Real Estate

Some Things Every Child Should Know About The Origins Of The Sash Window

In an American home or an English home when someone opens a window they will usually do so by pushing the pane of glass in a wood or metal frame upward to cover another pane of glass. There are other kinds of windows but the ones most people are familiar with are sash windows. Even children know how to open and close them and climb in and out of them. However, children are unlikely to know what the windows are called or anything about the origins of the sash window.

Most children are unaware of any connection at all between sashes and windows until they hear the famous poem that may or may not have been written by Clement Clarke Moore. It might have been written by Henry Livingston Jr. Most people don’t care about the name of the author as much as they care about the names of the reindeer.

The connection between windows and sashes comes in the line where the author describes how he flew to the window and “tore open the shutters and threw up the sash”. A child unfamiliar with architectural terminology could become confused at this point and wonder why the narrator is vomiting the belt from his bathrobe.

An adult seriously concerned about the child’s education and emotional well-being will stop laughing long enough to explain what a sash window is. This kind, mature person will explain that a window sash is the wooden frame around the pane of glass that moves up and down.

If this child is every parent’s dream he will become so enchanted by this exciting new information he will immediately undertake a study of architectural history and learn about Robert Hooke who is credited with inventing the sash window in the 1600s. He might not actually have invented the sash window. And he might have invented a lot of things he didn’t get credit for. Hooke was sharing the world stage with Sir Isaac Newton and rumors say Sir Isaac didn’t always give credit where it was due.

Actually there had been windows that slide up and down in use for a long time, probably since the 1200s. But windows didn’t have glass in them in those days so a sash window would have been more of a sliding wood panel. You could open it to let in light and bugs and air but it wouldn’t keep anything out unless it was closed.

The modern sash window came into being when the vertical sliding panel was combined with glass window panes and pulleys and weights to counterbalance the weight of the wood and glass so that the window could be opened by someone who did not possess super strength. One of the best places to explore the origins of the sash window is Ham House in England. It’s a National Trust Estate that is open to visitors and has sash windows that were installed in 1670.

You can rely on the reliable professionals at a sash window draught proofing service to enhance your home and lower your utility bills quickly! When you are looking for sash window companies in London, you can find them easy and fast!

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