Architecture

This page covers the history and terminology of architecture.

See also Architects.

Classical Orders

In the study of classical architecture, an order is the term used to describe a column and its entabulature, considered as a whole. These terms are usually referred to by laymen as types (or styles) of column:

Earliest: originating before the 5th century BC – no base		Doric
First found in Asia Minor – scroll–like capitals		Ionic
From the end of the 5th century BC – leaves in the capitals		Corinthian
Thought to originate in Etruscan times – no examples survive		Tuscan
Appears first on the arch of Titus in Rome, 82AD		Composite

Columns and Orders

A column and its entabulature, considered as a whole

Order

A level tablet on the capital of a column, supporting the entabulature		Abacus
Herbaceous plant, common in the Mediterranean region: gives its name to the characteristic ornamentation on the capital of a Corinthian column, which is based on its leaves		Acanthus
The lowest division of the entabulature, resting on the abacus; also the collective name for the various parts surrounding a door or window (jambs, lintels, etc.); or the moulding around an arch		Architrave
The upper part of a column		Capital
The uppermost part of the entabulature; a projecting moulding around the top of a building, etc.; or a plaster moulding around a ceiling		Cornice
The upper part of an order – consisting of the architrave, frieze and cornice		Entabulature or epistyle
The middle part of the entabulature, or the upper part of a wall; often ornamented with figures		Frieze
A rectangular base of a circular column		Plinth
Middle part of a column (between base and capital)		Shaft

History (English)

Style of mediaeval Europe, characterised by semi–circular arches		Romanesque
Name used for the above in England		Norman
Style that developed from the above in the late 12th century, and persisted until the 16th: characterised by pointed arches		Gothic

The three stylistic periods of English Gothic architecture (all dates approximate):

1190–1250		Early English
1250–1360		Decorated
1330–1550		Perpendicular

Italian style, introduced to England in the early 17th Century by Inigo Jones

Palladian

Castles

The open space or courtyard of a mediaeval castle		Bailey
A fortified gateway, for example at an outer defence perimeter of a city or castle, or any tower situated over a gate or bridge that was used for defensive purposes		Barbican
In a castle, an oubliette is a type of		Dungeon
'Donjon' is another word, originating in Middle French, for a castle's		Keep
Raised mound of earth – usually artificial – on which a castle, or its keep, was built		Motte

Church Architecture

Note: some items under General (below) are most often, but not always, associated with churches.

Side division of the nave of a church, often separated by pillars		Aisle
Recess at the East end of a church (behind the altar)		Apse
The eastern end of a church, separated from the nave by a rail or screen		Choir
An upper row of windows above the aisle of a church		Clerestory
Underground chamber (of a church)		Crypt
The main part of a church, where the congregation sits		Nave
Screen or panelling behind an altar (or a seat)		Reredos
Word meaning a crucifix, given to a beam or screen at the entrance to the choir or chancel of a mediaeval church, which supports a crucifix		Rood
The part of a church that's at right angles to the nave		Transept

General

International award for a career of achievement in architecture, awarded annually since 1979; administered by the family of its American founder, after whom it's named		Pritzker Prize
The UK's most prestigious prize for architecture: awarded annually by RIBA since 1996, and named in honour of the third winner of the above, who died in 1992 aged 56		(James) Stirling Prize

A large open space within a building, often featuring a glass roof		Atrium
St. Paul's cathedral is probably Britain's best–known example of (the elaborately–ornamented style that dominated European art and architecture from about 1600 to 1750)		Baroque
Projecting support built on to the outside of a wall		Buttress
Italian term for a bell tower not attached to a church		Campanile
A rounded, convex surface, usually surrounded with carved ornamental scrollwork, for receiving a painted or low–relief decoration such as a shield or coat of arms; originally an oval or oblong figure, such as those found on ancient Egyptian monuments, enclosing characters that represent the name of a sovereign		Cartouche
Supporting column in the form of a female statue (cf. Telemon)		Caryatid
A piece of stone jutting out of a wall to carry any superincumbent weight		Corbel
Palisade		Defensive fence or wall
Window projecting from a sloping roof		Dormer
Buttress with a separate pillar such that it forms an arch		Flying buttress
The portion of a wall (generally triangular) that supports the ends of two sloping roof pitches which meet at the top		Gable
Projecting waterspout, usually carved in the form of a grotesque monster (from the French for throat)		Gargoyle
The central piece at the apex (top) of an arch or vault, which keeps all the others in place		Keystone
Window with a pointed arch – named after a surgical instrument		Lancet
Paternoster (architecturally) is a type of		Lift (elevator)
Horizontal beam over a door or window		Lintel
Stored in a buttery (French bouteillerie)		Liquors (wines, ales)
An opening in the floor between corbels (in a castle) – used to drop things on attackers		Machicolation
Roof with two different gradients – the lower part being much steeper than the upper – named after the French architect who popularised it in the 17th century		Mansard roof
A low storey between two main storeys – known in French as an entresol		Mezzanine
Tower on a mosque		Minaret
Vertical divider between window units		Mullion
Buildings for drying hops – a familiar sight in Kent		Oast houses
Diagonal rib of a vault, or a pointed arch or window		Ogive (o–jive)
Form of bay window, popular in the Gothic revival, which projects from a wall but doesn’t reach the ground		Oriel window
The principal floor of a large house – particularly when it’s not the ground floor		Piano nobile
Round window with tracery of radiating compartments		Rose window
Circular room covered by a dome		Rotunda
The roughly triangular space between a curve and a rectangular border – e.g. at the top of an arch or around the face of a clock; also the space beneath a staircase		Spandrel
A newel is a post at the end of (or at a structurally significant point in) a		Staircase
The rise and the going are elements of a
Brick laid lengthways		Stretcher
Supporting column in the form of a male statue (cf. Caryatid)		Telemon
Tunnel, groin, rib and fan are types of		Vault
Interwoven sticks covered with mud and clay to build walls and fences		Wattle and daub
A door or gate for the use of pedestrians – particularly when built into a larger door or into a wall or fence		Wicket (gate)
'Fenestration' is the arrangement of		Windows

© Haydn Thompson 2017–24