The Origins Of The Sash Window Are Lost In France, Holland And England

It is difficult to get clarity on the origins of the sash window although the first mention is found in the late 1700′s. A painting by Vermeer, ‘The Milkmaid’ has a woman standing in front of one. Around the same time the inventor Robert Hooke used the window in Ham House. However, the French word chassis refers to a frame and it is believed that via Holland the window came to Britain, and it is now inextricably linked to English culture.

Windows with double rows of glass panes that opened by sliding to one side or upwards, were initially known as ‘Yorkshire light’. As the windows became larger and heavier, a rope and sash weight system was developed with the rope connected to the window and a pulley running inside the sealed box frame.

Sir Christopher Wrens was a well known architect used by the British royal family in the late 1600′s to design various palaces, such as the Whitehall Palace where he used these windows. The Royals used these windows at Kensington Palace and Hampton Court as well. The combination of Wrens’ fame and Royal approval meant that the windows became wildly popular and were soon appearing on all new buildings. Aesthetically, they do not ruin a building’s look when they are opened unlike many other window sorts.

By Georgian times, they were everywhere. An additional feature was added which allowed the windows to open at both the top and bottom. Called a double hung sash, these windows allowed rising hot air to leave through the top and sucked in colder air from the bottom. In a rainy European climate, less rain and more ventilation was possible.

The Victorians, were obsessed with decorating their homes with carvings, leaded lights, lattices and complicated mouldings. Placed in a facade as a group, each bay was framed by carved stone pillars. It also became common to enhancing the perspective of a building by making windows on the ground floor longer than those on the upper floors.

The sash window was doomed with the advent of the 20th Century. The rapid industrialisation of production processes caused by the demand for machinery and weapons in the First World War, put an end to expensive hand-crafted methods involving much time and labour.

Many older European buildings and cities would be characterless without these beautiful windows, which remain popular even though they cause problems.

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