Thatch is one of the fundamental and sadly neglected aspects of our built heritage. Like fire it has been with us, in one form or another, for thousands of years. Like the hair on a head it has been the crowning glory of our abodes down through the ages. It is renewable, local, plentiful, strong and capable of covering almost any shape.

However, for reasons of fashion and convenience it's use has all but disappeared.
It's growing medium - our waterways and soils - are so polluted that the quality of Irish reed and straw available has lost it's durability.
Our suburban, semi-detatched, uniformity prefers the 'tidier' asbestos slates or tiles churned out by the manufacturing industry.
The responsible government authorities have resolutely turned their backs on it's developmental possibilities.

And yet a well thatched roof never fails to stop us in our tracks. It connects us with our past. It individualises us. It is something we can hold on to in this crazy world.