Sash windows are familiar to the parts of the world influenced by English designs in architecture. This style was invented in Georgian times and has been used ever since.
The inventor is said to be Robert Hooke, an English scientist and inventor who was named official surveyor for the city of London, largely destroyed by the Great Fire of 1666. He used it in many of the buildings he designed to rebuild the city, and notable great houses began to be renovated in the new fashion. Hooke had been an apprentice clock maker and conducted many studies of gravity and the use of springs, all knowledge that helped him invent the movable-panel design and the counter weight principles that make it work.
The window, which consists of one or more movable panels set with panes to let in light and with a sash which can be raised and lowered for ventilation, was used more often than any other in Georgian and Victorian architecture. Thus it became a part of the heritage of many. Remember that the father 'threw up the sash' and looked out on St. Nick and his tiny reindeer.
Think of all the great movie scenes when the spy/burglar/super hero/assassin silently raises a window to creep inside for noble or nefarious purposes. Think how you yourself get in if you have misplaced the key to the front door. Think of the mysteries solved when the vital clue is heard through an incautiously opened window.
How about pies left to cool on a window sill, a traditional lure for hungry boys or vagrants passing by? How many best friends or lovers have tossed pebbles at the window to encourage someone to come out for adventure or romance? How many college boys have serenaded their lady through an open window of a sorority house?
It is just as romantic when a fresh breeze flutters the curtains, or the sound of awakening birds ushers in the dawn along with the coolness of the morning. The sounds of children playing outside is part of summertime, reminiscent of times before air conditioning, and there has been many a marital argument over whether the window should be open or closed.
Sash windows are still fashionable, with changes being mainly in the number of panels that can be moved and the new security features. It is hard to argue with perfection, and this style has certainly stood the test of time.
The inventor is said to be Robert Hooke, an English scientist and inventor who was named official surveyor for the city of London, largely destroyed by the Great Fire of 1666. He used it in many of the buildings he designed to rebuild the city, and notable great houses began to be renovated in the new fashion. Hooke had been an apprentice clock maker and conducted many studies of gravity and the use of springs, all knowledge that helped him invent the movable-panel design and the counter weight principles that make it work.
The window, which consists of one or more movable panels set with panes to let in light and with a sash which can be raised and lowered for ventilation, was used more often than any other in Georgian and Victorian architecture. Thus it became a part of the heritage of many. Remember that the father 'threw up the sash' and looked out on St. Nick and his tiny reindeer.
Think of all the great movie scenes when the spy/burglar/super hero/assassin silently raises a window to creep inside for noble or nefarious purposes. Think how you yourself get in if you have misplaced the key to the front door. Think of the mysteries solved when the vital clue is heard through an incautiously opened window.
How about pies left to cool on a window sill, a traditional lure for hungry boys or vagrants passing by? How many best friends or lovers have tossed pebbles at the window to encourage someone to come out for adventure or romance? How many college boys have serenaded their lady through an open window of a sorority house?
It is just as romantic when a fresh breeze flutters the curtains, or the sound of awakening birds ushers in the dawn along with the coolness of the morning. The sounds of children playing outside is part of summertime, reminiscent of times before air conditioning, and there has been many a marital argument over whether the window should be open or closed.
Sash windows are still fashionable, with changes being mainly in the number of panels that can be moved and the new security features. It is hard to argue with perfection, and this style has certainly stood the test of time.
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