Station: [8] The slater

“Mathiesen Hulß and Arnt Cratz are the two master roofers mentioned in the Schloss Horst construction files. Both of them are slaters. They cover the castle’s roofs with slate. It is a well-paid position, since working at such dizzying heights is rightly considered extremely dangerous. Part of their wage is thus what we would call hazard pay today.

The slaters are also tasked with procuring slate. For Schloss Horst the slate is sourced from the Rhenish Slate Range close to Mayen. Masters Hulß and Cratz accompany and guard this valuable construction material all the way to the building site. There they treat the slate according to their needs. The results are not to be sniffed at. Even if landlord Rutger may spend a fair penny both for the slate as well as the slaters, compared to clapboard roofs or stone-plated ones, roofs of slate prove to be much more durable and weather resistant. A good investment, in other words.