Turned lead casement window fragments (c.16th century) – shaped lead strips that were used to hold separate glass panes in casement windows.

Material – Metal, lead

Place of Origin – Unknown

The earliest archaeological evidence for the use of glass windows in English homes date to the 13th century. By the end of the Medieval period windows are common in English homes. Early casement windows consisted of multiple glass panes held together by lead strips, or cames. Casement windows were hinged allowing them to be opened, often towards the interior, to provide better ventilation.[i] By the 16th century, lead window cames were turned, or milled through a hand-turned vice and have a distinct H-shape. Milled cames provided a more weather-resistant frame.[ii]

Archaeologists have recovered fragments of turned lead casement window fragments from a c.1670-1690s brick building on a privately-owned town lot. These H-shaped lead strips were used to hold geometrically-shaped dark olive-green window panes. The archaeological record is too fragmentary for us to be able to reconstruct the design of the window, but the presence of them provides evidence of the architectural styles used in the early town and the affluence of those who owned the private lots.

[i] Sara Pennell, The Birth of the English Kitchen, 1600-1850 (Bloomsbury Academic, London, UK, 2016), 47-48; H.J. Louw, the Origin of the Sash Window Architectural History 26:49-72,144-150.

[ii] Geoff Egan, Medieval Finds From Excavations in London: 6 The Medieval Household: Daily Living c.1150-c.1450. (Boydell Press, London, UK, 2010), 51-52.