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Rules and Regulations

The Best Thatched House Competition 2024-2025

RULES AND REGULATIONS

  1. The Governing Body is the Executive of the National Society of Master Thatchers Limited.
  2. Each entry form must be completed by both the property owner and the thatcher.
  3. All thatching work must have been carried out by a thatching company, firm or individual thatcher, resident within the UK.
  4. Entry is open to all UK thatchers, not exclusively for NSMT members.
  5. The company, firm or individual may enter an unlimited number of properties.
  6. One property per entry form only, entry is free.
  7. The entered property or properties may be thatched with any material or a mixture of materials.
  8. The entry must be a complete job and no repair work or re-ridging will be accepted.
  9. The work must have been carried out between 1st January 2024 and 31st December 2025.
  10. The work must have been started and completed within six calendar months, unless otherwise agreed by the governing body.
  11. Initial judging will be by photograph – a photograph of each of the elevations must accompany each entry form max 4 pictures.  All photographs must be standard A4 size.
  12. The judges will choose up to 6 finalists from these photographs.
  13. The chosen finalists work will be visited and judged by the panel during early 2026 (weather permitting).
  14. One overall winner will be decided upon by the judging panel. The 1st, 2nd and 3rd places will then be presented with a trophy.  Certificates of merit will be issued to the runners up.  Presentations will be made at the prize giving ceremony during the Annual Conference of the National Society of Master Thatchers, to be held in 2026 at a venue to be announced.
  15. A judge may not judge work undertaken by any member of their family, firm or close associate.
  16. In the event of a conflict of interest arising between one of the judges and an entry, a substitute judge may be co-opted to the judging panel for that particular entry.
  17. All decisions of the governing body will be final.
  18. The governing body retains all rights over photographs submitted.
  19. The winner holds the trophy until the next competition, when it will be returned to the Society for presentation to the next winner.
  20. Closing date for entries is 31st December 2025.
Roof Thatchers - National Society of Master Thatchers