On Low Side Windows

A blocked circa c14 low side window at St Mary's Church, Raydon, Suffolk. It was once fitted with a wooden shutter.
The form of the side mouldings suggests that the upper and lower windows were installed at the same time.

A Blocked low side window in the south wall of the chancel at St Mary's Church, Raydon, Suffolk.

Sketch of the circa c14 low side window at St Mary's Church, Raydon, Suffolk with its original wooden shutter by the Rev J. F. Hodgson which appeared in his essay, "On Low Side Windows" in Archaeologia Aeliana or Tracts Relating to Antiquities. Published by the Society of Antiquaries of Newcastle upon Tyne, Volume xxiii. 1902. There is a near identical window (also blocked) on the north side of the chancel - see image after next.

Internal view of the south low side window with its low "seat", a common feature.

General view of the chancel (south side) showing the position of the low side window near the western end. This is the location of the vast majority of extant low side windows.

A near identical ow side window on the north side of the chancel. It is notable the south window has suffered considerably more erosion than the north, possible as a result of the prevailing weather.

A curious architectural feature of many pre-reformation churches in England, that of the often termed “low side window” has exercised the attention of many an ecclesiologist or antiquarian over the past couple of centuries. Despite many a paper on the subject, and a multitude of theories to account for their existence, some more fanciful than others, there seems to be little agreement as to the reason for installing them. Save for passing mentions in various church guides, or an occasional article in the local press, the subject seems to have languished for the past one hundred years or so, not having been examined in any depth, or much expanded upon since Francis Bond wrote his excellent book on English architecture in 1913.¹ This essay is an attempt to collate as many accounts as possible, to recap the various theories advanced for their use (and objections to those theories), and presents a new theory for the emergence of low side windows (LSWs for short). I make no promise to solve an enduring riddle; we are, after all, lacking specific documentary evidence, and therefore I am attempting to complete a puzzle with a great many of the pieces missing. However, I am comforted by the words in the introduction to the Rev. F. P. Lowe’s essay on the subject:²

The matter was resurrected in an article in Ecclesiology Today in 2006, which is, perhaps, the most recent attempt to assign a purpose to low side windows.³

In this essay, reference is made to readily available published material and surveys, particularly a few detailed county-wide surveys, as well as information collected while examining the windows personally on my visits to the many churches which possess them. As it stands at present, my research is far from finished. In presenting a new theory, I am attempting to advance the debate a little further, but do not pretend this is watertight. However, it is one which the many writers on the subject have either neglected or not considered. A great deal more work is required, not least in the detailed dating of the LSWs, an area which appears also to have been largely neglected by earlier writers on the subject.

I welcome feedback, contributions (especially photographs), further information on specific examples of LSWs, dissention, and corrections. Please use the contact link above if you wish to get in touch.

Alan Spencer. Leamington Spa. July 2025.

Contents:

1. Bond, Francis: An Introduction to English Architecture from the 11th to the 16th Century, OUP, 1913.
2. On Low Side Windows. By the Rev. F. P. Lowe. Reports and papers of the architectural and archaeological societies of the counties of Lincoln and Northampton etc. 1850 – 1866, p53.
3. Barnwell, P. S. Low side windows: Ventilating a 170-year old controversy: Ecclesiology Today Iss. 06 June 2006.