.Sash windows in the form of very basic timber shutters have a history dating back as far as the thirteenth century.
It was not until roughly the end of the sixteenth century that glazed versions started to appear that where horizontally sliding windows, and during the mid seventeenth century vertical sliding sash windows arrived, mainly in France.
Fearing the guillotine French nobility came to England and brought with them advances in sash window designs from across the channel.
Somerset house in London was renovated with the input of the Queen Mother who had just arrived back from France with a very skilled French Sash Window joiner. He created and fitted the first recorded sash window in Britain.
The precise history and development of sash windows is a bit vague although the most likely story of the balanced, weighted sash window was a British invention.
A vertical sash window with glass and heavy thick glazing bars also known as Georgian bars to accommodate the very thin and delicate glass of the time, would have been a heavy beast of a window for the operator.
The counter balance was developed for use in doors originally but it did not take long for someone to apply the system to windows.
The sash window has never been patented nor has anybody throughout history has ever claimed to be its inventor.
Glass producers began to make glass that was more reliable and stronger and the British Government of the day stopped the taxation of glass, this all helped towards sash windows with large panes without bars.
During a period of British history the Crown cleverly started to tax citizens based on how many glass windows they had in their home and thus it was considered a sign of wealth to have one large pane of glass per window.
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