Thatched properties can be more expensive to insure and need more upkeep but it is worth it, according to one couple.

Julie and Brian Purcell-Smith have lived happily under a thatched roof for the past 23 years.

When they bought Apple B Thatch in Cumnor in 1988, it needed so much work they lived in a caravan in the garden for a year before they could move in.

Mrs Purcell-Smith said: “The thatched roof was worn and leaked and the rising damp couldn’t rise any further because it had reached the ceiling. The inglenook wasn’t visible and there were no electric sockets upstairs, just old Bakelite switches.”

The couple took on the task themselves, refurbishing the house and extending it by adding an orangery at the back. They called in Minster Lovell-based master thatchers Russell & Buckingham to create the wheat reed roof, using traditional methods.

Four years ago, they had the roof re-ridged and top thatched.

Mrs Purcell-Smith, who opted for specialist thatched home insurance through the National Farmers Union, said policies may stipulate that chimneys are swept once a year and an electrical certificate gained every ten, as the main risk of fire is due to electrical faults.

The Purcell-Smiths have installed a smoke detector in the roof and the lined flues of the multi fuel/log burners have special fire retardant insulation, to help reduce the cost of insurance premiums.

They say it is also important to keep the thatch netting in good condition, to stop birds from taking the straw.

The Grade II-listed detached cottage has a number of period features including an original bread oven and exposed beams. At the back of the property is a landscaped garden with three patios, a summerhouse used as a home office, a pond, a lawn and two sheds.

Apple B Thatch is on the market for £875,000. For more information, or to arrange a viewing, contact agents Carter Jonas on 01865 511444 or visit the website carterjonas.co.uk