abacus The top part of a capital, not to be confused with an impost. Both of these terms have their roots in classical architecture. In a classical context the abacus is the upper part of a capital that the entablature rests on, while the impost is a heavy stone supporting an arch. Transferring the terms to medieval buildings has caused endless confusion and heated disagreements. The distinction applied here is explained more fully under impost. Search for term ››

acanthus A Mediterranean plant, with thick, fleshy, scalloped leaves. The Romanesque stylisation of the acanthus leaf, also called Winchester acanthus, is ultimately derived from that used in classical decoration, especially Corinthian and composite capitals, but bears little resemblance to the plant. Search for term ››

addorsed Applied to pairs of figures, animals, etc., placed symmetrically, back to back. They are still addorsed if their bodies are back-to-back and their heads are turned to face one another. Search for term ››

affronted Applied to pairs of figures, animals etc., placed symmetrically, facing one another. They are still affronted if their bodies face one another with their heads turned back. Also called confronted. Search for term ››

altar Originally a stone table or block containing relics, consecrated for the celebration of the Eucharist. Nowadays most altars are simply wooden tables.

alternating system An arrangement of piers in an arcade in which two forms are used alternately

angle roll A roll moulding on an order, masking the edge between the face and the soffit (the arris).

angle volute A spiral form used at the corners of Ionic and Corinthian capitals, and their medieval derivatives.

annulet See shaft-ring.

antependium A hanging for the front of the altar, originally of cloth but used to describe any kind of decoration in this position. Also called a frontal. See also reredos.

apex Highest point of arch, gable etc.

arcade A series of arches supported by piers or columns: when applied to the surface of a wall it is called a blind arcade; when used ornamentally, it is called arcading.

arch An opening whose centre is higher than its sides. It may be a construction of stone voussoirs arranged to support each other and the weight of a wall above.

architrave A horizontal stone supported by columns or piers. It is principally found in classical architecture, or in derivations from classical models, where it functions as an alternative to an arch.

archivolt One of the recessed orders of arches of a doorway etc. The wedge-shaped stones from which it is constructed are voussoirs.

arris The sharp edge where two surfaces meet at an angle.

Atlas A carved male figure used as a support; the female counterpart is a caryatid. In Classical architecture they are usually standing figures; in the Middle Ages they often kneel or bend under the weight. Search for term ››

aumbry A cupboard or recess for sacred vessels, generally found in the north or south wall of the chancel.

baluster A turned shaft usually combining convex and concave curves, typically found in the Anglo-Saxon period.

barley-sugar twist A form of cable ornament found, for example, on the neckings of capitals, in which the roll is carved like a screw-thread.

base The moulded foot of a column, half-column, pier or pilaster, usually resting on a plinth.

bay A compartment in the layout of a church, marked by shafts, main arcade and often by vaulting over each single compartment.

beading An ornament resembling a string of beads. Not to be confused with nailhead. Search for term ››

beakhead An ornament in the form of a bird's head, or a human or beast's head, superimposed on the roll moulding of an arch. Beakhead is predominantly found on doorways as a repeated form but occasionally also on windows and chancel arches and, as a single motif, on corbels. Search for term ››

belfry The tower or bell chamber of a tower where bells are hung, also known as the bell chamber.

bellcote A small gabled or roofed housing for a bell or bells.

bell turret A lightweight tower, usually of timber, erected on the roof of a church to house the bells. It is often set above the west gable of the nave.

billet An ornament consisting of a band or bands of raised short cylinders (roll billet) or square blocks (square billet) placed at intervals. When roll billet alternates with square billet it is called pipeline billet. radial billet is an uncommon form of billet consisting of a row of half-discs set with their curved faces adjacent to one another. In an arch, the axes of the discs lie along radii of the arch, hence the name. Search for term ››

radial billet

blind arcade A series of arches supported by piers or columns applied to the surface of a wall. Search for term ››

bobbin A decoration applied to rolls, especially angle rolls in archivolts, consisting of three rings of which the middle is the largest. Search for term ››

boss A small ornamental projection. Search for term ››

cable moulding A moulding in the form of a rope, often applied to the neckings of capitals and the rims of fonts. Double-strand cable has two strands of different thicknesses twisted together. Search for term ››

Caen stone An excellent limestone for masonry and sculpture, quarried in medieval times around Caen (Calvados) and along the River Orne, and exported to England in large quantities after 1066. Search for term ››

cane ornament A moulding found for example on the neckings of capitals, in which the roll is carved as a series of concave rings, like a cane bangle or bag handle. Search for term ››

capital The architectural member which surmounts a column and supports an arch. It often provides the visual transition between a round column or shaft below and a square impost block above, which in turn supports the springing of the arch.

Caryatid A carved female figure used as a support; the male counterpart is an Atlas. Search for term ››

cavetto A concave moulding of a quarter-circular section.

chain ornament Form of decoration consisting of a row of rings joined together by clasps or masks. Occasionally, as in a metal chain, they are linked one to another. Search for term ››

chamfer A diagonal surface made when the sharp edge or arris of a stone block is cut away, usually at an angle of 45 degrees to the other two surfaces. It is called a hollow chamfer when the surface created is concave.

chancel The east end of a church where the altar is situated, usually reserved for the use of the clergy and choir.

chequer ornament Decorative patterning arranged in squares as on a chequerboard. Search for term ››

chevron ornament A form of three-dimensional architectural ornament consisting of zigzags formed by mouldings. The term 'zigzag' is itself reserved for the essentially two-dimensional form. Forms are varied and complex, so a separate Chevron Glossary has been supplied. Search for term ››

chip-carving Simple geometric patterns (often saltire-in-square or star pattern) bevelled into a surface. Search for term ››

claw-chisel A chisel with a serrated edge used for finishing ashlar surfaces in the 12thc., which leaves distinctive parallel tooling marks.

clerestorey The uppermost storey of the walls of an aisled church, pierced by windows.

clustered pier A pier formed of a number of shafts with no angular elements separating them. See also compound pier.

coffering Decoration involving sunk square or polygonal ornamental panels. In the Roman period it was used as a vault decoration, and in the Middle Ages a similar ornament is often produced by complex arrangements of chevron or lozenge ornament. Search for term ››

column An upright structural member of round or polygonal section, consisting of a shaft crowned by a capital. See also engaged column. and pier

column-figure A carved figure attached to a column. Search for term ››

colonette A column of small dimensions.

compound pier A pier with several shafts attached or detached, or half-shafts against the faces of it. compound piers have angular pieces separating the rolls, clustered piers do not.

confronted See affronted. Search for term ››

continuous order In a doorway, window or arcading, an arch which does not rest on a column and capital, but is carried uninterrupted to the plinth.

corbel A corbel is a projecting block of stone or timber to support a feature above. A row of corbels, often carved, supporting a parapet, stringcourse or the eaves of a roof is called a corbel table. Search for term ››

cornice A moulded ledge, projecting horizontally along the top of a building or feature such as a screen etc.

crest An ornamental finish along the top of a wall, screen or canopy. Search for term ››

crossing The central space at the junction of the nave, chancel and transepts of a cruciform church.

crossing tower The tower over a crossing.

crypt The vaulted chamber below the sanctuary or eastern arm of a church; usually at least partly underground. In monastic and secular buildings it is called an undercroft.

cusps Cusping is a repeated design of curves foilsmeeting at points (cusps). Search for term ››

cyma A double-carved moulding of two types.Cyma recta has a concave curve above and a convex one below. Cyma reversa has a convex curve above and a concave below..

dado The area of a wall below window sill level, sometimes decorated with blind arcading and surmounted by a string course.

diaper ornament A repetitive geometric surface decoration composed of small lozenges or squares. Search for term ››

dogtooth ornament An ornament consisting of a series of four-pointed stars raised pyramidally. Search for term ››

dosseret A pilaster behind a half-column and wider than it.

double-cone ornament Conical mouldings placed end to end in a row, sometimes used to decorate the orders of an arch. Search for term ››

dovetail ornamentt Similar to fret but consisting of open triangles. Search for term ››

dripstone See label.

eaves The overhanging edge of a roof.

edge bedding See en-delit.

egg and dart ornament An ornament of classical origin consisting of oval forms alternating with arrow heads. It is also called egg and tongue. Search for term ››

embattled ornament See fret. Search for term ››

en-delit Laying of stones so that their strata are vertical, rather than horizontal (the English term is edge-bedding). This technique allows long blocks of stone to be positioned upright, and is most commonly found in nook-shafts on doorways. Search for term ››

engaged column Column attached to, or partly sunk into, a wall or pier.

exhibitionist A figure displaying its genitals, most commonly seen on corbels but sometimes on relief panels. It may also be known, euphemistically, as an acrobat. Search for term ››

extrados The outer surface of an arch.

face roll See roll moulding.

fillet A narrow, flat, raised band running down a shaft or along a roll moulding. Search for term ››

finial An ornament at the top of a gable, pinnacle etc.

fish scale ornament A surface ornament resembling the scales of a fish, consisting of rows of overlapping semicircular discs.

flint A hard silicate rock found in the form of nodules in chalk geology. When fractured it exhibits a dark, glassy surface. Knapped flint has been deliberately fractured to give a shiny surface that can be used ornamentally. See also flushwork.

flushwork The decorative use of knapped flint and ashlar to produce surface patterns. chequerwork is the simplest of these, but in the 14thc. - 15thc. flushwork was used for more complex ornaments, heraldic displays and lettering.

fluting A series of shallow, concave grooves. In the Classical period, fluting was applied to the surface of shafts and columns, but its use was more varied in the Middle Ages. Search for term ››

foil A lobe defined by the curve of the cusping in an opening or panel, trefoil (three cusps), quatrefoil (four cusps), cinquefoil, multifoil. See also cusp

freestone Any good quality fine-grained sandstone or limestone which cuts well in all directions.

fret ornament Also called embattled ornament. Consists of horizontal and vertical straight mouldings, repeated to form a band, and often used in the decoration of arches. Search for term ››

frieze A horizontal band in the plane of the wall decorated with ornamental or narrative relief.

frontal See antependium.

gable The triangular upper portion of a wall to carry a pitched roof.

gabled lintel See lintel.

gallery A storey above the aisle, opening on to the nave, also called a tribune; it is as wide as the aisle below it, and usually has its own windows.

gesso The prepared ground of plaster and size for painting.

grotesque See hybrid. Search for term ››

guilloche A geometric running ornament consisting of two or more intertwining bands. Search for term ››

hollow chamfer See chamfer.

hoodmould See label.

hybrid A figure made up of human, animal or imaginary forms combined to present a frightening, bizarre or comic appearance. Search for term ››

impost Horizontal projection immediately below the springing of an arch, sometimes immediately above the capital, sometimes used instead of a capital. Not to be confused with an abacus. The commonest 12thc. forms are chamfered, and hollow-chamfered. Either the upright face or the chamfer may be decorated, and there may be a quirk or an angle roll between face and chamfer. Search for term ››

inclined jambs Jambs arranged so they lean inwards towards the centre of the opening; a system more common in Ireland than elsewhere in the British Isles.

interlace ornament A form of decoration where individual carved strands or straps are intertwined, usually forming geometrical designs. Search for term ››

intrados The inner surface of an arch. See also soffit. , extrados.

jamb The upright side of an archway, doorway, window or other opening. See also reveal.

joggle, joggling Stones fitted together like the pieces of a jigsaw puzzle. Search for term ››

keel moulding A moulding in profile resembling the cross section through the keel of a boat. Search for term ››

key ornament An ornamental form derived from the Greek key, or meander design. It should not be confused with fret. Search for term ››

keystone The central stone in an arch or vault.

label A projecting moulding above an arch or a lintel to deflect water. Also called a hoodmould or a dripstone.

label stops Ornamental or figural terminations of a label.

lintel A horizontal beam of stone or timber, bridging an opening. Often used in conjunction with the tympanum. When a lintel is triangular at the top, it is called a gabled lintel.

lozenge A diamond-shaped ornament. Search for term ››

lunette A semicircular surface, often used as a field for carving; if it is above a door or window opening, it is a tympanum .

mandorla A round or elliptical halo usually framing the figure of Christ or the Virgin Mary.

masonry Some of the types used in the 11thc. and 12thc. are:

monolith Made of a single stone.

nailhead ornament Enrichment in the form of a small pyramid repeated as a band. Search for term ››

nebule moulding An undulating (wavelike) form. Search for term ››

necking The circular moulding at the bottom of a capital.

niche A recess in a wall usually to contain a statue.

nook roll A roll moulding in the angle betwen two planes.

nook shaft A shaft set in the angle of a pier, respond, jamb of a doorway or window.

oculus A round opening or window without stone tracery but occasionally cusped.

orans A male or female figure with the hands spread in an attitude of prayer. Search for term ››

order One of a series of recessed arches and supports on a doorway, chancel arch etc.

ovolo See quadrant.

palmette Classically derived foliate form, often with voluted outer leaves Search for term ››

parclose screen A screen at the entrance to a side chapel.

patera Round ornament, sunk like a dish. See also roundel.

pediment A low pitched gable above doors, windows, etc.

pier A square or composite pillar performing a similar function to a column.

pilaster The flat version of a column against a wall. A pilaster strip is similar but without a base or capital.

pillar piscina A piscina in the form of a short shaft with a base and a capital hollowed to carry water, usually set against a wall alongside an altar.

pinnacle A termination crowning spires, etc. usually of pyramidal or conical shape, often carved.

piscina A basin free-standing or set in the wall near the altar, usually on the south side, for washing vessels used in the Eucharist. Search for term ››

plinth The projecting block beneath the base of a column, or projecting courses at the foot of a wall; the upper edge is usually chamfered or moulded.

porch Covered projecting entrance.

pseudo-colonnette A colonnette or shaft merely suggested by the curved cutting of an angle stone and shallow vertical quirks.

pulpitum The screen separating the choir from the nave and the choir from the aisles. See screen

Purbeck marble Not a true marble, but a fossiliferous limestone quarried in Dorset from Peneril Point westwards to Warbarrow Tout. It ranges in colour from russet red, to greenish brown or blue grey, and is capable of taking a high polish. See also Sussex Marble.

pulvinated A convex profile, usually applied to a frieze or impost (from the Latin word for a cushion).

quadrant Convex moulding of quarter circle profile, usually between fillets.

Quarr stone A creamy-yellow limestone (but greyer than Caen stone) quarried in the Isle of Wight.

quatrefoil See foil.

quoins Blocks of ashlar forming the corners of buildings.

quirk A deeply incised groove between mouldings.

quirked, hollow-chamfered impost

quirked, chamfered impost

rear arch The arch on the inside of a doorway or window.

reeding An enrichment comprised of parallel convex mouldings (the opposite of fluting) Search for term ››

reredos A decorated panel above and behind an altar.

respond A half pier or half column, bonded into a wall and supporting one end of an arch or arcade

reveal That part of a jamb which lies between the door or the glass of a window and the outer wall surface. See alsorear arch.

ribs Arches forming part of vault.

roll corbel A form of corbel decorated with a series of horizontal rolls. It is of Andalusian origin and is rare in England.

roll moulding A convex moulding of a semi circular or greater section. If applied to the soffit of an arch, it is called soffit roll, if to the face of an arch, it is called a face roll. Composite roll mouldings are termed double or triple if the rolls are contiguous, or paired if they are separated by another feature.

rood The cross or crucifix. See also Rood beam, Rood loft, Rood screen, Rood stair.

rood beam A beam running across the chancel arch of a church carrying a cross or crucifixion, often flanked by the Virgin Mary and St. John the Evangelist.

rood loft A narrow gallery allowing access to the rood. It is reached by the rood stair.

rood screen A screen across the entrance to the sanctuary, topped by a rood beam.

rood stair A staircase from the nave of the church up to the rood loft.

rope moulding See cable moulding.

roundel A circular relief, see also patera.

rosette A rose-shaped carved decoration. Search for term ››

sacristy A strong room usually attached to the N side of the chancel where vestments and the utensils belonging to the altars were placed. It is synonymous with vestry

sanctuary The area immediately around the main altar of a church.

sanctus bell A small bell rung during the mass, at the consecration of the host. It could simply be a handbell, but sometimes a small bell in the bell-chamber was used, and provision was made in the form of an opening to allow the ringer in the tower to see the sanctuary. In other cases the sanctus bell was mounted externally; outside the tower (as at Ickleton, Cambs) or in a bellcote on the east gable of the nave (as at Wingrave, Bucks). Bells in the tower or external bells could be heard by those not in church, and alerted them that a crucial stage in the mass had been reached.

saw-tooth ornament An enrichment in the form of a band of raised triangles. Search for term ››

scale ornament See fish scale . Search for term ››

scotia A concave moulding as on the base of a column betwen the two torus mouldings. See also base.

screen A structure of wood, stone or metal dividing the clerical and lay areas of a church. See rood screen, pulpitum, parclose screen

sedile Seats for the clergy, generally on the S side of the chancel.

segment Part of a circle smaller than a semicircle.

shaft The trunk of a column between the base and capital.

shaft-ring A ring around a circular pier or shaft. Search for term ››

sill The lower horizontal part of a window or door frame.

soffit The underside of an arch or lintel.

soffit roll See roll moulding.

spandrel The triangular area between adjacent arches.

splay Angled reveal, a chamfered surface cut into the walls. The term usually refers to the widening of doorways, windows or other wall openings by slanting the jambs.

springing point The level at which an arch or vault rises from its supports.

springer The first stone of an arch or vaulting rib above the springing point. A double springer is a gabled stone from which spring two adjoining arches.

spur ornament An ornament seen on pier bases, running from the moulding of the base onto the angle of the square plinth. It is sometimes carved with foliage, animal or human heads, etc. Search for term ››

stiff-leaf Fleshy leaf with a trefoil termination, extremely popular in England at the end of the 12thc and the beginning of the 13thc. It is often applied to capitals. Search for term ››

stop-chamfer The termination of a chamfer bringing the edge of a pared off stone back to a right angle. It may be a simple triangular plane, but is often ornamented with a pyramid or a scroll.

stoup Holy water basin at the entrance to a church, usually on a pillar or set in a niche.

string course An horizontal course projecting from a wall, often moulded and at times richly carved.

Sussex Marble Like Purbeck marble, a hard fossiliferous limestone capable of taking a high polish. It differs from Purbeck in having bigger fossils. Also known as Large Paludina Limestone, Petworth Marble, Bethersden Marble or Laughton Stone.

tangent gable A gable which descends below the apex of an arch, the curve of which it passes or joins at a tangent.

tesserae The small cubes of glass, stone, marble or flint used principally in mosaic but occasionally in sculpture.

tool marks The traces of an axe, chisel, drill etc. preserved on the stone. Precious evidence of carving practice.

torus The roll moulding on the base of a column or pier.

Tournai marble A blue black carboniferous limestone. When highly polished and waxed it has the appearance of black marble. It was quarried on the banks of the River Scheldt near Tournai and exported as raw material for sculpture but more frequently it was carved in the local workshops and exported as fonts, tombstones, columns etc.

trefoil See foil.

trellis ornament An ornament consisting of diagonals intersecting to form lozenges.

tribune See gallery.

triforium The area of a wall, often arcaded, above the main arcade level and corresponding to the rafters of an aisle or gallery roof. Although it may contain a wall passage, it is not a gallery.

tufa A rocky deposit that forms when lime-rich water issues at springs. Because it has not been subjected to the pressures associated with normal sedimentation, it is a light honeycomb of a stone, readily carved into building blocks but not used for sculpture. It was used at Moccas and Bredwardine in Herefordshire.

turret A small tower, surmounting or attached to a building, usually used as a staircase.

tympanum The segmental field filling the head of an arch, generally over a doorway. It usually rests on a lintel. Search for term ››

undercroft See crypt

vault An arched ceiling of stone.

vestry See sacristy.

volute A spiral scroll placed at each angle of a Corinthian-derived capital. The term strictly refers to the spiral scrolls of a classical capital but its more general sense applies to any curved ornament, particularly on capitals and consoles.

voussoir The wedge shaped stones forming an arch.

wedge moulding A wedge-shaped moulding usually separating roll mouldings..

Winchester Acanthus See acanthus.