An old unglazed window,
the early beginnings
of sash
Traditions of stone mullioned windows were very strong, and these brought about a system of building wooden, unglazed sash which had mullions made of oak, set in a heavy oak frame. One of these is shown in the drawings. The word “sash” is derived from the French “chassis,” and its earliest spelling was “shas” or “shash.” In a book, “Mechanick Exercises,” written by Moxon in 1700, he mentions “shas frames and shas lights.” It was these old, unglazed wooden sash which gave birth to the modern double-hung and casement window.
Crude beginning of the
sliding Sash
As first made, they opened by sliding in their frames, either horizontally or vertically. If they were built to slide vertically they were not counterbalanced with weights, as in our modern windows, but were held in position with a hook which caught in notches cut in the side of the frame. It is interesting to quote here what William Horman wrote in 1519: “I haue many prety wyndowes shette with louys goynge up and downe.”
It is supposed that the idea of counterbalancing these sash by means of weights, attached by a cord running up over a pulley, came to England from Holland. This type began to be used about the latter half of the seventeenth century, and although the early examples were clumsy and heavy and the groove in which the sash were made to run was worked out in the solid, yet by the process of years of refinement the modern double-hung window was evolved. The traditions of these sliding windows were brought to America in Colonial days, and they proved to be the most suitable types for our rigorous climate, whereas the windows, which swung like doors from their sides, called casement windows, did not prove so weather-resisting.
| Modern Double-hung Window | Casement Window Sash swings inward |
To hear some individuals talk, one would almost think that the double-hung window was a modern, American invention of artistic atrociousness, and that the casement window was peculiarly English, having the sole right to artistic merit. As a matter of fact, the fashion in England for casement windows was an imported one from the Continent, which never reached certain farm sections of England. In fact, some years ago certain agricultural laborers refused to live in cottages fitted with casement windows which had been built by a district council. The Georgian revival, which had so much influence upon our early Colonial work, and which is also very much alive to-day in this country, brought into fashion again the traditional double-hung window.
Of course there is much to be said against the artistic appearance of the double-hung window as compared with the casement window, but when all is said and done we still go on using more double-hung windows than casement windows, for in the majority of cases they prove to be more substantial in resisting the heavy winds and storms of our climate. Every now and again we hear some prominent architect urging the use of casement windows, and we can find plenty of manufacturers of casement window hardware telling us to use them, and the makers of steel casement sash drum in our ears the practical qualities of steel sash, and one is led to wonder why they are not used more. But traditions are stronger than advertisements.