So This Is Christmas

Merry Christmas is such an infectious feeling I like to feel that way all year around.

So if you are visiting just before Christmas, just after Christmas or even here on Christmas day I am sure you will find something of interest for you and in the spirit of Christmas.

It may be said that Christmas is no longer a celebration but this must be spoken by people that have never had trouble closing their eyes on Christmas Eve in an expectation of what maybe left for them on the carpet under the tree.

I continue to look forward to the surprise on my Grandchild's faces to this day at Christmas events.

Merry Christmas - Merry Christmas - Merry Christmas

Monday, January 23, 2012

Why Do Many Historic Homes In The Chiswick Area Have Georgian Sash Windows

By Damian Hounslow


The Borough of Hounslow contains a suburb which is known as Chiswick. Originally it was a fishing village in the countryside area surrounding London. But later it became THE holiday home away from home for rich and aspiring Georgian families. These factors also help to explain why all historic homes in the area have sash windows.

Travelling around the area today, it can be seen that the older properties still have these windows, or like for like renovations in them. This is in large part due to the fact that the local council wishes to retain the look of the period dwellings by encouraging the home owners to preserve original features. This is encouraged both inside and outside the houses.

The reason for the growth of Georgian sash windows in the late 17th and early 18th centuries was the development of new ways to make bigger panes of glass. Glass blowers started to blow it out into a big cylinder and then cut it open to make one large pane. These could be made thinner and larger than before. They were certainly used to advantage by the estate builders of the day who had only had small leaden lights to work with.

Almost all the suburban dwellings which grew up around the time of the 1860s in Bedford Park and Gunnersbury have these wonderful period features of the time. These dwellings are typically more squarish and might have pillars in the front either side of a big panelled door. The window tax of the time, meant that more and larger installations were a very available and obvious way to show off how rich the family was.

These are usually two panelled timber construction sections which can slide up and down to open them and lock in the centre. The sliding panel is heavy and solid and suspended on two thick cords inside the frame. It can be counter levered by weights which help to open and close them more easily.

In older, unlisted properties, these can become warped within the frame, or the cords can be painted over with time. In a listed building, however, the look and feel of the place must meet strict standards to preserve the historical accuracy of the area.

In such a building, repairs are usually done by skilled craftsmen who know how to replace sections of rotted timber for example without having to replace the whole section, which could be very costly.




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