Matravers Master Thatchers Wheat Harvest
A few weeks ago during a hot spell of summer weather, I received a message I’d been waiting for from Reuben to say they were starting the harvest
I had spoken with Reuben Matravers for a couple of months after his wife messaged me after seeing my post on social media about wanting people for my Life In A Somerset Landscape Project.
Reuben owns R J Matravers Master Thatcher in Somerset who do traditional thatching across the South West of England.
As well as the thatching which I’ll be capturing in the coming weeks they have also been growers and suppliers of combed wheat reed for the last 15 years.
They use old-fashioned machinery and traditional methods for the harvest and the threshing that follows (still to be captured at time of posting).
This shoot provided everything I had on my wish list for it. Traditional machines, beautiful summer evening light, and an amazing Somerset landscape.
The people doing the hard work of harvesting in the heat were very accomodating and I couldn’t have got the images I wanted without their kind time and help so thanks to Reuben and Elvis working the Tractor and Reaper Binder and Phil Chorley and his son Oliver with their dog Holly who were collecting the sheaves and standing them into stooks.
Needless to say, I’m looking forward to capturing the next two stages of the story.
