The Scullery Habit That Kept Windows Opening in Bad Weather

The Scullery Habit That Kept Windows Opening in Bad Weather.

The scullery was the engine room of the Victorian house. It was where the toughest cleaning jobs were done, where rendered down animal fat was stored and clothes were sorted and mended. And it was here that the windows were kept working.

Timber is hygroscopic and will absorb moisture from the air. In damp weather the sashes will swell and this can cause problems with the operation of the window. The sashes are moved in tight channels within the sash box and even a small amount of swelling can cause the sash to become jammed. The joinery of the sashes together, and the sashes to the frame, is made to fine tolerances and so there is little room for error on a wet October morning.

Fat was the solution. It didn’t matter whether it was rendered tallow from the scullery or dripping from a joint of bacon. A cloth, smothered in warm grease, was then wiped along the linings of the sash box and along the parting and staff beads. The fine joinery at the front of the house was maintained by dripping grease in the scullery at the back of the house. There is a useful background explanation of Historic England’s guidance on maintaining original sash windows.

Today when a sash window is taken apart for repair it is common to find layers of congealed grease, wax from candles and even layers of paint all have been used by previous tradesmen to try and ‘fix’ the sashes. notes that the original design of the window included features to allow for movement over time and it is this feature that should be used during a window’s restoration rather than working against it. For Sash Window Repair contact sashwindowpreservation.co.uk/services/sash-window-repair/.

That window was always meant to be maintained with grease.