The Building Site
The Small and Unsung : Roofs
Compare the rounded curves of the cob houses of Devon and the sharp-edged houses of coarse millstone grit in the Pennines.
Observe even more closely the Devon thatched roofs simply drip water, whilst in Derbyshire and Yorkshire you may find terraced stone houses with timber troughs at the eaves.
These are still made but now from red deal imported from Russia. A far cry from plastic guttering, their names vary even around the county from launders in Matlock to trows in New Mills and spouting in Chesterfield.
Read what Peter Beacham's has written about Cob in "Down the Deep Lanes", on this web-site. Look at some Visuals and words from Derbyshire Detail and Character by Barry Joyce with photographs by Gordon Michell and Mike Williams (Allan Sutton Publishing, 1996)
Pictures: Left: A Devon roof, Right: A Derbyshire roof
