Defendingthethatching traditionin EastHertfordshire Mike Harris discusses problems in maintaining the traditional simple local style of long straw thatching. With the approaching millennium, all appears relatively harmonious within the ancient craft industry of thatching in East Hertfordshire although this situation has not been achieved easily nor without vigorous debate. The threat to the very existence of thatched roofs has largely receded through the protection afforded by listed building legislation, local plan policies and, in this area, the use of the Historic Building Grants system. Social changes have also benefited the craft as the possession of thatched property has now somewhat middleclass cachet, where historically, thatch was the cheapest of vernacular roofing materials for agricultural workers housing. Long gone are the days of the wretched image of thatching as recorded in 77.1eBuilder (28 June 1845) "Thatching waste. It would be impossible, after having entered so generally into all the various details connected with homesteads, to omit one most important consideration respecting them. I allude to the habit; too often in use, of thatching buildings. 'Ibis cannot be too generally reprehended. Tbe arguments against it are endless~-it entails considerable expense, robs the land, creates danger from fire, is a harbour for vermin. Either of these objections is a sufficient reason for stopping this monstrous practice." Due in part to the generally poor rural economic climate in the 18th and 19th centuries and up to the Second World War, England has been left with a generous legacy of thatched buildings. Fortunately for posterity, the cost of tiling or slating these buildings could not be afforded. In East Hertfordshire, approximately 250 of the District's 4,000 listed buildings are thatched, and most of these are in the local tradition of long straw. Since the 1960s, however, there has been a greater threat to the distinctive 12 • Enthusiasticblock cut ridge. character of long straw thatch within this part of the count1y than in all the previous centuries of use. These threats are threefold: (a) the nitrate problem; (b) the increased popularity of wheat reed and water reed; and (c) the elaboration of ridge designs and associated detailin.g The overuse of nitrates in agriculture has been well documented, where the increase in grain production was at the expense of the quality of straw for thatching. This has been largely dealt with by thatching straw being specifically grown for the sole use of the industry. Nevertheless, the knock-on effect of poor long straw production Historic evidence, c. 1890. was the wider use of combed wheat reed and water reed thatching, thereby significantly changing the character of the local historic roofscape. East Hertfordshire District Council's Historic Building Grant system has enabled the Conservation Officers tomonitor this situation closely. By targeting grant aid at rethatching projects, there has been a success in restricting the insidious spread of wheat reed and water reed, and long straw has been reintroduced to properties that had been rethatched in wheat reed in the post-war period. By combining enhancing grant aid with the requirement for listed building consent for a change from longstraw the situation has largely been brought under control. One unfortunate side effect of the Council's firm line has been the emergence of a hybrid thatch - combed wheat reed dressed up as long straw. This has proven a more difficult issue to deal with and the control of this practice hinges crucially on an accurate definition of long straw. Much debate has taken place between Conse1vation Officers, English Heritage, SPAB, the Master Thatchers Association and thatchers themselves. The result is now the wide acceptance of the definitions of long straw from two sources. The first definition from the East Anglia Master Thatchers Association is: "Longstraw should bea hollow stemmed winter grown wheat with minimum averagelength of30inches(750mm). Currently, the main varieties in use are MARIS WIDGEON,MARIS HUNTSMAN, AQUILLA, SQUARE HEADED MASTER and MASTERPIECE. Tbreshing should leave the straw stem as little bruised and broken as possible. Long straw is composed of loose uncombed material dampened and shaken into a bed. The straw is then pulled out in bunches with ears and butts dispersed randomly Context 56 December 1997
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