The last straw

With great sadness, the imminent death has been announced of the thatched cottage.

Weep now, all you chocolate-box illustrators and prepare to look elsewhere for inspiration. Historic England say the thatched cottage has 20 years left, at the most.

After that, thatchers will no longer be able to obtain the basic raw material of their craft – straw. If your weekend rural drive takes you past endless fields of golden wheat, you might think we grow enough straw to thatch a city twice