Why 100-year-old thatched roofs are so popular in England: British style gingerbread houses

2024 Author: Richard Flannagan | [email protected]. Last modified: 2023-12-15 23:55

At the sight of these beautiful "gingerbread" houses with original roofs, it seems that they are all from past centuries or even from some kind of fairy tale. But in fact, such dwellings are a highlight and, one might say, a visiting card of modern Great Britain. In the British provinces, it is still fashionable to cover roofs with thatch - as it was several thousand years ago. It's even surprising how this idea has not yet been picked up by modern Russian summer residents.

From Bronze Age dwellings to modern cottages

On the territory of the British Kingdom today, you can count about 60 thousand houses covered with thatch - you will not find such a number in any other European country.

The practice of building houses with thatched roofs existed here several millennia ago, when the local population built primitive hut-huts. Gradually, the houses became more and more perfect, but the roofs were invariably made as they were of old. For this purpose, from time immemorial, dried long stems of a special wheat variety (as, for example, they did in the south of England) or water reed (it is more popular in the eastern part of the country) have been used most often.

In the 19th century, due to the spread of new types of roofing materials (for example, shingles or slate roofing), as well as the degeneration of wheat, this tradition almost disappeared, and thatched roofs became associated with poverty. However, in the second half of the last century, the fashion for straw roofing returned to Britain and swept the provincial population with renewed vigor. Such buildings are called thatched cottages here, and the roofs themselves are simply thatch. Experts say that such roofs, even in damp England, can easily last up to half a century. Moreover, in our time, thatched roof is impregnated with special means that give a fireproof and waterproof effect.

Making a thatched roof is a whole art

In Great Britain, as you know, there are a lot of old houses, but roofers have a practice not to replace roofs completely, but simply to cover the old layers of straw with new ones. And so - several times in the entire history of the building, because some of the houses are 100-200 years old. As a result, the roofs are multi-layered and look thick, which looks very picturesque. Hence the association with a gingerbread house. However, if the old roof is completely bad, you still have to remove it, and this replacement is usually done by hotel parts.

The very same technology of manufacturing thatched roofs is very complicated, and they study this art for a long time (as a rule, from well-known, authoritative masters). Sheaves are laid tightly to each other, fastened, leveled with a special spatula and stitched.

Each specialist has his own technique. Sometimes roofers (tetchers) even make interesting patterns on thatched roofs or put a ridge by which it is possible to determine which master worked with a particular house.

To order such a roof nowadays costs a lot of money, and an appointment with especially famous masters can sometimes be made a year in advance. In other words, in modern Great Britain, a thatched roof is no longer an ordinary thing and, moreover, not an option for low-income villagers, but, on the contrary, a sign of a high status of a homeowner. After all, it is practical, environmentally friendly and very stylish. And most importantly - once again reminds the British of their roots and ancient traditions, which they are so proud of.

In general, England is an amazing country. Sometimes, in order to see her beauty, it is enough just to look at your feet. You can find out about this in our photo selection demonstrating the stunning beauty of London.