November, 1 p i 0 
27 
ENGLISH WINDOWS AND OURS 
A Few Words on the Feasibility of Adapting Modern 
English Designs to the American Country House 
H. D. BANKARD 
O UTLOOK is a matter of great mo¬ 
ment. So are appearances. It is the 
same the world over, with things both ani¬ 
mate and inanimate. The windows of our 
houses, therefore, which provide outlook, 
and the placing of those windows, which 
greatly concerns their appearance, count 
vastly in our architectural reckoning. In¬ 
deed, there is no one feature of the house 
which more nearly affects both its aspect 
and comfort than do the windows. 
We can scarcely attach 
too much importance to 
the manner of dealing with 
our windows, for the sake 
of health and comfort on 
the purely practical side, or 
to their form and disposi¬ 
tion if we at all regard ar¬ 
tistic considerations. The 
very derivation of the word 
“window”—windows were 
originally “wind eyes” for 
ventilation and light—indi¬ 
cates their primary pur¬ 
pose of admitting air and 
sunshine. Trusting, there¬ 
fore, to the soundness of 
first principles as safe 
guides to our actions, we 
should see to it, to begin 
with, that our windows be 
of such size and so placed 
as to ensure good ventila¬ 
tion and abundance of 
light throughout the day. 
The Utilitarian Side 
It is quite proper and 
logical thus to consult first 
and emphasize the utilita¬ 
rian side of the question, 
for, if honesty of purpose 
in design be duly adhered 
to, the result will inevi¬ 
tably be consonant with all 
true principles of architec¬ 
tural amenity or ornament. 
This is bound to be so, for 
the truest and most sat¬ 
isfying manifestations of 
beauty, architectural and otherwise, are de¬ 
pendent upon or in some wav connected 
with the fulfilment of utilitarian purpose. 
Another practical consideration, ot less 
moment, it is true, but nevertheless well 
worth taking into account, is the placing 
and form of windows with reference to 
furnishing the rooms they light. It is ex¬ 
tremely difficult to furnish a room accept¬ 
ably whose walls are too much broken up 
by windows. A multiplicity of windows 
will not necessarily ensure good light, nor, 
on the other hand, does it follow that the 
light will be poor when the windows are 
few in number. Everything in this respect 
depends upon the placing of the windows. 
Let us now note briefly what seems to be 
the underlying English notion and prac¬ 
tice concerning the arrangement of win¬ 
dows. In the first place, the English win¬ 
dow is for use, all of it, and not a small 
portion only. In much of their planning 
they either have large windows or else group 
them together so that abundance of light 
comes in where it is desired. Of course, 
sufficient curtains are used for all practical 
or artistic ends, but the openings are not 
blocked up with upholstery that defeats the 
purpose for which they were made. We, 
on the contrary, are very prone to load our 
windows with a superabundance of shades 
A. Winter Rose, architect 
Several distinct types of windows are to be found in the facade of this 
English country house. The overdoor window and the two-story bow 
windows are especially interesting 
or hangings or inside shutters, obscuring a 
great percentage of their lighting capacity 
and then, to get the needed light, insist on 
having more openings. To be sure, some 
allowance is to be made in this matter for 
the difference in the intensity of light in 
our own bright, sunny climate, and the usu¬ 
ally more subdued skies of England; but 
all the same, we sometimes seem to forget 
that our shades can be pulled up and our 
curtains and hangings drawn a«ide. 
“Now,” perhaps you ask, “what has all 
this talk of large and small windows and 
shades and draperies to do with the archi¬ 
tectural aspect of our houses?” Just this: 
When the whole window space is made use 
of, and we consequently do not have to 
have so many windows, there is much 
greater opportunity to have the full effect 
of free, unbroken spaces on the outer walls. 
As stated before, there is nothing more 
potent to make or mar the appearance of a 
building than the fenestration. The fine 
effect of a free, unbroken wall space is not 
to be despised and the dignity that even a 
small house acquires by such treatment can¬ 
not fail to impress a careful observer. 
Quite apart from the desirable result 
imparted by the spacing alone, a good ex¬ 
panse of wall admits of a great deal of 
variety and interest in the matter of tex¬ 
ture, which can then show 
to advantage, whereas its 
effect in a small space is 
apt to be impaired or to¬ 
tally lost. The question of 
wall textures is another 
thing that we do not al¬ 
ways sufficiently consider, 
nor do we as a rule begin 
to avail ourselves of all the 
possibilities within our 
reach in this respect. Both 
in the spacing of windows 
and in securing exception¬ 
ally good wall textures 
many of the modern Eng¬ 
lish architects have achiev¬ 
ed results that merit our 
close study. A number of 
our own architects have 
done work every whit as 
good in both particulars, 
and quite as fully imbued 
with a spirit of sane, well- 
ordered originality. But in 
very many instances, as we 
all must be well aware if 
we keep our eyes open, the 
average architects and cli¬ 
ents have not paid enough 
heed to these extremely im¬ 
portant points. 
English Characteristics 
English architects have 
made free use of windows 
in ranges, with happy re¬ 
sults both from outside and 
inside points of view. In¬ 
deed, by using substantial 
mullions, they frequently turn the whole 
end of a room into one great window, a 
feature oftentimes both desirable and pleas¬ 
ing. One thing they occasionally do that 
seems not altogether defensible is to put a 
range window squarely at a corner so that 
the two halves of the window are at right 
angles to each other. It is like taking a bite 
out of the masonry and filling it with brittle 
glass just at the point where it ought to be 
strongest, so that upon constructional 
grounds the practice is not beyond criti¬ 
cism, regardless of local custom. 
In a great deal of the English work there 
is noticeable a strong predisposition in 
favor of casements. In American work, 
too, their use is becoming increasingly evi¬ 
dent, but we might profitably employ them 
more extensively, especially as their mech¬ 
anism and fittings have been so perfected. 
