You report that Max Adams identifies the “Watford Gap” as a point on the dividing line between “north” and “south” based on the apparent progress of Viking settlement (Watford Gap divide dates back to Viking times, 16 October). This may be correct; but it gives a misleading view of the current situation.
The dividing line between the affluent south and the less affluent north runs north-east to south-west, not north-west to south-east as does the line he mentions. Today’s line, in so far as one can be defined, runs from the Humber estuary to the Severn estuary and on to the Exe estuary. This too is based at least in part on geological factors, following the outcrop of the Keuper marl. To the north and west lie the shales and igneous rocks while to the south and east we have the younger and more fertile clays and chalks.
It will no doubt come as a surprise to some to realise that in today’s economic climate, Cornwall is in the “north”, as are north Devon and of course the whole of Wales. The concentration on north-south thinking seriously disadvantages the western regions.
Graham Thompson
Exeter
• The old Roman road of Watling Street does still have a “continuing geographic distinction”, in that it remains the rough boundary between the two main styles of thatching carried out in Britain.
To the north and east of this ancient boundary, thatchers tend to create roofs with an angular appearance; to the south and west, a more curved effect is produced. By studying modern and old images for my website (thatchinginfo.com), I also found the northern and eastern style has much in common with thatching in Denmark, northern Germany and the Netherlands. Southern and western curved roofs are also seen in Ireland and Brittany.
So as improbable as it may seem, the craft of thatching is still divided by a line set down by Alfred of Wessex and Guthrum the Dane, more than 11 centuries ago. Well, they do say thatching is a timeless craft…
Graham Cook
Milborne Port, Somerset
• Max Adams appears to have just noticed something that has been a staple of English history for a long time. It was called the Danelaw. It took in the shires north and east of Watling Street and was based on the Five Boroughs – Derby, Nottingham, Lincoln, Stamford and Leicester. However, I wonder how he explains Thorpe-le-Soken and Kirby-le-Soken, both place names of Danish origin in Essex.
Ian Beckwith
Church Stretton, Shropshire
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