SET 07/06 - West Stow Anglo Saxon Village

Projects > West Stow

£7,471 granted in April 2006 for the re-thatching of the Weaving House

West Stow Country Park and Anglo Saxon Village is located 5 miles north-west of Bury St Edmunds, on the site of a former landfill. The reconstructions were created in 1973, following an excavation of the Anglo-Saxon village that now lies buried beneath the Country Park. The aim of the site is to present and interpret the archaeology of the site to the general public through the use of experimental archaeology.

A survey of the Thatch at West Stow undertaken in 2004 highlighted the very serious condition of the thatched roofs there; six out of the seven reconstructions required re-thatching urgently or in the very near future. In 2005 St Edmundsbury BC provided a grant of £13,000 to enable the re-thatching of the New Hall.

This project aims to provide a new thatch roof for the Weaving House, a reconstruction of an early Anglo Saxon house, built on the site of the actual footings of its Anglo-Saxon predecessor. The reconstruction was carried out using traditional techniques and materials, based on the excavated archaeological evidence and on long-term experiment. The house accommodates a replica weaving loom and other furniture, and is regularly used for re-enactment and for demonstrations of Anglo-Saxon techniques of textile production. The project provides the opportunity to conserve this unique building, whilst recreating and enhancing our knowledge of traditional forms of thatching.



April 2006 – The Weaving House from the north (left) and the south (right). The Reconstructions,
created in 1973, were in urgent need of re-thatching. The thatch on the Weaving House had
slumped over the doorway, and supporting rafters had snapped, leaving batons exposed,
broken and decaying.



June 2006. TOP PHOTO: Work in progress, expected to take just over a month to complete. On
the left side of the photo, the new ash rafters on the roof have been given a basecoat of heather
followed by a surface coat of wheat straw. On the right side you can see the detail of the willow
withe bond used to fix the heather basecoat in places (no strings or iron fixings are used).
BOTTOM PHOTO. The completed thatch.