THE ancient craft of thatching is a phyisical job and skilled thatchers are hard to come by.

The skill lies in laying-on the 'nich', a bundle of reeds or straw with stems approximately 5ft long and spreading them from the eaves upwards like a pack of cards using a 'leggatt', a gadget resembling a squared off table tennis bat.

The decorative finial, a bird or small animal along the ridge, usually identifies the craftsperson. Many older properties are listed as an example of a regional and national building, some with global significance.

Nick Rhodes, a specialist in the restoration of medieval houses has recently restored his 16th century Elizabethan cottage -- complete with wall painting -- at Clunbury and helped the thatcher lay the roof.

He said: "From the design and planning stages and damping down the straw it took about three months to complete and then wen created a deer and pheasant for the ridge to identify my interest in wild life. "

Thatching an average three bed-roomed cottage can cost up to £20,000. It takes up to 10 weeks to complete and uses five tonne of straw. Really old houses, thatched a good few times, can end up with a roof four or five feet thick. Fire retarding chemicals, heat sensors, and breaks in roof space are required to avoid an accidental blaze.

In 'days of yore' farmers, out of necessity, needed skills in rick thatching, a low-cost method for short-term repairs to deteriorating roofs. Hay ricks were also thatched against the weather but now they are covered in tarpaulin or wrapped in plastic.

Chris Wood from English Heritage confirmed: "Specialist conservation contractors can't get skilled workers, only a third of the 70,000 recruits needed for the next three years are in training."

Addressing the importance of the issue, John Taylor from the Building Crafts College in London added: " Thatching was considered a 'man's' job but women are coming into the industry, they have a greater intuitive feel for the detail required for thatching."

Sam Goss is one of three women thatchers in the country and her apprenticeship lasted for five years. Having started her own business in Devon, she said: "It's a lot harder than it looks and takes some strength. I trained with a master thatcher and it's satisfying to know what your roof will be there for years."

However, roofing is not the only straw skill David Packwood posseses. David, from Tenbury, has been creating life-sized sculptures and corn dollies for 50 years.

He said: "When I was seven years old, an 86-year-old man, Thatcher by name and trade, taught me how to shape corn dollies, I have been making them ever since. Some are 6 to 9ft high and I take them to schools where I teach children the history of corn dollies and how to make them.

"The spirit of the corn dolly was important to country dwellers, they were used as conversation ice-breakers in pubs and young men made them for their sweethearts and left them outside the house on Valentine's Day"

David, who is currently showing his work at Bewdley Museum added: "It's a craft we must nurture and pass on to younger generations. I am."

Whatever the feeling for straw art, the sight of a freshly-thatched roof, tightly trimmed around the eaves and still golden in the sunlight, leaves an impressive image of the English rural landscape.

"As a roofing material, it shows little sign of loosing its popularity and the more decorative aspects add a pleasing characteristic to the overall design.

"While living under thatch can be costly, the delights of a thatched cottage, set in the English countryside, is well worth preserving."