We may never know who invented the sash window. Originally the belief was that they were invented in Holland in the late 1600’s. However, more recently it was determined that they were first built in England before the 17th century. Still another idea was that Britain created them during the mid 17th century.

We will probably never know the real truth about their origination. In 1519 W. Horman wrote Vulgaria where windows with ‘levys going up and down’ were described. That tells us that they were created before the 1600’s but we still don’t know who the true inventors were. They were displayed in 1676 and 1685 in Chatsworth and Whitehall.

As early as the 1200’s there may be evidence that they were used in Europe. During the French Revolution improved versions of the windows began to arrive from France to England. ‘Sash’ is derived from the French word ‘chassis’ which means frame.

The first weighted and balanced windows were thought to have been invented in England. These windows definitely fit in England with the wet, mild weather there. They will not rot as easily as other windows and the fact that you can open them slightly works in those moist conditions.

They became popular throughout Britain’s upper class homes. Eighteenth century installations are currently still in use. The ability to move both frames happened in the Georgian era. It was also during this period that the idea of six panes became common and could be seen in many homes.

These windows became part of the design of buildings and home during the Victorian period. The crafters took much pride in their creation of them so much so they have a 250 year history. However, due to the production costs in England they have been on the decline. Many windows are now made with plastic instead of wood. Unfortunately it is necessary to replace them within 20 years. Sash windows are so well built that they would last long after 20 years the cord might be the only thing that would need replacing.

We probably will never know who invented the sash window originally or when. But we do know that they add a lot of class to your home. It was known during different periods in time that they would be a reliable window to outlast any weather conditions. Hopefully people will want the original style to be resurrected and the wooden sash windows will become more popular then the plastic ones.

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Tags: blogging, British history, builders, carpentry, construction, decorators, home, house, property, sash windows, wooden windows

This entry was posted on Thursday, April 15th, 2010 at 7:44 pm and is filed under blogging. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.