Best Windows for Period Homes: Georgian, Victorian and 1930s

The most common expensive mistake in period property is spending money on high-quality windows in the wrong style. A beautiful timber window that does not match the house will look worse, and hold value less, than a modest uPVC one that does.

Georgian and early Victorian (pre-1860)

• The window: a six-over-six vertical sliding sash, timber, with slim glazing bars and a narrow frame.
• Proportions: tall and narrow, often with the top sash smaller than the bottom.
• Best replacement: timber sashes, or aluminium slim-line sashes where the budget will not stretch.
• uPVC option: a heritage sash with run-through horns and a slim outer frame. Acceptable in many, but not all, conservation areas.

Late Victorian and Edwardian (1860 to 1918)

• The window: two-over-two or one-over-one sashes, often with a bay to the front reception room.
• Decoration: sometimes a coloured or leaded top light, which is worth retaining or reproducing.
• Best replacement: timber sashes to the front, with casements or sashes to the rear.
• uPVC option: a good uPVC sash looks convincing from the street, and is what most buyers in these houses expect to see.

1930s semis and interwar housing

• The window: side-hung casements, often with a small opening light above and a bay to the front.
• Decoration: stained glass or leaded lights in the upper panes are common and worth keeping.
• Best replacement: a flush casement in a heritage profile, which is much closer to the original than an overlapping casement.
• Do not fit sashes here: it is both wrong for the era and more expensive.

Stone and timber-framed cottages

• The window: small, deep-set casements, often with no glazing bars or with a simple leaded pattern.
• The constraint: openings are irregular, so bespoke sizing is normal and adds cost.
• Best replacement: timber or a flush casement in a colour that matches the joinery and the stone.
• Watch for: making good old reveals, which is often where the real money goes on a cottage.

The material question

Repair rather than replace

Original timber sashes that are structurally sound can be draught-proofed, have their cords replaced and be fitted with slim secondary glazing, usually for less than half the cost of new windows. It keeps the original glass, the original proportions and the character that buyers pay for. It is also the only option on many listed buildings.

Conservation areas and listed buildings

A conservation area does not automatically prevent replacements, but it does give the council control over appearance. In practice that means the style, the proportions, the glazing bars, the material and sometimes the colour. Listed buildings need consent for any alteration, and uPVC is almost never acceptable.

Ask the conservation officer before you sign anything. A short email with a photo and the proposed specification usually gets a clear answer, and it is far cheaper than being made to remove new windows.

Getting quotes for a period home

Insist on a specification that names the profile, the glazing bars, the colour, the glass and the guarantee, and make sure every installer quotes the same one. On period property, the difference between two quotes is often the specification, not the price.