As recently as half a century ago, there were still 25,000 thatchers--specialists in grass roof repair--in Britain. Even today, there are still more than 500. This should tell you that there are still very many thatched cottages in the UK, some of which have been continuously maintained and used for up to five centuries.
在英國，五十年前差不多有二萬五千個佘契爾（thatchers），這些佘契爾是專門蓋草屋頂的人，即使到了今天，英國還有五百多個佘契爾，可知英國的草屋還多得很，三、五百年的被留下，仍在使用與維修。