What are Crittall doors?

Sometimes, when you're renovating or fitting out a house, you just want a window. A nice, sturdy, functional window that keeps the burglars out and the heat in.

Other times, you want a bit of high-end pizzazz. One popular option is the Crittall-style door – a wall-length metal-framed window that dates back to the late 19th century.

Even if you don't know the name, you'll know one when you see it. They've been used everywhere from the Houses of Parliament to Singapore's financial district.

At first, they were synonymous with industry – and poor heat retention. But they soon became inextricably associated with early 20th-century architecture.

But while you might think they're the preserve of draughty corridors of power, they can blend beautifully with a domestic setting – and these days, they're made with up-to-date thermal efficiency in mind.

They're a popular choice for patio doors, where they frame the garden or courtyard and let the light come flooding in. But they can be used for partitions, extensions and orangeries too.

Slim, elegant, sturdy and minimalistic, these are windows that make a statement. Depending on where they're installed, they can conjure up thoughts of 19th-century industry or 20th-century power.

Whatever effect you're going for, their frames – as sleek and clear as brush strokes on canvas – give your home a high-end look.

What are Crittall doors?

Crittall is a registered trademark. The terms "Crittall door" and "Crittall window" refer to those made on-site in Essex by the trademark holders.

In practice, the word is used as shorthand for any door in that style. But in the interests of exactness, retailers use the term "Crittall-style".

The Crittall story starts in Braintree, Essex in 1849, where Francis Berrington Crittall bought an ironmongery. After his death in 1878, his son Francis Henry Crittall took over and steered the factory towards the production of metal windows.

And it's going to this day, still on Essex soil. For nearly 150 years, they've made metal-framed windows across the UK – but also in South Africa, India, Australia, New Zealand, Germany, the USA and Shanghai.

Crittall also designed and built a model village for its workforce.

In the late 1920s, Braintree was no longer able to accommodate Crittall's employees, who by this point constituted 10,000 of the 18,000-strong population. 

So Francis Henry Crittall funded Silver End Model Village near Witham. His second son, Walter "Pink" Crittall, did most of the artistic and technical work.

The village is full of early modernist designs – and is also home to the largest village hall in the UK. This building is to the average village hall what Disneyland Paris is to Chessington World of Adventures. It features a dance floor, cinema, library, snooker room and even a health clinic.

Famous Crittall doors and windows

1. New Farm, Essex

"Pink" Crittall didn't only work on Silver End. He also designed New Farm, a six-bedroom house with five acres of gardens and orchards, where he lived from the mid-1930s onwards.

Just a few miles from the factory at Braintree, New Farm is like a modernist architect's Pinterest board that's come to life. 

It boasts countless memorable features – pale pink walls, turquoise Crittall windows, an inlaid wooden star on the hallway floor, glass portholes, a three-storey tower of glass and steel and an octagonal dining room.

One thing's for sure – Pink loved light. The house is flooded with it. It's one of the things that Crittall doors do best.

2. Coventry Cathedral

In the West Midlands, Coventry Cathedral boasts its Great West Screen or "Screen of Saints and Angels".

This imposing glass facade was engraved by New Zealand-born John Hutton and features 66 saints and angels.

When Hutton died, he requested that his ashes be buried at the foot of the window. If you look down at the pavement, you can see the inscription.

3. Royal Shakespeare Theatre, Stratford-upon-Avon

Also in the Midlands is the Royal Shakespeare Theatre at Stratford-upon-Avon. This iconic building's steel windows were restored in a prestigious project between 2007 and 2010. Glass was removed, frames were painted and everything was restored and cleaned before the great refitting.

4. Lots of buildings (and a boat) in London

In London, many centres of financial and political significance have Crittall doors – the Houses of Parliament, the Public Record Office and the Tower of London, to name but three.

And if you're walking along the Thames path in Hampton, you might spot the Astoria, a grand houseboat built in 1911 for English theatre impresario Fred Karno.

Karno was the man who discovered Stan Laurel and Charlie Chaplin, among others. He commissioned the boat with the express intention of having the best-looking vessel on the river.

The boat is framed in mahogany, fitted with plenty of Crittall windows and crowned with ornate metalwork.

In the 1980s, the Astoria was bought by Pink Floyd guitarist David Gilmour and converted into a recording studio.

He said that he had "spent half of [his] life in recording studios with no windows, no light, but on the boat there are many windows, with beautiful scenery on the outside".

Other notable examples can be seen in New York's Botanical Gardens and El Dorado apartment building, and in St John's College, Hong Kong.

Crittall-style doors in a domestic setting

While Crittall doors are often associated with high society, they blend effortlessly into domestic settings.

Draughty Crittall doors are a thing of the past. They're now made with energy-efficient materials and can be double- or triple-glazed.

They're also highly secure. Wall-length windows can worry some customers, but our Crittall-style doors are made of toughened glass and fitted with multi-point locking. Their multi-framed design also helps to protect the glass.

Whether you're looking for a patio door, a partition between rooms or an eye-catching extension, Crittall-style doors provide a touch of effortless, minimalist class.

Are you looking for Crittall-style doors to be installed, repaired or replaced in West Yorkshire? Get in touch for a quote today – we'd love to hear from you.