Low side window. Bottom panel of a window, usually lower than that of adjacent windows, with an opening. Normally found on the west window of the chancel, there is one on both sides of the chancel at Great Livermere, among others. The one at Troston retains its original shutters. Many have a seat set into the sill beneath them.

Their use was two-fold. Firstly, the sacring bell could be rung beside it, enabling those working outside the church to stop at critical moments in the consecration. Secondly, and more mundanely, it provided a source of ventilation directly below the rood, enabling an updraft, which would ensure that the rood lights burned brightly.

Any suggestion that they were intended to allow lepers a view of the altar should be resisted. However, this view held such prominence in the 19th century, that the low side window at Barsham contains a beautiful Victorian image of Christ healing lepers.