English thatched cottages

Thatched roofs in Britain

Thatching roofs has been going on in Britain since the bronze age and the results can be seen mainly in rural villages all over the country on cottages and barns.

Originally from Switzerland, Nico and Liliane Saas-fee have settled happily with their four sons, in this large 16th century thatched cottage  in rural Hampshire. They are currently having the cottage rethatched.

Rethatching a roof

Every twenty years or so the straw that is used to thatch the roof of this beautiful cottage has to be replaced, and right now in the chilly month of February this process is well underway.

The thatching process is undertaken by attaching yealms, basically bundles of specially grown straw, to the roof with spars. The spars are twisted pieces of hazel wood which when pushed into the yealm hold the bundle in place. Although this sounds quite simple, Thatching is a specialized skill that has been passed down from generation to generation.

There is an interesting story that goes with this particular cottage. During The English Civil War between the Parliamentarian Armies of Oliver Cromwell (known as Roundheads) and Soldiers loyal to King Charles 1st (known as Cavaliers), there was a large battle near Newbury in the year 1644.

The town of Newbury lies just to the north of Hampshire in the county of Berkshire. The Cavaliers at this battle were largely defeated but two escaped hotly pursued by a band of Roundheads.

The kindly farmers wife loyal to the King and sympathetic to the plight of the two Cavaliers hid them in the loft behind a concealed door in the oak paneling in the cottage above whilst the Roundheads searched the village. Their lives were saved.

These days English Civil war battles are re-enacted by a society called the sealed knot.

                     To find out more about thatching go to The guild of straw craftsmen    click:http://www.strawcraftsmen.co.uk/finials.php To find out more about the sealed knot click:http://www.thesealedknot.org.uk/index.asp
. General discussion and your views are welcome please say hello. I regret however because of my busy schedule, I am unable to answer many questions. Sneaky advertising will be deleted sorry. Thanks so much for visiting my blog today.

Snowdrops early signs of Spring

A sure sign that the year has turned and early indicator that spring is on the way, is the blooming of the snowdrop (Galanthus). It is commonly thought of as a native wildflower of the British Isles, but it is widespread across the temperate parts of Europe and indeed is thought to have been introduced to Britain in the sixteenth century.

The varieties of snowdrop most likely to be found here in North Hampshire are the common snowdrop (Galanthus nivalis) and the Crimean snowdrop (Galanthus plicatus) the bulbs of which were brought back by soldiers so taken with the flower during the Crimean war. Both varieties flower from mid January until around mid March.

  This year has turned and early Spring snowdrops abound. They are very easy to grow and are readily available here in Britain from garden centres or online. Snowdrops are prone to drying out and the bulbs withering so don't wait to long to plant your bulbs when they arrive. It should also be noted that they don't do so well in countries or regions which have dry warm climates. The best time to buy and plant your bulbs is in the Autumn. If you want to split and divide any existing clumps you have, then the best time to do this is in the Spring. Lift the bulbs when the flowers are over and the leaves are just beginning to yellow.

Plant them in a shaded, well drained location to a depth of 8-10cm (approx. 4in) and about the same distance apart. Make sure you don't put them in to deep as they will rot. Over time snowdrops will clump and naturalise by offset. That is to say the mother bulb produces more bulbs attached to it which gradually spread out. Over a number of years these clumps will become dense so you can lift and split the bunches to aid spreading or put them in other parts of your garden.

Winter here in the UK has decided not to leave without one more icy blast and we have had heavy snow. But you can be sure the little snowdrops are hiding under the white blanket ready to make a cheerful appearance as the ice melts. To find places in Britain that have snowdrop gardens open to the public follow this link:See Snowdrops around Britain

General discussion and your views are welcome please say hello. I regret however because of my busy schedule, I am unable to answer many questions. Sneaky advertising will be deleted sorry. Thanks so much for visiting my blog today