The National Lottery Heritage Fund announces funding of £739,878 to the Construction Industry Training Board Northern Ireland (CITB NI) for plans to prevent the skill of thatching being lost forever in Northern Ireland.

CITB NI’s Future for Thatch project aims to tackle some of the core challenges facing thatching and thatched buildings.

Plans include: a training programme for a new generation of thatchers; supporting thatched building owners to care for their roofs; addressing concerns over sustainability of thatching materials; celebrating and raising awareness of the cultural significance of thatch.

The practice of thatching roofs dates back to the Bronze Age and it was the most common method of roofing until the 17th century. In the 1950s, Northern Ireland still had 40,000 thatched buildings but a survey in 2022 found that that number now stands at around 180, with 25% in a poor or very poor condition.

Plans to prevent the skill of thatching being lost in Northern Ireland have been announced with an award of £740,000 by The National Lottery Heritage Fund for CITB NI’s Future for Thatch programme that will inspire and equip a new generation of thatchers and tackle core challenges facing thatching and thatched buildings. Pictured in front of the Old Rectory at the Ulster Folk Museum are Dr Paul Mullan, Heritage Fund NI Director, Isabel McKernon, Future for Thatch Project Lead, Barry Neilson OBE, CITB NI Chief Executive.

placeholder image — Plans to prevent the skill of thatching being lost in Northern Ireland have been announced with an award of £740,000 by The National Lottery Heritage Fund for CITB NI’s Future for Thatch programme that will inspire and equip a new generation of thatchers and tackle core challenges facing thatching and thatched buildings. Pictured in front of the Old Rectory at the Ulster Folk Museum are Dr Paul Mullan, Heritage Fund NI Director, Isabel McKernon, Future for Thatch Project Lead, Barry Neilson OBE, CITB NI Chief Executive.

Usually made of plant matter such as straw or reeds on top of sods, thatched roofs by their nature need repairing or re-thatching more regularly than other types of roofs, meaning skilled thatchers are vital to keeping this part of Northern Ireland’s built heritage alive.

Fewer than 10 thatchers remain in Northern Ireland, with some semi-retired. With no formal pathway to becoming a thatcher, the craft of thatching is in danger of disappearing.

The Future for Thatch project aims to reverse that decline. Over the next three years, four young people will have the opportunity to complete an NVQ Level 3 Award in Heritage Skills (Construction) – Thatching supported by the Department for Communities Historic Environment Division NI Heritage Skills Centre. They will also gain valuable on the job training through placements with experienced thatchers to enable them to keep the heritage craft thriving.

National Museums Northern Ireland will also facilitate elements of the project, providing training opportunities on their historic buildings at the Ulster Folk Museum and the Ulster American Folk Park as part of their ongoing maintenance and repair programme. CITB NI will also be working with them to deliver the Big Build, which will see schools and the public come together to reconstruct a 19th century thatched sod cabin, an integral element of the island’s social and architectural history.

Conservation joiner and thatcher David McFerran is pictured using a leggett on a straw thatched training roof at the Ulster Folk Museum, Cultra where the Future for Thatch heritage project was announced by The National Lottery Heritage Fund and CITB NI.

CITB NI has consulted with Northern Ireland’s thatched building owners and existing thatchers across the island to develop the project, collating issues which the project will work to address. This includes providing training in reed-bed management for material suppliers to help address concerns over the availability of thatching materials and examining issues with insurance. The project will also support thatched building owners to care for their roofs by delivering free maintenance workshops and supporting networks for knowledge sharing.

Traditionally and until the early 20th century, many buildings across the island were thatched, however within Ulster alone there were variations in style depending on locally available materials, local climate and local traditions, with some of these methods already lost. Central to the project will be celebrating the cultural significance of thatch and engaging people across Northern Ireland with this fascinating and now rare part of their built heritage. Schools will have the opportunity to learn about traditional buildings and life in the 19th century, and community groups will be supported to research and tell the story of their own local area. Wider public engagement activities, exhibitions and celebration events will give many new audiences the opportunity to get involved in the future of thatch.

Dr Paul Mullan, director, Northern Ireland at The National Lottery Heritage Fund, said: “Traditional skills are integral to safeguarding the future of our heritage and this is extremely evident in the case of thatching here. Thatchers quite literally keep the roofs on historic buildings, and we need to ensure that their skills and knowledge are not lost.

“Thanks to money raised by National Lottery players, we are thrilled to support CITB NI’s Future of Thatch programme which will pass those skills and knowledge onto a new generation of thatchers, strengthen support for existing thatchers and thatch owners and inspire a new love for the traditions and cultural heritage of thatching in Northern Ireland.

Conservation joiner and thatcher David McFerran is pictured on a straw thatched roof at the Ulster Folk Museum, Cultra where the Future for Thatch heritage project was announced by The National Lottery Heritage Fund and CITB NI.

“The Heritage Fund is an advocate for investing in traditional skills and we believe they play a vital role in our vision for heritage to be valued, cared for and sustained for everyone, now and in the future.”

Barry Neilson OBE, chief executive CITB NI, said: “CITB NI is delighted to be working with The National Lottery Heritage Fund on our ‘Future for Thatch’ programme which is helping to ensure traditional thatching skills are preserved and passed on to future generations.

“Through dedicated training and outreach, the programme will not only help protect our built heritage but foster skilled employment and strengthen the economic and cultural value of traditional crafts across Northern Ireland.

“It will also help to protect and support the craft and address the critical need for traditional thatching skills, ensuring their continued relevance and sustainability. We are very grateful to the Heritage Fund and to National Lottery players for their generous support.” David McFerran, a conservation joiner and thatcher from Moira shared his passion for thatch and explained why he decided to train as a thatcher: “I’ve always had this wee passion for thatch. I grew up going back and forth to Donegal as a child, seeing thatched buildings and seeing over the years the decline of them and you know, less and less of them.

“You know you're saving something that's stood for hundreds of years. You’re looking after vernacular buildings that were built by the people, for the people around them, using the materials from around them, using the stone from the field, using the crops from the field, using the timber from around. A lot of people's hard work went on that and you're getting the opportunity then to save those buildings.”

A Future for Thatch is one of nearly 1,700 projects in Northern Ireland which have been awarded £280m by The National Lottery Heritage Fund since 1994.