_Extracted from the Supplement to London’s Cyclopædia of Architecture._
“Windows having been generally among the worst constructed parts of
Scotch cottages, the Highland Society offered a premium for the best
cottage window, which was awarded to Messrs. M’Culloch and Co. of
Glasgow, for the form shewn in figs. 2246. to 2248. This form, of the
dimensions shown in the figure, viz., three feet three inches by two
feet, without the wooden frame, costs, in cast iron, only 5s., and the
glass for such a window may be purchased at 2¾ d. per square. This kind
of window admits of being formed of any size, and is equally adapted for
workshops, farm buildings where glass windows are required, and cottages.
The dimensions that have been recommended for the windows of ordinary
cottages are, thirty-nine inches for the height, and twenty-four inches
for the width, within the wooden frames. The size of glass required
for these frames is seven and a quarter inches by five and a quarter
inches. The sash is divided into two unequal parts, the lower part
having three squares in height, and the upper part two. The lower part
is permanently fixed, while the upper part is constructed to turn in
the vertical direction on pivots, which are situate in the line of its
middle astragal; and both parts are set in a substantial wooden frame,
which may be either built in while the wall is erecting, or may be set
in afterwards in the ordinary way, with or without checked rabbets (§
911), according to the taste of the proprietor. The window, and its
arrangements, will be better understood by reference to the annexed
figures.
Fig. 2246. is an inside elevation, fig. 2248. a plan, and fig. 2247. a
vertical section, in each of which a portion of the wall is exhibited,
and the same letters refer to the corresponding parts in each figure;
_a_ is a portion of the surrounding wall; _b_, the wooden frame of the
window; _c_, the lower sash, which is dormant; and _d_, the upper and
moveable sash.
[Illustration: 2246]
[Illustration: 2248]
[Illustration: 2247]
In fig. 2247. the upper sash is represented as open for ventilation;
when shut, the parts of the opening-sash cover and overlap the fixed
parts in such a manner as to exclude wind and water; but when ventilation
is required, the arrangement of the parts which produce this is such as
to enable the housekeeper to admit air to any extent. For this purpose
the notched latch, _e_, is joined to a stud in the edge of the sash;
a simple iron pin or stud is also fixed in the wooden frame at _s_,
and the notches of the latch being made to fall upon this stud at any
required distance, the requisite degree of opening is secured, and when
the sash is again closed, the latch falls down parallel with, and close
to, the sash. To secure the sashes when shut, the T bolt, _f_, in the
middle of the meeting bars, has only to be turned one-fourth round,
and the moveable sash is held fast in close contact with the other.
The figures represent the window as finished up with single dressings,
viz., plain deal shutters, facings, and sole, which, at a small expense,
would give an air of neatness and comfort to the apartment, and promote
a corresponding taste in the other parts of the cottage. Though the
dimensions of the window here stated may be conceived sufficient for
lighting an apartment of ordinary size, they can nevertheless be varied
to suit every purpose. This may be done either by employing two such
windows as above described, with a mullion of wood or stone between them,
or the single window may be enlarged by one or two squares in width, or
in height, or in both directions.” (_Highland Soc. Trans._, vol. xiii. p.
541.)