Sash window repairs and restoration in Soho
We restore, repair and draught-proof timber sash windows in Soho and in Meard Street, Frith Street and the streets around Soho Square. Many of the houses are early Georgian, with original sashes above shops and restaurants. The Soho Conservation Area covers nearly all of it, and listed buildings are densely packed.
Soho's windows
Soho was built up in the late seventeenth and early eighteenth centuries, and more of that first building survives than most people notice from the pavement. Above the shop fronts the early-Georgian houses keep their sashes: small panes, thick glazing bars, and boxes set close to the face of the brick. Meard Street and parts of Frith, Dean and Greek Streets are particularly good examples. Victorian rebuilding added larger-paned sashes and warehouse windows. Upper floors are often let separately from the shop, so windows go unpainted for years and cords fail unnoticed. Where a sash was replaced in the past it is often a poor copy; a new one can be made to the original's bars and panes.
What matters most in Soho
Soho's oldest sashes sit above shop fronts, in early-Georgian houses whose small panes and thick glazing bars are easy to miss from the pavement. Because the shop fronts below are so closely controlled, with most alterations needing planning permission, shop fronts lead the list here, and that work is planned with the sashes above in mind.
Upper floors are often let separately from the shop, which means the windows go unpainted for years and cords fail without anyone noticing. Old small panes crack and their putty falls away, so glass and glazing is the second priority, keeping what survives in boxes set close to the face of the brick. Where a sash was swapped in the past for a poor copy, replacement can put back a new one made to the original's bars and panes.
Conservation in Soho
Nearly all of Soho lies within the Soho Conservation Area, which contains a dense concentration of listed buildings, and its shop fronts are closely controlled. Our guide to conservation areas and Article 4 directions explains how it works. Check your own address on Westminster City Council's conservation area and Article 4 map, and we will go through what your windows need at the survey. Where an application does need drawings, we can prepare them. That is separate work and we quote for it.
Common questions
Can you restore the original sashes above a Soho shop?01
Yes. Early-Georgian sashes with thick bars and small panes are worth keeping, and most can be repaired: new cords, spliced rails, sound glass reset in fresh putty. We work from inside, so the shop below can usually stay open. Where a pane is cracked, we match it with old glass rather than modern float, so the window keeps its character.
Do you restore shop fronts too?02
Yes. We repair fascias, pilasters, stallrisers and glazed doors. Where a front has to be replaced it needs planning permission. Where an application needs drawings, we can prepare them. That is separate work and we quote for it. Doing the front and the sashes above together keeps the disruption to one programme. We also reglaze shop fronts, including toughened and laminated glass where current standards require it. See shop fronts.
Do you cover all of Soho?03
Yes: Soho Square, Meard Street, Frith, Dean, Greek and Old Compton Streets, Golden Square, Chinatown, and the streets toward Fitzrovia and Covent Garden. Send photographs for a free digital survey and we reply with what each window needs. Access in Soho's narrow streets is planned with the occupiers in advance.
Book a survey
Send us photographs of your windows and we'll tell you what needs doing and what doesn't, with a written quotation. The digital survey is free.
Free digital survey with written quotation