According to *Michael Quinion, in his 'Word Wide Words, the 'yealms', or individual bundles of straw that are laid onto a roof in the thatching process, are
'fixed in place by hazel sticks called brotches, a
word that was once commonly spelled "broach" or "broche" and which could mean a pointed device of several kinds. It's the same word as "brooch" for the ornamental pin.
Now who wouldn't want to spend a romantic weekend in a cottage like this? I'm not sure I'd even be thinking about how the roof was constructed.:)
*World Wide Words is copyright (c) Michael Quinion 2011. All rights
reserved. The original article is at the Words website at http://www.worldwidewords.org
'STARQUEST' * 'CHILDREN OF THE MIST' (The sequel to Starquest) Also available on Kindle
'Freeread':'A BARGAIN WITH DEATH
