Ivy Cottages, Ash Green, Trentham, Staffordshire, 1974.
About
Early days
Village thatcher 1971-1973
My introduction to thatching happened purely by chance. One day out on a bike ride I came across a thatcher re-thatching the roof of an old village Post Office in straw. I stopped and watched him work for a while on a bright summers day in 1971. I was 13 years old at the time, and that day had an impact on me. I learnt later the thatcher working on that Post Office roof was Cecil Purser, and that his brother Frank, also a thatcher, lived in our village. The next two summer holidays were spent helping Frank Purser.
Norfolk Reed Thatchers Ltd. 1974-1978
In 1974 I started work as an apprentice with Norfolk Reed Thatchers Ltd. of Henley-on-Thames. Four years were spent working across the country and gaining experience in all aspects of reed thatching. We were expected to work in all but the very worst of weather, protective clothing consisted of a donkey jacket, plastic mac and leggings. If too rough to be on a roof, we found somewhere undercover to prepare hazel for ridging. My starting pay was £6.00 per week, with a small travel allowance to return home once a month for a weekend.
Back to Frank 1979-1983
In the new year of 1979 with enough experience to be useful, I managed to persuade Frank Purser to take me on as his assistant. Frank was to be the last in a long line of family thatchers and a real countryman. Working along side him was one of the most memorable times of my life. He was an unbroken link to the past, with memories of a way of life that had essentially remained unchanged for generations.
One morning in the winter of 1983 I drove alone towards a large Norfolk reed re-thatch Frank had put my way, and the first job I could put my own name to.
