The custom of continuing to thatch farm buildings with rye straw throughout the 19th and into the 20th century was among the most intriguing. This traditional craft was handed down ...

The Germanic immigrants to this area brought with them the custom of rye straw roof thatching. Rye is a cereal grain similar to wheat, but with a habit of growth yielding stalks almost twice as high ...

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, ...

A new school in Ireland is training up a fresh generation of thatchers in a bid to save the country's disappearing thatched roofs, an iconic feature of the Irish landscape. In a hall in Portnoo ...

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 ...