Six Generations of Holding Strong | Our Sash Cord Story
Bolton, England · Est. 1856
Some things are still made
the way they should be.
Before your house was built, a family of English rope-makers was already perfecting the cord that would one day hang in its windows. Six generations later, they still are.
James Lever, who founded the family firm in Bolton in 1856.
A Family Story
Six generations. One standard.
This is the man who started it. In 1856, a Bolton ropeworker named James Lever began twisting cord by hand in the north of England. His sons carried it on. Then their sons. Today the sixth generation of the Lever family still braids sash cord in the same Lancashire town — cord that has outlived empires, survived two world wars, and hung faithfully in heritage windows across the world for well over a century.
This is the cord Sellaseal chooses to put its name beside. Not because it is the easiest to source. Because it is the best we have ever found.
From the Archives
They were making this promise
before your grandparents were born.
“Sash cords do NOT break — they rot.” That was James Lever’s message to the trade in 1938, and nothing about window physics has changed since. These are their original advertisements, and the promise printed on them is the same one we stand behind today.
The Hidden Difference
“The cords that fail were never built for the sun. This one was built for a lifetime.”
In 1938 the answer was a scientific waxing process. Today it goes further still: beneath the waxed cotton sheath runs a concealed poly core — the strength of a modern fibre, dressed in the authentic old-world cotton your double hung sashes deserve. Ordinary all-cotton cord rots quietly under UV until, one day, it snaps. This one doesn’t.
Inside the Works
Watch your cord being made.
These braiding machines have been turning in Bolton for generations — dozens of bobbins of cotton yarn dancing around a core, sixteen strands at a time. This is what heritage actually looks like: not a story on a label, but machines still doing the job properly.
Why Would You Fit Anything Else?
Built to disappear into your window —
and never let it down.
Authentically old-world
Waxed cotton with the true look, feel and running smoothness of traditional sash cord. Sympathetic to period joinery — nothing plastic-looking in sight.
A core that won't quit
The concealed poly core resists UV degradation, so it won't rot and snap the way full cotton cord does. Strength where it matters, hidden where it belongs.
Proven for generations
Made by the same English family firm since 1856 and long trusted for heritage sash window restoration. Some cords fitted decades ago are still running today.
Just ordered and received the 6mm waxed sash cord and can highly recommend it. I have not been able to find the same quality product elsewhere.
James Lever begins making rope in Bolton, Lancashire.
“Stop the Rot” — the Everlasto weatherproof sash cord becomes the heritage standard.
The sixth generation of the Lever family still braids every metre in England.
Fitted once, with cord built to be forgotten about — the way good hardware should be.
Restore it once. Restore it properly.
As a guide, 10 metres is enough for one standard double hung window, with some to spare. Your windows have waited long enough for the real thing.