Information Regarding The History Of The Sash Window
Sunday, August 29th, 2010The origins of the sash window, or a window that is opened and closed by moving its panels up and down or side to side, date back to at least the seventeenth century. They’re most common in British and New England style architecture dating to around the twentieth century, but there are surviving examples that go back much further than that.
It is suspected that the design originated in either France or Holland. Later it became immensely popular in England and the United States colonies. By the seventeenth century, they were considered very fashionable and a symbol of status in those countries.
The sash window is most commonly known today as a window with separate panes that slides open vertically by moving the bottom pane up and down, but it also refers to a window sliding horizontally, which was probably the original design of the window before the vertical design became more popular.
The oldest existing windows are found in the Ham House in Great Britain and they were put into place in the 1670s. However there are earlier mentions to the windows which can be found the 1658 Vermeer painting of the Milkmaid and the writings of an Brit in 1589 where he refers to them.
The windows were not popular until the seventeenth century, however, and by the twentieth century it was the most common window used and seen in England and the United States, but its popularity began to decline after that. Georgian architecture especially had made a lot of us out of the window.
The most common style of this window in Georgian and Victorian architecture has two sashes of two pains up by three pains across creating a “six over six” look but there are many other styles out there. In the United States the term “double hung sash” is used quite a bit referring to the style that has two separate panels, both of which slide up and down by the use of strings or balances. The single hung sash refers to having a top immobile pane while the bottom one slides up and down with ease. And in some cases, particularly in New England churches, there are examples of triple or quadruple sashes, which are used in particularly tall openings.
The origins of the sash window aren’t exactly known but we know they date back to common use in England in the mid seventeenth century. They’ve been around for many centuries, and their functionality and beauty can still be seen today.
We know some good sash window companies in London. They will also give sash window draught proofing service. Are you interested in it?
