The info I have on this is a bit sketchy. As it stands the £80,000 is for a patch up job at the back – that sounds about the right amount of dosh required. A whole top-thatching (on the existing thatch) front and back has surely got to be a lot more though...

I can see the point of wanting to use the same thatching material from a conservation point of view but if we’re thinking long-term economics doesn’t it have to be Norfolk reed with a life span of some 60-80 years (I’m guessing here).

Let’s face it, if the thatch is straw that’s what was probably what the original owners of the barn could only afford – given the choice they would have gone for Norfolk reed surely (and it’s gotta be Norfolk reed, not some foreign imported crap substitute)!