Christopher Wren, the renowned architect of the late seventeenth and early eighteenth century, promoted the aesthetically pleasing wooden sash window and it quickly became fashionable throughout Britain and her colonies. But the origin of the sash window has foundations that go much deeper into history.
These consisted of two panels that were essentially shutters sliding horizontally. While they bear little resemblance to the vertically moving windows that would be taken on and propagated by Christopher Wren, they were essentially sash windows.
So, it could neatly be accepted that the sash window opened first in Holland during the seventeenth century, slid through France and became a regular feature of British architecture. This British ownership was reflected in the name “Yorkshire Sash” or “Yorkshire Lights” which was given to the sash window in some quarters.
However, in a piece of writing called “Vulgaria”, penned by W. Horman in 1589, he makes reference to “Glasen wyndowis let in … Lyght….. I have many … Wyndowes … Goynge up and down”. In essence it means that, by noting the glass windows that let light in and go up and down, Horman had dragged the invention of the sash window back at least another sixty-one years and across the channel. British builders could again claim that the aesthetically appealing window that graced so many facades was indeed British in origin.
Perhaps, more importantly, Horman also drew to our attention the fact that the horizontal form of the window was then in use. This meant that a whole new aspect of the system had been introduced and demanded an ingenious solution be found. So, of course, a genius was required.
The horizontal sash window presented a whole new set of problems, some the product of a concept that would only gain a name in the seventeenth century when Isaac Newton called it “gravity”. But a contemporary, and indeed rival, of construct a solution; Robert Hooke, a brilliant scientist in his own right, had been investigating weights and counterweights and their practical uses. As a result he is credited with the designing the system that made horizontal sash windows functional.
But, in the sash window, Hooke had a last word. Through his investigation of weights and counterweights, Hooke devised a system that made the sash window functional and allowed it to be opened vertically and stay open almost in spite of Newton himself. While we will probably never know who invented the sash window in thirteenth century Europe, we can at least recognize Robert Hooke’s role in its development.
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