PHOTO: Thatch-roofed house.

The Traveling Thatcher

The arbor house in the Elizabeth Hubert Malott Japanese Garden was re-thatched recently by William Cahill, a professional thatcher, who gave us a short interview on the process, and how he learned to thatch.

A few things that thatcher William Cahill doesn’t tell you in this video:

  • He is one of only two thatchers in the entire United States.
  • He has his own forge and makes some of his own tools.
  • In the video, he wields a leggett and a Dutch mallet.
  • The water reed used for the roof is so sharp that it can cut your hand.
  • He has thatched with heather, bamboo, willow, water reed, and eucalyptus.
  • While Ireland and Japan are best known for thatched roofs, Africa thatches the most, with more than two million thatched structures.
  • His roofing résumé is fascinating: structures at Winterthur, Grey Gardens, and Lotusland; plus flower shops, sheep houses, potting sheds, museums, wigwams, churches, faerie houses, zoo pavilions…and William Butler Yeats’ home in Galway, Ireland. Check out Cahill’s amazing work at roofthatch.com.

We could listen to his beautiful Irish accent all day.

Video not working? Watch the video at http://youtu.be/gqyFXZJpdWI.


©2014 Chicago Botanic Garden and my.chicagobotanic.org

Published by

Karen Z.

Karen Zaworski is a writer who likes to use as few words as possible, a photographer who still works with black-and-white film and a darkroom, and a gardener who actually likes to weed.