The Berkshire village of Inkpen where, on a sunny autumn afternoon, two English craftsmen are rethatching an ancient barn. There have been straw roofs in England ever since our ancestors came out of ...

GRASPING AT STRAWS is all the rage among a growing number of British homeowners, as Mark Phillips now shows us: When it comes to housing design, it's hard to get more retro than this: a thatched roof, ...

This is especially sad because thatch used to be the standard roofing material in Japan. It was used not only on farmhouses, but on the country's grandest buildings. For example, the most important ...

Roof thatching, rattan furniture making and crystal glass cutting are among 70 'critically endangered' British crafts at risk of dying out. Heritage Crafts has issued the stark warning in its latest ...

South African John Roston Smith specializes in thatched roofs, which are gaining popularity in other parts of the world. WSJ's Patrick McGroarty visits with him at several work sites. John Roston ...

A TRADITIONAL thatcher from Omagh who 'downed tools' 13 years ago in protest at a government grants scheme has stepped up his ladder again to thatch the roof of a historic cottage in Co Fermanagh.

PEOPLE DON’T NORMALLY worry too much about how the roof of their house looks. Modern roof tiles keep out water and require sparse maintenance, ensuring they go unnoticed for the most part. Thatched ...