Witch window: Difference between revisions
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Revision as of 01:26, 11 August 2010
In American vernacular architecture, a witch window[1] (also known as a coffin window or a Vermont window) is a window (usually a double-hung sash window, occasionally a single-sided casement window) placed in the gable-end wall of a house[2] and rotated approximately 1/8 of a turn (45 degrees) from the vertical, leaving its long edge parallel to the roof slope. This technique allows a builder to fit a full-sized window into the long, narrow wall space between two adjacent roof lines (see photograph). These windows are found almost exclusively in or near the U.S. state of Vermont, principally in farmhouses from the 19th century.
Dormer windows, which can leave a room very cold, are relatively unusual in Vermont; windows are mostly placed in walls. When a house is expanded, for example with a kitchen wing or an attached shed, there may be very little wall space available in which to put a window, which may be the only window available for an upper floor room (if there is no dormer). The solution is to rotate the window until its long edge is parallel to the nearby roof line, the better to maximize the space available for a window. Thus, not only is window area (and thus incoming light and ventilation) maximized, but the difficulty of building (or the expense of buying) a custom window is avoided.[2]
An alternative explanation for the orientation of the window is that getting at least one corner of a window up as far as possible in the interior of the house (see interior photo) allows hot air (which rises to the top of the room) to escape on summer afternoons.[2] However, this reasoning seems suspect, as Vermont is not as hot as many other locations,[3] while the windows are not ubiquitous.
The name "witch window" appears to come from a superstition that witches cannot fly their broomsticks through the tilted windows.[2] The windows are also known as "coffin windows"; it is unclear if they really were used for removing a coffin from the house, or if the odd placement on the wall was reminiscent of a coffin. Either explanation seems a bit far-fetched.[2] They are also known as "Vermont windows" because of their distribution.
References
- ^ 1824 House Inn, "Rooms & Rates" Accessed 2010.08.02.
- ^ a b c d e Straight Dope Message Board, Vermont--diagonal "witch windows" in houses, The Straight Dope, posted 2003.02.11, 02:12pm. Accessed 2010.08.01.
- ^ See Matt Sutkoski, "Vermont is hot, but not like elsewhere", Burlington Free Press, August 5, 2010.