There are three styles of sash windows to choose from: Georgian, Victorian, and Edwardian. Each style offers vertical opening, but which style you choose will depend on the era your property originated in, your homes aesthetics and of course, your preference. We look at each style in more detail to highlight the differences between them all…
Georgian sliding sash windows
Some of the most famous architecture in London boasts Georgian style windows – Buckingham Palace, Downing Street, The Old Royal Naval College Chapel in Greenwich are to name but a few. They are instantly recognisable as large windows boasting six smaller panes of glass in the upper sash connected by horizontal or vertical wooden bars, and another six smaller panes of glass in the lower sash also connected by wooden bars. Hence, earning the style nickname ‘six over six.’
The wooden horizontal/vertical bars that separate each sash windowpane into six smaller ones can either be Astragal bars or Georgian bars (the illusion is the same, but the manufacture is very different.
Our comprehensive guide to Georgian sash windows is an informative read for anyone wanting to know more about the history of Georgian windows and reasoning behind this standout style, still so loved today.
Victorian sliding sash windows
The Victorian era was a famed period for the adoption, expansion, and transformation of technology. Photography, telephony, steamships, railways, electric lighting are only a few of the many complex systems and processes developed during Victorian times. Glass making technology was not exception either. During Queen Victoria’s reign, it became possible to manufacture larger sheets of glass. Therefore, Victorian sash windows are characterised by having a ‘two over two’ glazing design. Each unit is made from two panes of glass joined together by a single vertical glazing bar.
You will notice this style to be quite common in those large bay front room windows of homes built in the Victorian period.
Edwardian sliding sash windows
At the start of the Edwardian era, sash windows reached their peak, in terms of popularity, elegance and style. By this stage, the most fashionable sash window design was a combination of both the Victorian and Georgian styles – a ‘six panes over two panes’ configuration. This style allowed even more natural light to flood through.
However, as with the findings in the Victorian era, large glass panels with few astragal bars to support them added extra strain to sash joints. Like the Victorians, this was overcome with the use of sash horns.
Check out our case studies of some of the prominent projects our Parsons Joiners have worked on an see how many of the different styles you can spot!
