45 degrees is about 0.35 W/sq m K. Building regulations require  0.25 W/sq m K. On a new build there will need to be some additional insulation.

Multiple layered roofs like some combed wheat and long straw will have a better U-value due to the physical thickness. The insulation value will also be affected in particular with water reed's tendency to allow air flow through the material.