History of Windows

The history of the development of the window as a building feature stretches back to the earliest times when man wanted to let more light into shelters and also provide an escape route for smoke. Essentially they were practical features, however the classical world formed them into a design feature by shaping them. The Mesopotamians are thought to have invented glass, but it wasn’t until thousands of years later that panes were created of a sufficient size to be able to put in windows.

The word itself has roots back in Viking times. The Old Norse word ‘vindauga’ is derived from two elements: ‘vindr’ (wind) and ‘auga’ (eye). These wind-eyes allowed the inhabitants of buildings see outside – giving them forewarning of bad weather or intruders. The English version of the word was first recorded in the thirteenth century in texts referring to the hole in the roof, designed to provide an exit for smoke. There was also a parallel use of the word ‘fenester’ until the mid-eighteenth century. This word comes from the Latin, and is still used in Welsh as ‘ffenestr’ and Cornish as ‘fenester’.

The design originated as gaps in walls or roofs but coverings were later added – made out of cloth or animal skins. A little later, some cultures invented shutters made out of wood. These are still found on many listed buildings in Britain, and are more of a heritage feature in French and Austrian architecture.

The first glass windows are thought to have originated in Egypt in Roman times. The cost was outside most people’s pockets in southern Britain until the seventeenth. It is thought that it was used as early as the fourteenth century in the north.