AROUND 40 thatchers from across the country attended the the National Society of Master-Thatchers' 40th annual conference at the Passage Hotel, Kingsteignton, at the weekend. One of the chief topics was the new apprenticeship scheme the society is launching in May. Chief executive Marjorie Sanders said they were hoping to get ten students in their first intake. 'Thatching is really thriving. One of the reasons are environmental issues. Thatch is an extremely good material. In Dorset one in three new builds are thatched.' She said the modular course would be practical-based with opportunities to work with different thatchers to learn different techniques. During the four-day event, delegates visited Morris's Iron Works at Dunsford, where specialist tools are crafted. The party then moved onto Winkleigh to inspect thatching straw processed by Tristan Johnson, another society member. A bone of contention among some thatchers is English Heritage's insistence on the use of traditional combed wheat reed, instead of the longer-lasting and therefore cheaper water reed. Vice-president Mick Dray, from Lustleigh, said modern wheat straw was not what it used to be. 'When I started in 1962, a roof could last up to 28 years. 'We're looking now at 15 years. It doesn't last as long because farming methods have changed – they don't put dung from the animals back on the land. 'If they force us to use combed wheat reed, thatched roofs will become extinct, because of the cost. All we want is to keep the status quo,' he said. But it seems the status quo is destined to change. Mrs Sanders said the two wheat straw varieties used by thatchers are to be removed from Defra's National List of plant varieties and seeds. She said: 'It means there will be no wheat straw for thatchers in the UK.' She said the society had been invited to take part in the Royal Institute of Agricultural Botany trials taking place at the former Seale-Hayne College, Newton Abbot, of two possible substitutes: tripicale and rye. 'There will be assessments of each of the varieties. They will be harvested at the appropriate time and some will go on to roofs that will be monitored. It is such a good opportunity for us. Instead of always facing the past we can now have materials for the future. It's absolutely fantastic,' she said.
