| Straw Finials / Straw Animals / Straw Ornaments | ||
01223 892861
It is many a year since hayricks and straw stacks were thatched. Rick ornaments took various forms - a cockerel or a bird,
a cross or a crown, a boat, an apple or a turnip, a "churn", a "mell" or a "kirn".
These were usually secured by an ash-pole to the apex or the gable end of the corn rick.
Straw golden eagle
Tel:- 01223 892861 or email brian.mizon@hotmail.co.uk
Straw heron
A thatch covering on a rick or stack was only a temporary form of covering,
unlike the thatch on a dwelling which could be expected to last for many years.
Straw fox and cubs
Old country beliefs were that the stack and rick ornaments would keep away both birds and witches.
The designs were originally of a religious nature, thus intended to scare away witches, but a countryman always hedges his bet,
and would say the ornaments also gave a witch something to play with, thus diverting her attention from making mischief elsewhere.
Straw boxing hare
Straw ornaments on the thatch of houses have been recorded as far back as 1689 .
The skill of the thatcher has moved into new dimensions, and modern ornaments such as aeroplanes, fishes, pigs, dragons, and even a "millennium bug"
can now be seen and enjoyed, though the traditional pheasants and foxes still remain firm favourites.
The thatcher's dolly is constructed very differently: the simpler designs such as a perched bird or fish uses straw that is bunched and tied firmly into shape;
with the more complicated designs such as a fox, lamb or peacock, the straw is wired onto an armature.
Some birds are constructed and set into the roof to serve as a weather vane, and very fine they look, too, spinning in the breeze.
Straw dog ( schnauzer terrier )
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| C. H. Warren (Corn Country, 1940) mentions the lamb finials of the limestone belt, and also dispels the myth that the patterns cut in the straw just under the ridge were of special significance or a particular thatcher's "trademark", explaining that the double thickness was necessary where it bore the brunt of the weather. Similarly, the herringbone or diamond pattern of withies worked along the eaves served a practical rather than purely decorative purpose, tethering the straw more securely on an exposed area of the roof. | ||
| The craft of thatching often runs in families, and the creative skills are passed down. Several families are well-known for their distinctive designs of ornaments. One Somerset thatcher who had the misfortune to suffer a serious accident which ended his thatching career then went on to specialise in making straw roof finials. He is known to have been able to make over twenty different designs of birds, leaping salmon, peacocks, squirrels, etc. many of which can now be seen in places such as Glastonbury Museum, and Perry's Cider Mills Museum in Dowlish Wake, Somerset. | ||
Straw Squirrel
Straw
pheasant Straw owl
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For references, see The Guild Of Straw Craftsmen |
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| http://www.strawcraftsmen.co.uk/ | ||
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