Somewhere in a drawer, an attic or a biscuit tin there is an old photo of a thatched cottage that nobody has looked at in years. Maybe it is your grandparents’ house, the local pub before it was slated, or a thatcher on a ladder in the 1950s. We would love to see it.
The ThatchFinder Library is free for everyone, and it grows because people share what they have. This week we are asking for your help with two things: old images and old print.
Old photos, clippings and postcards
Our new Image Archive is open for submissions. We are looking for:
- Old photographs of thatched houses, pubs, farms and churches, thatchers at work, ricks and reed beds.
- Clippings and print: newspaper and magazine cuttings, adverts, postcards, posters and old book plates.
- Heritage crafts: basket makers, smiths, weavers, beekeepers, wheelwrights and other country crafts.
- Your family’s story: a grandparent’s cottage, a parish hall, a local thatcher. Tell us who, where and when.
Scan or photograph the image as clearly as you can, then send it in with the form on the Image Archive page (JPG, PNG or PDF, up to 10 MB). Every image is checked by hand before it goes in, and every one is credited to you with thanks, with a link to your website or blog if you like.
If there is a story behind the picture, there are a few gentle questions on the form, all optional. Even one line helps. The best stories may be turned into a short page-turning flipbook in the Library, with your photo, your words and your name.
Old books and booklets
We are also looking for recommendations for the Library itself: old books, booklets, manuals and pamphlets about thatching and the heritage crafts around it. If you know of a title that should be in there, or you have a copy that is out of copyright, email us at info@thatchfinder.com. The same address works if you would rather post an original or send a large batch of images.
A quick word on rights
Please only send images that are your own, that are out of copyright, or that you have the owner’s permission to share. Pictures found online are usually someone else’s, so leave those out unless you know they are free to use.
Our first archive images, like the 1912 painting of an old cottage at Bignor in Sussex above, come from public domain books already in the Library. The next ones could be yours. Thank you for helping us keep the story of thatch alive.
Featured image: Old Cottage, Bignor, Sussex, painting by A. R. Quinton, from The Cottages and the Village Life of Rural England (1912), public domain, held in the ThatchFinder Library.
