Special
features
In
the Dutch tradition it is not very common to make special features on
a roof. The Dutch tradition gives an impression of functionality if
compared to the thatched houses in the UK or Denmark. Probably because
in Holland we don't like to stand out and blind our neighbours with
pretty hips and ridges. In Holland tiles on the ridge are normal, they
are cheap and last longer than the roof, at least 60 years or more.
There are however two exceptions to this rule.
The first is a date worked into the thatch, either the date of thatching
or the date on which the building was erected. The second is a typical
northern feature of the "owlsboard" (het uilebord) which comes from
the construction of the barn. Out of the construction comes a triangular
shaped vertical "window" which is not thatched but was originally closed
with normal wooden boards, as from the 16th century these boards were
decorated.
 
an uilebord without decoration
 
These uileborden are standing in the garden of a thatcher till they
are sold
An expert can see in which part of "Friesland" (the county in north
east Holland) he is by looking at the small differences on these boards.
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