Old window?

[DaveBrigg]

The picture below is of the window lintel of a window near our back door. The nearby wall is stone, and may be Norman, although the window is in old brick. The window itself seems to be a fairly recent replacement, but the lintel is much older.
In the underside of the lintel are five slots, about 2" wide and 4" apart. They are filled, but the boards that fitted the slots ahve been cut off nearly flush. I thought it may have been a reclaimed fencepost, but the lintel is the width of the wall, and therefore much bigger than any fence would need to be. Does this give any indication as to the age of the lintel? Any clue might help us understand the building sequence of the house. Thanks.

Close up

 

[Mark]

Is any part of the house timber frame? could those slots have held laths as part of a wattle & daub timber frame?

 

[Moo]

I have similar 'slots' in the timbers around the dormers in my attic bedrooms. I had always assumed that they were created when holes were cut in the roof to accommodate the dormers, - a much later addition (possibly when the house was Georgianised?).

 

[DaveBrigg]

This part of the house isn't timber framed - there is brick on all sides of the window. Our house is (was) very similar in design to this one http://www.wealddown.co.uk/pendean-16th-century-house-chimney.htm and I was wondering if the window was also originally unglazed. Our house has Georgian alterations, but this lintel is at the back of the house which was left untouched.

 

[Tom]

The lintel could simply have been re-used from another building.

Jaqy

 

[Nemesis]

It could well have been an early window with wooden mullions, inserted in the slots, unglazed or with horn or oiled parchment etc.to let in some light and keep out the cold. There's a window like that, although a recreated version (I suspect the original was totally rotten - the place was empty for decades) in a house in our village. Probably 17th century.

 

[Raylea]

Hi,

We had to replace a downstairs floor of our house that goes back to 1740, and there was and still is to very large lumps of wood under two stud walls that have similar rectangle shaped holes (unfilled with a peg of wood- see through). I think in them days they used anything they get their hands on and these two bits look like they have been reclaimed of an old ship.

Hope you don't mind me getting in on this, just good to talk, not that I am lonely he he or know much as I am pretty new to period living, just like seeing pictures and discussing its very interesting

Raylea

 

[Nemesis]

Absolutely agree - wood was often re-used, so it's hard to be accurate.

 

[DaveBrigg]

Thanks for all your ideas.

 

[Penners]

It could well have been an early window with wooden mullions, inserted in the slots, unglazed or with horn or oiled parchment etc.to let in some light and keep out the cold.

I agree. It's tempting to believe that all old mullioned windows had diamond-shaped mullions, but that's certainly not the case.

 

[Lady_Mari]

Mine did. In previous property I uncovered the original mullions, which were diamond shaped & also had the long rectangular slots where the sliding shutters would have been. They would not have been glazed.
The listed buildings officer (Mr Munt) also pointed out to us the scorched wood on the oaks at the side where he said the old candle sconces would have been hung.