Chris Tomkins Master Thatcher
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Traditions and Harvest Methods

This page is about some of the special projects we are involved with which focus on the history and traditions of thatching. We grow our own straw at the Weald and Downland Museum ( www.wealddown.co.uk), which features many historic houses and agricultural buildings dating from the 13th century to victorian times, and have run a series of open days and work shops demonstrating the various methods of harvesting straw and traditional thatching practices. Click on the screens below to open one of our movies or slideshows: These movies require the Flash Player plug-in which you can download by visiting www.adobe.com/go/getflashplayer/
screengrab of corn threshing movie screengrab of corn cutting movie
Movie showing corn being fed into a threshing machine to produce long straw Movie showing a machine cutting the corn and binding it into sheaves
screengrab of harvesting to thatching slideshow screengrab of re-roofing and thatching a barn slideshow
Slideshow of weald and downland visit by HRH Prince Charles: from harvesting the corn, to thatching. Slideshow of a timber barn: from rebuilding the old roof, to creating a new thatch.