What Is Fretwork? The History Behind Hand-Carved Wood Screens

Fretwork is the craft of cutting ornamental, openwork patterns into wood, turning a solid screen into a play of light, air, and shadow. From the latticed windows of Jodhpur to the mashrabiya of Morocco, a Romanian castle, and one quiet terraced house in south London, Alpesh traces how the same idea kept appearing wherever makers wanted privacy without walls.