The origins of the sash window are murky with the earliest references coming from the late Seventeenth Century. For example, ‘The Milkmaid’, a painting by Vermeer from 1658 shows a sash window in the background. Recent research indicates that, they may have been invented in England by Robert Hooke, and used for the first time in Ham House in the late 1600′s. Other researchers believe that they were first used in France and then travelled via Holland to Britain. The British used it so prolifically that it is seen now as purely British.
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, a excellent architect very popular with the royals, made use of these windows in the Whitehall Palace. Hampton Court and Kensington Palace are other examples of royal architecture employing the sash window that were built around this time. This made the windows the must-have in the 1700′s and for two centuries they were almost the only style of window used for new buildings not only in Britain but also in all the colonies. Wrens found that, unlike casement windows, the facade of a building is not ruined if the windows are open.
The double hung sash window which can be opened at the top and bottom were a feature designed during the Georgian era. European weather can range from very wet and cold to very hot during summers. An opening at the top lets hot air escape, while opening the bottom draws in cool air and prevents rain from getting in.
During Victorian times, the windows like everything else were an additional site for the excessive decorations that were favoured by the elite of the day. Leaded lights, latticework, intricate carvings and mouldings were added to their buildings. Windows were grouped in a bay framed with pillars carved in stone. The windows at the bottom of the building were intentionally made longer than those of the upper stories to enhance the effect of perspective.
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.
It must be agreed that without the sash window, defects and all, the most interesting urban areas of older European cities would be bleak and characterless.
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