Blinds & Shutters - Issue 3/2023

WINDOWS
Window history
Blindshapers looks
at the history of
windows
Windows - no not the screen-based one
but the ones we look at and through
every day, bringing light and fresh air in,
keeping out the cold, wet and any draughts they are
clearly a huge invention and heritage for us all.
In medieval times here oiled parchment was used
so that some dim light could be allowed into a
home during the day or wooden shutters which
could close off an open hole window during the
night. The word window comes from the old Norse
word Vindanga with Vin meaning wind and danga
meaning eye The Romans were the first to have
glass in them about 2000 years ago and all were
fixed until the 15th century when the wealthy could
have casement frames in iron or wood so that they
could open them, at first only the bottom section
and later sash window frames were invented for the
Georgian and Victorian eras. The larger the windows
and therefore the wealthier the occupants were, so
during the 1700-1850 the infamous window tax was
introduced or as it was put then 'laying a duty on
windows or lights' This meant a large number of
these windows being blocked up or in-filled with
matching brickwork, many of which can still be seen
today on the upper stories of older properties, but
that was not all as the Government put an
additional tax or duty on the glass itself, which was
applied for around 100 years! from the mid 18th
Century further making windows an expensive
luxury. The effect of these unpopular decrees meant
that some rooms and people were denied precious
light and inlets of fresh air which was neither healthy
or desirable. This is where the term 'daylight
robbery' comes from although it does not appear in
print until much later for someone being robbed in
broad daylight rather than under cover of darkness.
Other window types that were invented included
casements that were hinged from the sides and
opening outwards and seen on early half timbered
properties, although in Europe many of these open
inwards so can cause problems to fit blinds to. Look
out too for the weavers windows in the upper sties
of terraced houses distinctively wide to allow
maximum light for the craftspeople. The 50mm
wood slat venetian blinds were first invented in
Persia and then the idea was taken up by the
merchants in Venice. Here in the England in 1769 a
gentleman by the name of Edward Bevan patented
their design and how much have these changed over
the years.
The choices we have for window furnishing today
is huge and have become a design focus to every
room in our homes and business premises. The
multiple shapes of window designed by Architects
can challenge any blind and curtain company to
come up with an effective option that solves all the
needs of the customer and these can be many. From
heat reduction and retention, light diffusion and
complete darkening, the knowledge that we now
have to retain to give confidence to the consumer
that we can assure them that their needs will be
met is enormous but we do all rise to this challenge
with the help of our suppliers technical
departments.
64 Blinds & Shutters • ISSUE THREE 2023