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A Dutch door (
A Dutch door (American English
American English, sometimes called United States English or U.S. English, is the set of variety (linguistics), varieties of the English language native to the United States. English is the Languages of the United States, most widely spoken lang ...
), stable door (British English
British English is the set of Variety (linguistics), varieties of the English language native to the United Kingdom, especially Great Britain. More narrowly, it can refer specifically to the English language in England, or, more broadly, to ...
), or half door (Hiberno-English
Hiberno-English or Irish English (IrE), also formerly sometimes called Anglo-Irish, is the set of dialects of English native to the island of Ireland. In both the Republic of Ireland and Northern Ireland, English is the first language in e ...
) is a door
A door is a hinged or otherwise movable barrier that allows ingress (entry) into and egress (exit) from an enclosure. The created opening in the wall is a ''doorway'' or ''portal''. A door's essential and primary purpose is to provide securit ...
divided in such a fashion that the bottom half (the hatch) may remain shut while the top half opens. They were known in early New England
New England is a region consisting of six states in the Northeastern United States: Connecticut, Maine, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, Rhode Island, and Vermont. It is bordered by the state of New York (state), New York to the west and by the ...
as double-hung doors. The initial purpose of this door design was to keep animals out of farmhouses
FarmHouse (FH) is a men's social fraternity founded at the University of Missouri on April 15, 1905. It became a national organization in 1921. Today FarmHouse has 34 active chapters in the United States and Canada.FarmHouse Fraternity New Member ...
or to keep children inside while allowing light and air to filter through the open top, essentially combining a door with a fairly large window. When the top half was open, they also allowed a breeze, but stopped the wind from blowing dirt into the house.
Uses
This type of door was common in theNetherlands
, Terminology of the Low Countries, informally Holland, is a country in Northwestern Europe, with Caribbean Netherlands, overseas territories in the Caribbean. It is the largest of the four constituent countries of the Kingdom of the Nether ...
in the 17th century
The 17th century lasted from January 1, 1601 (represented by the Roman numerals MDCI), to December 31, 1700 (MDCC).
It falls into the early modern period of Europe and in that continent (whose impact on the world was increasing) was characterized ...
and appears in Dutch paintings of the period. They were also commonly found in the culturally-Dutch areas of New York
New York most commonly refers to:
* New York (state), a state in the northeastern United States
* New York City, the most populous city in the United States, located in the state of New York
New York may also refer to:
Places United Kingdom
* ...
and New Jersey
New Jersey is a U.S. state, state located in both the Mid-Atlantic States, Mid-Atlantic and Northeastern United States, Northeastern regions of the United States. Located at the geographic hub of the urban area, heavily urbanized Northeas ...
before the American Revolution
The American Revolution (1765–1783) was a colonial rebellion and war of independence in which the Thirteen Colonies broke from British America, British rule to form the United States of America. The revolution culminated in the American ...
.
Dutch doors were often incorporated into the design of passenger railcars in North America
North America is a continent in the Northern Hemisphere, Northern and Western Hemisphere, Western hemispheres. North America is bordered to the north by the Arctic Ocean, to the east by the Atlantic Ocean, to the southeast by South Ameri ...
to allow crewmen to interact with employees outside or to carry out visual inspections. In Australia
Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country comprising mainland Australia, the mainland of the Australia (continent), Australian continent, the island of Tasmania and list of islands of Australia, numerous smaller isl ...
, post-war
A post-war or postwar period is the interval immediately following the end of a war. The term usually refers to a varying period of time after World War II, which ended in 1945. A post-war period can become an interwar period or interbellum, ...
passenger cars
A car, or an automobile, is a motor vehicle with wheels. Most definitions of cars state that they run primarily on roads, Car seat, seat one to eight people, have four wheels, and mainly transport private transport#Personal transport, peopl ...
and brakevans were similarly configured. However, those on passenger cars were later converted to conventional doors for passenger safety reasons. In Canada, changes to operating rules rendered the Dutch doors obsolete, although older rolling stock
The term rolling stock in the rail transport industry refers to railway vehicles, including both powered and unpowered vehicles: for example, locomotives, Railroad car#Freight cars, freight and Passenger railroad car, passenger cars (or coaches) ...
retains them.
Similar doors were once commonplace in Irish houses, called half-doors ( or ''comhla bheag''). According to ''The Irish Times
''The Irish Times'' is an Irish daily broadsheet newspaper and online digital publication. It was launched on 29 March 1859. The editor is Ruadhán Mac Cormaic. It is published every day except Sundays. ''The Irish Times'' is Ireland's leading n ...
'', "A traditional half-door is really a door and a half – a full door that opens inwards and a half door set to the front of the frame that opens outwards." They were designed to keep poultry
Poultry () are domesticated birds kept by humans for the purpose of harvesting animal products such as meat, Eggs as food, eggs or feathers. The practice of animal husbandry, raising poultry is known as poultry farming. These birds are most typ ...
and pig
The pig (''Sus domesticus''), also called swine (: swine) or hog, is an omnivorous, domesticated, even-toed, hoofed mammal. It is named the domestic pig when distinguishing it from other members of the genus '' Sus''. Some authorities cons ...
s from entering the house, as well as allowing air and sunlight into the usually dark and smoky cottages.
They have been used internally in residential care homes to control wandering but maintain a line of sight and in child-care environments, but in that context, there are risks of finger-trapping and concerns over fire regulations.
See also
ALev door
Lev door (also convection door) is a floor-to-ceiling (full height) internal door, consisting of a standard door leaf and an upper leaf (often standard door leaf cut in half) in place of the usual header wall. The leaves may or may not be separated ...
is another type of split leaf door, in floor-to-ceiling configuration, with a standard size leaf and a disconnected additional leaf installed in the space above it, which enables the unrestricted passage of heated air along the ceiling from central source, improves cross ventilation, and maintains privacy.
References
{{building-stub Doors Dutch inventions