[Illustration:
Modern Loose-joint Butt
Loose-pin Butt (9)]
Another type of door that was of traditional construction, and from
the name of which we derive our word hatch, was the so-called
“heck-door.” This door corresponds to the common “dutch-door,” which is
familiar to us in Dutch Colonial houses. It was capable of being opened
in two halves; the upper half could be swung in without the lower half.
This type of door was invented from the necessity of protection against
the sudden intrusion of strangers and also small animals, like pigs and
hens.
[Illustration: Simple Batten Door]
[Illustration: Development of the panel door from the batten door.]
The oldest method of fastening doors was to draw a long bar across
them on the inside, very much like the bars which were used in Colonial
houses in this country. A hole was cut into the jamb into which this
bar could be run when locked, and in the opposite jamb was another hole
into which it could be slid out of the way. The disadvantage of
this type of door fastening was that it could only be fastened and
unfastened from the inside. This led to other devices, such as a bolt
that could be operated from the outside and a latch that could be
lifted by a string, or a hole was cut in the door through which a small
bit of metal could be passed that could be used as a lift for the latch.
To-day we think of locks and bolts and latches as distinct, but this
was not so at the time they were being evolved. Our word lock was used
in the sense of securing the door in any manner. But gradually, as,
step by step, the various mechanisms for locking a door were developed,
the word became limited in its meaning, although we sometimes use it
to-day in the sense of closing the door.