Sash windows have been a popular architectural feature in Britain since the late 17th Century and the design of the window has been modified over time as the technology and building materials available have improved. Original sash windows can still be seen on historic buildings. Through the historical development of the sash window a lot can be learned about cultural history and crafts.
The very earliest type of sash windows were known in Europe as early as the 13th century, however, these primitive windows had no glass in them. Glass became more viable in 16th Century Europe and the sash design became increasingly preferred over the older casement windows. During the 16th century, too, the horizontal sliding sash gave way to the vertical sash which was balanced with a simple system of weights and pulleys.
Because of the expense of both glass and skilled craftsmen to do the work, only the rich could afford to have sash windows built in their homes. In the late sixteen hundreds, having sash windows became an increasingly popular way of showing off and it is during this time that they came to proliferate in Britain.
Early sashes had numerous panes of thick glass and would have been extremely heavy to open. However, as methods of glass manufacture improved to be able to produce larger panes of lighter glass, the number of individual panes is seen to reduce. After the tax on glass was removed in the mid 1800s, architects were even less restricted and some windows from the period following this having only one or two panes of glass.
The basic appearance of the sash window remained the same through most of the 18th and early 19th centuries with the most popular form being the “six over six” window. This featured two sliding frames, one over the other, and containing six panes of glass each . In the early 1700s, designers favoured an arch over the top of the light, but this reverted to the rectangular shape in the latter part of the era. Hidden boxes recessed into the window frame to hold the mechanism were developed later without altering the outward appearance of the window.
During the regency period a variation of the “six over six” design enjoyed a period of popularity with a much larger central pane surrounded by smaller ones. Such regency windows provided an opportunity to show off the wealth of the owners as they required at least two larger panes of glass.
In the later eighteen hundreds such large panes of glass were being increasingly used that it was necessary to extend the outer edges of the supporting frames to secure them. These extended “horns” can be still be seen on many sashes from this era. Some architects of the late nineteenth century also reverted to using smaller panes of glass in conscious emulation of more historical designs.
Since the nineteenth century, window manufacturing continued to evolve and the material needed became cheaper to produce. With less restrictive laws governing the placement, shape and size of windows, architects became free to choose from a range of historical styles to suit the look of each building, sometimes deliberately copying the designs of previous times.
Original windows in a historic building can give a number of clues about the date of origin and even the social class of the earliest inhabitants. The historical development of the sash window reflects the social and industrial history of the land.
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