The Development Of The Sash Window

Stay Connected

Read latest headlines in your favorite news reader
Sign up for our email news letter

Find help, info, instructions, tips, or other article

Tip: Use search box below or this box, labels in the first right sidebar, archive, ctrl+F for this page or sitemap to find topics

By Roger McNiel


Sash windows, now considered to be a staple in the construction of many European and North American homes, first appeared during the seventeenth century during. Though they have evolved throughout the centuries, both the origin and the history of sash windows are significant to understanding their use today.

The exact year it was developed is difficult, even impossible, to determine. A window with similar features is described by W. Horman Valgaria in a piece of writing from 1519. However, this is not generally thought of as the first model of the window, but a coincidental similarity in design.

Beyond this ambiguity, it is common believed that the window experienced its first surge in popularity in about the 1670's. By this decade, many larger estate-style homes in England featured it. Availability of plate glass expanded the market for the fixture around the 1850's, when they became, not only more common, but larger as well.

Scientist and architect Robert Hooke is credited with inventing the model. The original featured individual panes of glass, all slightly taller than they were wide, held together with lead in a wrought iron frame. It was movable via a weighted rope concealed inside the frame that lowered as the window opened and raised as it closed. Initially, these were known as Georgian Sashes.

As mentioned above, the popularity of plate glass aided in this window's development. Panes became larger, leading to the Regency design, in which two big frames sit over two more. Finally, from the twentieth century was born the commonly known Edwardian style, constructed with one solid pane on top and one on bottom. This modern version still utilizes Hooke's weight pulley system as a means of opening and closing the panes.

This window model is loved by many for the amount of control it offers over air flow. You can take full advantage of cool summer breezes to keep your home comfortable. The weights inside the frame do the work for you, keeping the panes exactly where you want them.

In addition to its actual history, this fixture has been mentioned in literary works throughout the ages as well, usually in a romantic setting. Young men have sung their soul mates off to sleep through them and excited children have eagerly awaited at them for the arrival of Santa Clause from their bedrooms. References are made even today, proving that its popularity is still strong.

As the history of sash windows illustrates, the now ubiquitous fixture has had an exciting evolution. It has been largely impacted by the development of the glass industry but has held its own in the architectural world for over three centuries and will continue to hang in there.




About the Author:



0 comments:

Post a Comment

 
© 2011 small business blog update | Powered by Blogger | Built on the My FEED Valid X/HTML (Just Home Page) | Design: David Kurniawan Nainggolan | PageNav: David