Meet Hampshire's master thatcher

Above: Thatched cottage

Above: It’s quite rare to find new builds which have thatched roofs.

Above: Simon Crouch

In his 30 years of thatching, New Forest-based Simon Crouch has thatched over 1,000 homes as far afield as Denmark, France, Germany, Belgium and Ireland. Clients have included the Sheik of Dubai and Britain’s favourite TV architect, Kevin McCloud.  He’s worked on Robbie Burn’s home in Scotland, re-roofed the Ovaltine Dairies at Watford and regularly thatches Berkeley Homes’ new builds. As a master craftsman, not only does Simon practise the ancient art of thatching and train the upcoming generation, he’s also invented a product that makes thatched homes safer and is the distributor of another.

Simon himself lives in a thatched home and likes the fact he can’t hear the wind or the rain outside. “It depends how close you want to be to nature,” he says. “You have things growing on your roof but it is cosy in the winter. Many people, particularly those who live in large cities, say they’ve always wanted to live in a house with a thatched roof – it’s their dream.”

Thatch tradition
Archaeologists estimate that thatching dates back to 500 BC and it tends to be most prevalent in counties from Oxfordshire to Dorset. Simon believes this is partly due to tradition and also because counties like Hampshire are “England’s quaint counties and people want an olde worlde feel.” Simon estimates there are 40 or more thatching firms in Hampshire alone but not many in Scotland.
Simon’s father was a farmer. He didn’t want to follow him into farming but wanted an outdoor trade. A thatcher took him on for a trial period and he’s never looked back. It takes five years to train. He’s now a master thatcher and has trained many thatchers in Hampshire and Dorset over the years. His firm currently employs 14 thatchers – one of the largest teams in Hampshire. 

Challenging work
His favourite part of the job is seeing the transformation. “You’re turning a house which is dilapidated because the roof has totally gone and when you put a new roof on – whether it’s a flush ridge or an ornamental ridge – when it’s finished it just totally transforms the house and probably adds £50,000 to £60,000 to the house’s value.
I couldn’t do a nine-to-five job. I enjoy the challenge; every roof is different. Vertical thatching – that was a big challenge, as was developing our fire retardant product Thatch-Safe.”
Thatch-Safe is a breathable, flexible, fire retardant barrier which goes under thatch and was displayed to great affect by Janet Street Porter in May this year. On Grand Design’s The House that Kevin Built, Mr McCloud and Ms Street-Porter set fire to two roofs – one treated with Magma (a fire retardant spray) and built with Thatch-Safe – and one without.
Even Simon was shocked by how quickly Janet Street-Porter’s non-treated roof went up in flames!  On the programme, Simon also demonstrated his vertical thatching skills (i.e. walls) and has done vertical thatching jobs in Belgium and Denmark. He expects vertical thatching to become more popular given that it’s both eco friendly and a very good insulator.

Raising the roof
Simon grows 200 acres of combed wheat reed in Ringwood and also has water reed beds in Romania. Most of the time he uses his own materials, as he prefers to know where they have come from. Looking back over the years, jobs he’s most proud of include the Sheik of Dubai’s home, where he thatched a two tier Chinese building in the 40 acre garden at Camberley, HMS Mercury, Eastmeon (where Prince Charles trained) and the Ovaltine Dairies at Watford – the largest thatching job to date. He also put the first English ridge on a house in Denmark. 
Simon doesn’t have any sons to carry on the family business but feels proud that he’s not only thatched over 1,000 roofs and is still counting, but offers two products that can save lives and ensure thatched home owners can sleep more easily.

Thatch facts

• There are an estimated 60,000 thatched homes in the UK.
• 30 to 40 per cent of Simon’s time in spent on new builds and 60 to 70 per cent of his time replacing thatched roofs.  
• There are three types of thatch – long straw, combed wheat reed and
water reed. 
• Long straw is used rarely in Hampshire and has the shortest life expectancy. 
• Water reed has the longest life expectancy – up to 50 years and is particularly prevalent in coastal areas. 
• New builds favour water reed or combed wheat reed.
• For an average three or four bedroom house, it costs £15,000 to £20,000 for a new roof.