In the rooftop realm of straw animals

Ford, Devon For some, the figures are the crowning glory of a roof - and a chance to show off a thatcher's skill and imagination

At the end of the roof I'm working on, the peacock sits, still as a bookend. Two pheasants eye each other coyly on the ridge of the thatched cottage opposite, while on a house further down the lane, a fox prowls between the chimneys. Up among the rooftops of this village near Plymouth, I am surrounded by a shadowy cast of creatures: straw animal finials.

Today I am repairing the ridge with the straw peacock. Typically the ridge on a thatched house needs to be replaced at least once during the roof's lifetime - that much all thatchers can agree on. More controversial is the question of whether to add a straw animal.