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Sash windows are associated with the architecture of the 18th and 19th centuries. Their large panels of glass within gracefully proportioned frames offered an attractive and functional alternative to casement windows.

After years of controversy, experts now believe they were originally invented in Yorkshire. They were developed there to keep out wet weather while permitting air to circulate by leaving a narrow opening, and were also protected from rot and distortion by being closed in a box.

There were both functional and aesthetic advantages to Sash windows, and many people chose to replace their old windows with them, while they were also popular in newly built homes. Many were later removed, however in order to avoid paying the window tax of the late 18th/early 19th centuries. The window with two movable sashes was developed during the Georgian era. Blown glass with bull’s eye markings were the most common form, but still expensive. Once larger panels became available the classic six-paned Georgian windows appeared. They became a key part of Regency architecture.

The Victorians continued to favor sash windows, but added their own style with elaborate carved and molded ornamentation. Victorian houses often have large bay windows and elegantly proportioned facades with the windows getting gradually smaller as their height from the ground increases. Four paned sashes often indicate a Victorian style. The wealthy often chose to have older styles of window added to their property to distinguish themselves from the increasingly common use of plate glass sash windows with the slimmer glazing bars that were once prized.

Sash windows have become far less common during the last century, despite being the favorite style at the beginning of the 20th century, due to the increase in cheap, mass-produced styles of window. An interest in conserving historical styles of architecture has recently revived the demand for sash windows, however. Sash windows today use all the latest technology, but retain the elegance and functionality of traditional sashes, and preserve the historic style of the older houses.

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