"IT'S IN MY BLOOD." A phrase that’s rarely heard these days as sons seldom follow their fathers into their professions.

Nonetheless, Lee Underwood recently became the sixth generation of thatchers in his family, working with father Martyn in the family business in Deeping St James.

“My family’s been doing it for years and I didn’t want to be the one to break from tradition. I think heritage is really important.” says Lee.

Our conversation takes place on the roof of a quaint cottage near Horncastle, with beautiful views over the countryside and a chocolate box village location.

It’s reassuring to think that traditional craftsmanship, skills, and a love of one’s profession will still be cherished by at least some in Lee’s generations, and Martyn couldn’t be prouder that his son will be the sixth generation to keep the craft alive.

The family originates from Glapthorn, and worked as retained thatchers to the Rothchild estate. Lee’s grandfather moved to Cotterstock, Northants, around four decades ago before Martyn moved to Lincolnshire.

Martyn has a terrific passion for his craft, which is somewhat remarkably unaffected by technology with no new tools or processes changing they way Lee’s great great grandfather would have worked.

This month, Lee and Martyn take their trade on the road to celebrate Lee’s entry into the profession and to show why thatched roofs are experiencing a real comeback. We find out why property developers who have found buyers will happily pay a premium for a long-lasting and beautiful hand-made roof.

Thatched roofs were first created in the UK around 4,000 years ago. Whilst their beauty has never been disputed, the Industrial

Revolution made them fire hazards in emerging cities, and cheap roofing tiles soon saw thatched roofs falling out of favour.

Now though, that’s all changed, as property developers have discovered the commercial advantage to installing a thatched roof.

“A thatched roof should cost £10-£12 per square metre.” says Marytn. “That equates to about £8,000-£12,000. You can expect it to add at least double that to the value of your house.”

There are around 55,000 thatched roofs in the UK, 1,500 in Lincolnshire. But developers have found that they can add up to £200,000 to the price of a top of the range executive home. They have also found that adding a thatched roof will dramatically decrease the time it takes a property to find a buyer. As such, thatched roofs are becoming increasingly common on new build properties and are experiencing somewhat of a resurgence.

Servicing these properties, however, are just 1,000 thatchers, and just 50 more qualify annually from the UK’s only thatching college, Knuston, in Northamptonshire.

Contrary to popular belief, thatched roofs are less rather than more prone to fire as they are more difficult to set alight.

However, whilst open fires and Aga cookers are safer since they burn slower, wood burning stoves can prove extremely hazardous to thatched properties.

This is because multi-fuel stoves burn at up to 200°c, and as thatch insulates and retains heat more effectively than a conventional roof, can set alight more easily.

Thatched roofs are also a good deal more difficult to put out once on fire. Around 40 thatched roofs are ruined as a result of fire each year.

The material used in thatched roofs varies from region to region. In East Anglia, particularly Norfolk and Cambridgeshire, reed material is used on the majority of thatched roofs.

In Lincolnshire, however, longstraw is more common. Naturally, conservation experts insist on similar materials being used when being used on an existing property... that brings us to the advantage of a longstraw roof.

The Association of Master Thatchers recommends £2,000 being set aside each year to cover the cost of necessary maintenance every few years.

“Reed roofing needs be replaced completely, but longstraw roofs can have 14” of the total depth (around 22”) replaced. Doing so is what thatchers spend around 80% of their time doing.” says Martyn.

Around 3,000,000 bundles of reeds and 12,000 tonnes of the UK’s prepared straw is used by thatchers each year. Around four to five tonnes of longstraw is used to re-coat each thatched roof, and renovating a thatched roof usually takes 10-12 weeks.

Martyn’s longstraw comes from the Yorkshire moors. Specialist suppliers of straw are rare now, and unlike modern farmers’ crops, thatchers’ heritage straw is grown for height rather than grain yield; the taller the better.

The thatcher’s straw is still harvested using a wooden threshing drum and is binder cut. It costs around £700/tonne, whilst each bundle of reed costs £3.50. Combed wheat reed may also be used, but is more typically used as a thatching material in Dorset.

Furthermore, around a third of the combed wheat material that Martyn purchases will be discarded when combed through.

The job begins on Martyn’s farmyard, where it is cleaned and combed. It is delivered in bats, then shaken into beds — a prepared heap of straw from which drawn yealms are then taken. After measuring and after contractors erect scaffolding for the thatchers, yealms are laid onto the roof.

Sections of yealms are known as stalch, and as if the terminology wasn’t infuriating enough by this point, the stelch is then ligged in with spars before the whole lot is tidied up with a side rake, whereupon plain or block cut ridges are created.

“That’s where we can be a little creative!” says Martyn. “They really do look superb and we enjoy creating elaborate ridges that look impressive and crown the property!”

Having worked on such properties at Alford’s Manor House, Martyn usually takes 10 years to train an apprentice with his previous apprentice Scott Mulheron winning 2010’s George Dray Best Thatcher of the Year award. There’s plenty of work ahead for Lee, and with 125 years experience, with a teacher like Martyn, and with a three month waiting list for the company’s talents plus a resurgence in thatched roofs, the pair are hoping there’s also lots of work in the future, too!

“It’s a really fantastic career.” says Martyn. “The satisfaction you get from a job well done and a nice, neat ridge is immense.”

Generation Thatchers are based in

Deeping St James and work in Lincolnshire and across the whole of the UK. For more information call 07808 629244.