A Thatcher of Thatchwood Lyrics
A tongue-twister rhyme. A thatcher from Thatchwood went to Thatchet to thatch a roof, and the rhyme asks, Peter Piper style, where the thatching is.
A Thatcher of Thatchwood
A Thatcher of Thatchwood went to Thatchet a thatching;
Did a thatcher of Thatchwood go to Thatchet a thatching?
If a thatcher of Thatchwood went to Thatchet a thatching,
Where's the thatching the thatcher of Thatchwood has thatch'd?
Printed from https://nurseryrhymes.co/a-thatcher-of-thatchwood/
- Type
- Mother Goose
- Tune
- Spoken tongue twister
- Best for ages
- 5 to 12 years
What Does A Thatcher of Thatchwood Mean?
A thatcher makes roofs from straw or reeds, packed tight so the rain runs off. Thatched roofs are still seen on old country cottages in England. Thatchwood and Thatchet sound like made-up village names, chosen to pile up as many TH and CH sounds as possible. The four lines follow the same pattern as Peter Piper: a statement, a question, an "if" and a "where".
History and Origin
James Orchard Halliwell printed it in The Nursery Rhymes of England, among other tongue-twisting rhymes. It uses the same four-line frame as Peter Piper, which was first printed in 1813.
Learning Activities
- Slow, then fast: say one line slowly, then try all four quickly.
- Thatched roofs: look at pictures of thatched cottages.
- Peter Piper pair: say Peter Piper next and compare the pattern. Our sister site also has this rhyme as a tongue twister page, with tips for all those TH sounds.