“Milkmaid” — melkmeisje in Dutch — is the nickname for a front entrance in which the door sits in a wider frame with a narrow fixed sidelight on each side. The outline of that frame, a central section with a projecting part left and right, recalls a milkmaid carrying two pails on a yoke. The term belongs to Dutch joinery and estate agency usage.
Where you find it
The type is best known from Dutch houses of the first half of the twentieth century, at its most common in the 1920s and 1930s. The word is also used for double doors flanked by sidelights. In contemporary housing the arrangement returns as a door with a slim glazed panel beside it — the same principle, more plainly detailed.
Why the sidelights?
The hall of a terraced house often has no window at all. Sidelights beside the front door, together with any fanlight above, are then the only daylight the hall gets. The wider frame also balances the elevation: the opening no longer reads as a narrow slot.
Points to watch when replacing or refurbishing
- Keep the proportions. The charm lies in the width relationship between door and sidelights and in the glazing bar pattern. A new door with heavy stiles changes the character of the whole elevation
- Safety glass. In and immediately beside a door, glazing should be toughened or laminated. Replacing old single glazing in sidelights is the moment to sort that out
- Security. A sidelight next to a door is a classic weak point: break the glass and the door can be opened from inside. Use laminated glass, fix the beads so the pane cannot be removed from outside, and fit an anti-snap cylinder
- Insulation. Sidelights often still hold single glazing in a shallow rebate. Check whether the rebate is deep enough for insulating glass; if not, a new frame or a slim double-glazed unit is needed
- The sill. This is where rot starts. On a survey or during maintenance, look at the bottom rail and the lower corners of the jambs first
Related terms
- Door frame
- Front door
- Fanlight
- Sidelight
- Door
- Wood rot
- Security hardware
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