20 May 2010

Thatching and history hit Heeley City Farm

Visitors to Heeley City Farm this month (May 2010) will get the chance to try their hand at thatching while weaving in a taste of history, as part of the final stages of a long-running archaeology project in partnership with the University of Sheffield.

An `Introduction to Thatching´ workshop will be held on Saturday 29 March 2010 from 10am to 4pm and will form part of a new master crafts programme of workshops based around the farm´s reconstructed Iron Age Roundhouse - a very early form of housing in Britain - and wider heritage issues.

The workshop, which will be led by Dr Roger Doonan from the Department of Archaeology at the University, will focus on the history and archaeology of thatching. Visitors will learn about the materials and tools involved and how to use them. They will also be given the chance to take part in a practical session to develop the basic know-how of thatching.

A `Thatchers Lunch´ will be provided by the Farm Café and visitors will be able to take home information to help them have a go at their own small thatching projects.

Heeley City Farm makes an ideal venue for a thatching experience due to the close relationship between thatching and farming. The art of thatching has been around since people first constructed semi-permanent buildings in a desire to create shelter. As such, the roof has had an interesting and varied history and become an important and meaningful social indicator of wealth and class.

The workshop links into the Farm´s ongoing project with the University of Sheffield´s Department of Archaeology and the University´s Archaeology Society, to reconstruct an Iron Age Roundhouse.

Building work to construct the Roundhouse began last October as part of a Heritage Lottery funded project "Digging Our Roots," which is designed to encourage young people at Heeley City Farm to explore farming heritage from the past to present day. Academics and students from the University have offered advice throughout the project and will be on hand to give assistance, information and work until its completion.

Once the walls and roof are finished, the building will be thatched using local reeds and will be used as a classroom for the Farm and as a venue for workshops and events.

Sally Rodgers, a graduate of the University of Sheffield and Heeley City Farm´s Community Heritage Officer, said: "This workshop is a fantastic opportunity to learn about something as basic as the roof over your head, whilst gaining some basic knowhow in this ancient craft."

Dr Roger Doonan, a lecturer in the Department of Archaeology at the University of Sheffield, said: "Shelter is really one of the most fundamental desires of the human species and some kind of thatching was probably among one of the earliest ways our ancestors chose to spend a cosy night in. The workshop will provide participants with an insight into the many ways that humans have provided shelter for themselves, whilst giving participants the all important practical opportunities to develop skills in this long established technique."

The workshop will cost £40. To book your place and for further information, please contact Sally Rodgers, Community Archaeologist, Heeley City Farm, Richards Road, Sheffield, S2 3DT. Tel: 0114 303 9981 ext 4. Email: youngroots@heeleyfarm.org.uk