Once a very common roof covering for houses and farms in Limousin, thatched roofs have gradually disappeared throughout the region. However, the Klavuns—a family of thatchers in Corrèze—have continued this ancestral technique. Armand and his sons Boris and Arthur restored the roof of an oval 16th-century barn using traditional techniques.
Thatched roof techniques
A traditional roofing material, thatched roof construction has been experiencing a revival with the introduction of the faster Dutch technique: workers are able to work in teams over a larger surface. Details on the restoration site in Saint-Yrieix-La-Perche with Boris and Arthur Klavun.
Création d'un toit en chaume à Saint-Yrieix-la-PercheFondation du patrimoine
Today, thatch is made with reeds, mainly cultivated in the Camargue region.
In Limousin, these roofs were originally made with rye—a traditional crop in the region—which was used both in covering roofs and in making flour to knead daily bread.
Bundles of thatch are sorted based on their size. The longer ones are used first, while the shorter ones are kept to construct the last rows at the top of the roofs.
Mise en place d'une botte de chaume à Saint-Yrieix-la-PercheFondation du patrimoine
The first bundle is laid at the bottom of the roof, on wooden joists.
Création d'un toit en chaume à Saint-Yrieix-la-PercheFondation du patrimoine
The thatchers put up a bracket, which allows them to maintain a firm support bar, gradually attached to the joists by binding wire.
These metal binding wires are passed under the joists every 6 to 8 inches (15 to 20 cm) using two needles, male and female.
Création d'un toit en chaume à Saint-Yrieix-la-PercheFondation du patrimoine
The male needle, which has a groove where the thread slides, is used to position the thread behind the joist, while the female needle, which has an eyelet, catches it on the other side and passes it through the layer of thatch.
Création d'un toit en chaume à Saint-Yrieix-la-PercheFondation du patrimoine
The thatchers shape and raise the thatch using a pallet, before finally tightening the slip knots. This process only allows one pass at a time per shaped row.
Rencontre avec Boris et Arthur Klavun - L'art du travail du chaumeFondation du patrimoine
Boris and Arthur Klavun explain these techniques in a video.
The oval barn in Saint-Eloy-les-Tuileries
This exceptional oval-shaped barn is located in the area called La Rivière in Saint-Eloy-les-Tuileries, in Corrèze. It dates from the 16th century, as does part of the dwelling adjoining the barn. Once typical over an area of a few dozen miles around Corrèze, Vienne, and Dordogne, this kind of vernacular architecture has almost disappeared. As such, this barn has an almost unique character, recognized through its listing as a Historic Monument.
Grange ovalaire de Saint-Eloy-les-TuileriesFondation du patrimoine
The barn, measuring 3,229 square feet (300 m²), shares a roof with a threshing floor, a shed for agricultural equipment, a granary, a stable, and a chicken coop.
Left abandoned during the 20th century, all the buildings were bought by the municipality in order to save them.
Entrée de la grange ovalaire de Saint-Eloy-les-TuileriesFondation du patrimoine
With its vegetal covering having disappeared in the middle of the 20th century, it was initially covered by sheet metal to allow time to find funding and artisans able to restore its traditional appearance.
This project was supported by the Fondation du Patrimoine (French Heritage Foundation).
La grange ovalaire de Saint-Eloy-les-Tuileries pendant la restauration du toit de chaumeFondation du patrimoine
Armand Klavun, one of the last practitioners of this roof covering technique, known as the Limousin technique, was eventually able to work on the site, along with his sons and two other collaborators. In three weeks, they had installed 5,382 square feet (500 m²) of thatch.
Détail du chaume de la grange ovalaire de Saint-Eloy-les-TuileriesFondation du patrimoine
As required by tradition, the thatch is made of rye, not reeds.
Unlike the Dutch technique, the thatch bundles are not supported by metal bars, but by straw ties that are twisted and knotted to the joists.
Charpente de la grange ovalaire de Saint-Eloy-les-TuileriesFondation du patrimoine
The spectacular frame has been restored and cleaned but remains largely original.
The hayloft, which was used for storing hay above the ground and protected from rodents and humidity, has also been preserved.
Intérieur de la grange ovalaire de Saint-Eloy-les-TuileriesFondation du patrimoine
The barn's interior arrangements also survive. Goats, cows, and calves lived there together, alongside a mule.
Pigs were kept in a separate building to avoid issues with the other animals, but also to prevent the acidity in their manure from corroding the wood.
La Grange Ovalaire : Art et Traditions du ChaumeFondation du patrimoine
Watch a video of the Klavun family thatchers working on the thatched roof of the oval barn in Saint-Éloy-les-Tuileries.
Our thanks to the mayor of Saint-Éloy-les-Tuileries, Francis Delort, as well as to Arthur and Boris Klavun, thatchers, Xavier Bourguignon, director of the Office of Tourism in Pays de Saint-Yrieix-la-Perche, Maryline Grangier from the Community of municipalities in Pays de Saint-Yrieix-la-Perche, and Carine Pauliac from the Nouvelle-Aquitaine Regional Committee of Tourism for their invaluable help in creating this content.
To help the restoration projects supported by the Fondation du Patrimoine, click this link : https://www.fondation-patrimoine.org/les-dons-et-soutiens
