THE ROUNDHOUSE
Updated September 4th, 2009
We Have a Roundhouse! Yay!!
Two years on from when we ordered the seed to plant for our thatching straw, the BDO/OBOD/Cornovii roundhouse is complete. We still need to paint the walls and doors, erect god and goddess posts in front of the doors, build a log store, etc, but the roundhouse itself is complete: thatch finished, wattle walls daubed, drainage channel dug. It's been quite a journey since planting our winter wheat crop in the autumn of 2007. We've learned new skills: weilding a scythe, operating a Victorian threshing machine, felling and preparing timber, wattling, thatching ... An amazing adventure. One of the great things about it has been seeing so many people inspired and energised by the project. From the very start, it has been clear that we are creating something beautiful and deeply magical with this structure.
For the full story of the build, CLICK HERE for a 2.8mb pdf file with lots of pictures. For the story of the growing and harvesting of the long straw wheat, CLICK HERE for a 1.33mb pdf file.
... and what now, O Best Beloved ?
The roundhouse was conceived as a beautiful, magical setting for inspirational spiritual and practical workshops and gatherings. We are planning lots of activities for it, including a launch party with bardic performances (the acoustics are brilliant), a series of dreamtime shamanic healing concerts and Otherworld journeys with musical accompaniment based on the old Irish 'Voyage of Bran.' There will also be rituals and retreats, Forest Schools sessions, woodland crafts, plant recognition, and lots more. Keep checking our Events pages for details.
... the May 2009 Roundhouse build
In May, we were back in the magical grove where our roundhouse is growing. The bluebells and celandine were mostly gone, but the trees were in leaf, dappling the sunlight with deep green shadows. Pheasants strolled through the undergrowth, and we had the unusual experience of hearing a swarm of bees buzzing through the trees unseen. One afternoon, a wren landed in the doorway. The sun shone warm and bright. As well as our core group: Greywolf, Steve, John and Ken, we had help from several visitors. It is wonderful to see how the roundhouse is already tounching so many people's lives and how they, in turn, are pouring their love and magic into it. As well as twine, hazel and willow, our roundhouse is being woven with prayer, ritual, music and laughter. Speaking of which, we had some great bardic sessions around the fire in the evenings with drums, rattles, guitars, whistles and voices. See the photo of Lauren and Joe drumming below. The fire is, of course, set well back from the thatch, but we sometimes carried the music into the roundhouse. Well, we wanted to try the acoustics. They are amazing. There's a photo below that shows a little of the interior seen through the doorway.
Steve, Ken and John have all said they'll carry on with the thatch in any spare time they get, which means we may even finish ahead of schedule. Now wouldn't that be something? The top photo shows Steve 'dressing' the thatch using one of the oak leggetts Garth made for us.
Once the thatch is capped off, the next thing to do is apply daub to the wattle walls. Daub is a mixture of soil and clay, plus bits of twine, straw, hair and other fibres to help bind it together. This is slapped wet onto the walls from both sides at once. I guess we'll all strip off and get plastered from top to toe. Near the roundhouse is a brook into which we can plunge at the end of the day. Good summer fun!
Thatching
In April, we were blessed with the arrival of a new friend to the project: John Letts. We first came across John's name while trying to track down old wheat varieties to plant for our thatch. Old wheat varieties are one of John's main areas of expertise. He grows about 200 of them. He also has an incredible depth of knowledge of medieval thatching techniques that he was happy to share with us. As a result, we have switched to a different thatching style. We were going for a long straw thatch, but the straw we have is better suited to the combed wheat method, which John showed us how to do. Basically, it involves pinning layers of straw under lengths of hazel or willow called sways. These are tied into the roof-posts using sisal twine and a thatcher's needle, with the base layer at the eaves being also pinned down with short, pointed lengths of twisted hazel called spars. The ends of the thatch are knocked into shape using a tool called a leggett. As the courses of thatch are built up, a layer of straw is inserted behind them to provide a nice, clean finish inside the roundhouse. Thanks to John's excellent teaching, we should now make much faster progress and end up with a far, far better thatch.
If you'd like to know more, the Countryside Agency has a detailed manual for thatcher's available for free download on their website. Click on The Thatcher's Craft.
The number of traditional skills we've had to learn during the project has been one of the great benefits of working on it. We've learnt so much, from felling timber to lighting fires in the rain, via wattling, growing and processing wheat and now, thatching. It feels like a great privilege and gives a tangible insight into the working lives of generations of our ancestors.
Other April teachings included Steve showing Greywolf's son, Mike, how to build, light and maintain fires, a skill he took to very quickly, becoming our primary firekeeper.
Another new friend working with us this time was Pepe, a Galapagos Islander who told us our roundhouse was very similar to the kind his ancestors had been building for centuries. Along with Steve's old school-friend, Iain, Pepe did tremendous work, clambering to the very top of the roundhouse to put the last purlings in place. Angie repaired broken yealms, Garth made Greywolf a leggett, Elaine bundled and tied straw (and took photos), Ken did some of everything. Everybody pitched in with great enthusiasm and a wonderful sense of enjoyment, helped along by the spirits of the place, where a deep sense of calm spiritual strength, beauty, peace and wonder continues to grow, making working there a true joy. It is already an amazing place to make music and ritual. When complete, it'll be awesome!
About the Project
The roundhouse is a community project bringing together members of the BDO, OBOD and others. The setting is a secluded grove within 40 acres of beautiful broadleaf woodland, frequented by deer, fox and badger, circled by buzzards overhead and buzzed by dragonflies in summer. Working with the Shropshire-based Cornovii Grove, we are building this 22ft diameter Iron Age roundhouse as a venue for talks, workshops, rituals, meditation, retreats, rites of passage, bardic sessions and more. In other words, it will be a Druid shrine, a place where our spirits will grow and change, protected, guided and nurtured by the spirits of the place, our ancestors and the old gods. The process of building it weaves our prayers into the surrounding woods. One rite we made there at Hallowe'en 2008 saw the burial of a deer skull found while clearing the site. It is buried in the North-East of the roundhouse as a spirit guardian.
The 2008 Samhuinn (Hallowe'en) Camp got a lot of the work done. We also enjoyed a talk from Professor Ronald Hutton, workshops, ritual, bonfires, music, poetry, story and song, good fun and fine company. Thanks everyone.
The Harvest - August 4th 2008
A field of Maris Widgeon wheat we planted in autumn 2007 was cut, bound into sheaves and stooked to stand on the field while the grain ripened. A dozen of us helped with the harvest, our ages ranging from 14 to 78. The last sheaf was cut and honoured with simple ceremony and the passing of a meadhorn. This sheaf was made into corn dollies, one of which will live in the roof of our roundhouse. Some of the wheat was threshed using a hand-cranked Victorian thresher called a Little Gem, kindly loaned to us by the Acton Scott Farm Museum. We ended up with about 2 tons of thatching straw, which should be enough for our roof. Some of the seed will be replanted, while some has been milled into flour. A lot more went to local farms for animal feed.
STRAW AND THE LAW: The Unbelievable Truth
Maris Widgeon is the only long straw wheat variety we were able to obtain seeds for, and that from a single licensed supplier. All other thatching varieties have been removed from the MAFF approved seed list. As a result, it is now illegal to sell, or even give away, seeds of these varieties for planting. So 70% of the thatching material used in Britain is now imported from Poland, much of it reed rather than the more traditional long straw. Why? Well, agriculture is now largely run by multinational companies such as Monsanto that make their money supplying chemical fertilisers, pesticides and weed-killers. The old varieties grow without such chemicals. Monsanto also makes money from developing new seed varieties that it sells under license. It makes no money from old varieties that have been around for years. The UK government seems happy to conspire with agrichemical businesses to eradicate older, organically-grown seed crops. Write to your MP about this. Make a fuss. It's clearly crazy and needs to change. By the way, you might like to know that Prince Charles is aware of the problem and is continuing to grow old thatch varieties on Duchy of Cornwall land. Well done, HRH!
Updated September 4th, 2009
We Have a Roundhouse! Yay!!
Two years on from when we ordered the seed to plant for our thatching straw, the BDO/OBOD/Cornovii roundhouse is complete. We still need to paint the walls and doors, erect god and goddess posts in front of the doors, build a log store, etc, but the roundhouse itself is complete: thatch finished, wattle walls daubed, drainage channel dug. It's been quite a journey since planting our winter wheat crop in the autumn of 2007. We've learned new skills: weilding a scythe, operating a Victorian threshing machine, felling and preparing timber, wattling, thatching ... An amazing adventure. One of the great things about it has been seeing so many people inspired and energised by the project. From the very start, it has been clear that we are creating something beautiful and deeply magical with this structure.
For the full story of the build, CLICK HERE for a 2.8mb pdf file with lots of pictures. For the story of the growing and harvesting of the long straw wheat, CLICK HERE for a 1.33mb pdf file.
... and what now, O Best Beloved ?
The roundhouse was conceived as a beautiful, magical setting for inspirational spiritual and practical workshops and gatherings. We are planning lots of activities for it, including a launch party with bardic performances (the acoustics are brilliant), a series of dreamtime shamanic healing concerts and Otherworld journeys with musical accompaniment based on the old Irish 'Voyage of Bran.' There will also be rituals and retreats, Forest Schools sessions, woodland crafts, plant recognition, and lots more. Keep checking our Events pages for details.
... the May 2009 Roundhouse build
In May, we were back in the magical grove where our roundhouse is growing. The bluebells and celandine were mostly gone, but the trees were in leaf, dappling the sunlight with deep green shadows. Pheasants strolled through the undergrowth, and we had the unusual experience of hearing a swarm of bees buzzing through the trees unseen. One afternoon, a wren landed in the doorway. The sun shone warm and bright. As well as our core group: Greywolf, Steve, John and Ken, we had help from several visitors. It is wonderful to see how the roundhouse is already tounching so many people's lives and how they, in turn, are pouring their love and magic into it. As well as twine, hazel and willow, our roundhouse is being woven with prayer, ritual, music and laughter. Speaking of which, we had some great bardic sessions around the fire in the evenings with drums, rattles, guitars, whistles and voices. See the photo of Lauren and Joe drumming below. The fire is, of course, set well back from the thatch, but we sometimes carried the music into the roundhouse. Well, we wanted to try the acoustics. They are amazing. There's a photo below that shows a little of the interior seen through the doorway.
Steve, Ken and John have all said they'll carry on with the thatch in any spare time they get, which means we may even finish ahead of schedule. Now wouldn't that be something? The top photo shows Steve 'dressing' the thatch using one of the oak leggetts Garth made for us.
Once the thatch is capped off, the next thing to do is apply daub to the wattle walls. Daub is a mixture of soil and clay, plus bits of twine, straw, hair and other fibres to help bind it together. This is slapped wet onto the walls from both sides at once. I guess we'll all strip off and get plastered from top to toe. Near the roundhouse is a brook into which we can plunge at the end of the day. Good summer fun!
Thatching
In April, we were blessed with the arrival of a new friend to the project: John Letts. We first came across John's name while trying to track down old wheat varieties to plant for our thatch. Old wheat varieties are one of John's main areas of expertise. He grows about 200 of them. He also has an incredible depth of knowledge of medieval thatching techniques that he was happy to share with us. As a result, we have switched to a different thatching style. We were going for a long straw thatch, but the straw we have is better suited to the combed wheat method, which John showed us how to do. Basically, it involves pinning layers of straw under lengths of hazel or willow called sways. These are tied into the roof-posts using sisal twine and a thatcher's needle, with the base layer at the eaves being also pinned down with short, pointed lengths of twisted hazel called spars. The ends of the thatch are knocked into shape using a tool called a leggett. As the courses of thatch are built up, a layer of straw is inserted behind them to provide a nice, clean finish inside the roundhouse. Thanks to John's excellent teaching, we should now make much faster progress and end up with a far, far better thatch.
If you'd like to know more, the Countryside Agency has a detailed manual for thatcher's available for free download on their website. Click on The Thatcher's Craft.
The number of traditional skills we've had to learn during the project has been one of the great benefits of working on it. We've learnt so much, from felling timber to lighting fires in the rain, via wattling, growing and processing wheat and now, thatching. It feels like a great privilege and gives a tangible insight into the working lives of generations of our ancestors.
Other April teachings included Steve showing Greywolf's son, Mike, how to build, light and maintain fires, a skill he took to very quickly, becoming our primary firekeeper.
Another new friend working with us this time was Pepe, a Galapagos Islander who told us our roundhouse was very similar to the kind his ancestors had been building for centuries. Along with Steve's old school-friend, Iain, Pepe did tremendous work, clambering to the very top of the roundhouse to put the last purlings in place. Angie repaired broken yealms, Garth made Greywolf a leggett, Elaine bundled and tied straw (and took photos), Ken did some of everything. Everybody pitched in with great enthusiasm and a wonderful sense of enjoyment, helped along by the spirits of the place, where a deep sense of calm spiritual strength, beauty, peace and wonder continues to grow, making working there a true joy. It is already an amazing place to make music and ritual. When complete, it'll be awesome!
About the Project
The roundhouse is a community project bringing together members of the BDO, OBOD and others. The setting is a secluded grove within 40 acres of beautiful broadleaf woodland, frequented by deer, fox and badger, circled by buzzards overhead and buzzed by dragonflies in summer. Working with the Shropshire-based Cornovii Grove, we are building this 22ft diameter Iron Age roundhouse as a venue for talks, workshops, rituals, meditation, retreats, rites of passage, bardic sessions and more. In other words, it will be a Druid shrine, a place where our spirits will grow and change, protected, guided and nurtured by the spirits of the place, our ancestors and the old gods. The process of building it weaves our prayers into the surrounding woods. One rite we made there at Hallowe'en 2008 saw the burial of a deer skull found while clearing the site. It is buried in the North-East of the roundhouse as a spirit guardian.
The 2008 Samhuinn (Hallowe'en) Camp got a lot of the work done. We also enjoyed a talk from Professor Ronald Hutton, workshops, ritual, bonfires, music, poetry, story and song, good fun and fine company. Thanks everyone.
The Harvest - August 4th 2008
A field of Maris Widgeon wheat we planted in autumn 2007 was cut, bound into sheaves and stooked to stand on the field while the grain ripened. A dozen of us helped with the harvest, our ages ranging from 14 to 78. The last sheaf was cut and honoured with simple ceremony and the passing of a meadhorn. This sheaf was made into corn dollies, one of which will live in the roof of our roundhouse. Some of the wheat was threshed using a hand-cranked Victorian thresher called a Little Gem, kindly loaned to us by the Acton Scott Farm Museum. We ended up with about 2 tons of thatching straw, which should be enough for our roof. Some of the seed will be replanted, while some has been milled into flour. A lot more went to local farms for animal feed.
STRAW AND THE LAW: The Unbelievable Truth
Maris Widgeon is the only long straw wheat variety we were able to obtain seeds for, and that from a single licensed supplier. All other thatching varieties have been removed from the MAFF approved seed list. As a result, it is now illegal to sell, or even give away, seeds of these varieties for planting. So 70% of the thatching material used in Britain is now imported from Poland, much of it reed rather than the more traditional long straw. Why? Well, agriculture is now largely run by multinational companies such as Monsanto that make their money supplying chemical fertilisers, pesticides and weed-killers. The old varieties grow without such chemicals. Monsanto also makes money from developing new seed varieties that it sells under license. It makes no money from old varieties that have been around for years. The UK government seems happy to conspire with agrichemical businesses to eradicate older, organically-grown seed crops. Write to your MP about this. Make a fuss. It's clearly crazy and needs to change. By the way, you might like to know that Prince Charles is aware of the problem and is continuing to grow old thatch varieties on Duchy of Cornwall land. Well done, HRH!
Made by Greywolf
Copyright
British Druid Order 2009
Copyright
British Druid Order 2009
