Architectural Glossary

Ashlar
Ashlar is finely dressed (cut, worked) stone, either an individual stone that was worked until squared or the structure built from it. Ashlar is the finest stone masonry unit, generally rectangular cuboid, mentioned by Vitruvius as opus isodomum, or less frequently trapezoidal. Precisely cut "on all faces adjacent to those of other stones", ashlar is capable of very thin joints between blocks. Ashlar is in contrast to rubble masonry, which employs irregularly shaped stones, sometimes minimally worked or selected for similar size, or both. In classical architecture, ashlar wall surfaces were often contrasted with rustication.

Barge Board
A board attached to the gables of a building to protect the exposed ends of the timber roof structure e.g. purlins and rafters. Bargeboards were often decorated.

Bond
The pattern in which bricks or stone are laid so that the joints are staggered providing greater strength. The long face of a brick is known as a stretcher and the short face as the header. The "Stretcher Bond" is the most commonly used bond in the UK, a pattern is made only using stretchers, with the joins on each course centred above and below by half a brick. This type of bonding is not particularly strong. The "Eglish Bond" is a pattern formed by laying alternate courses of stretchers and headers. The joins between the stretchers are centred on the headers in the course below. This is one of the strongest bonds but requires more facing bricks than other bonds. "English Garden Wall" is similar to the English bond but with one course of headers for every three courses of stretcher. The headers are centred on the headers in course below. This gives quick lateral spread of load and uses fewer facings than an English bond. "English Cross Bond" alternates courses of stretchers and headers, with the alternating stretcher course being offset by half a brick. The stretchers are centred on the joins between the stretchers below them, so that the alternating stretcher courses are aligned. Staggering stretchers enables patterns to be picked out in different texture or coloured bricks. "Flemish Bond" is formed by laying headers and stretchers alternately in each course. The headers of each course are centred on the stretchers of the course below. This bond is strong and often used for walls which are two-bricks thick.

Bressummer
A horizontal load-bearing beam in a timber framed building. The use and definition of the term varies but generally a bressummer is a jetty sill set forward from the lower part of a building to support a jettied wall. These beams may bear a motto, such as at "God's Providence House" in Watergate Street.

Corinthian
The Corinthian order (Greek Κορινθιακός ρυθμός Latin Ordo Corinthius) is the last developed of the three principal classical orders of ancient Greek and Roman architecture. The other two are the Doric order which was the earliest, followed by the Ionic order. When classical architecture was revived during the Renaissance, two more orders were added to the canon: the Tuscan order and the Composite order. The Corinthian, with its offshoot the Composite, is the most ornate of the orders. This architectural style is characterized by slender, almost always fluted columns and elaborate capitals decorated with acanthus leaves and scrolls. Typical examples in Chester are seen at 33 Eastgate Street (the "Old Bank") designed by George Williams and built in 1859-60.

Crocket
A decoration seen in Gothic architecture, consisting of buds, curled leaves or flowers.

Doric
Doric columns can be recognised by their often (but not always) fluted grooves, the simple capital at the top of the columns which is a curving piece of stone (echinus) with a square block (abacus) supporting the structure above. They also have no plinth at the base of the column. Above a plain architrave, the complexity comes in the frieze, where the two features originally unique to the Doric, the triglyph and guttae, are skeuomorphic memories of the beams and retaining pegs of the wooden constructions that preceded stone Doric temples. The propylaeum (pillared entrance) gateway to Chester Castle has this type of column.

Dutch Gable
Used to describe a shaped gable made up of curves, sometimes completed with a pediment. The Dutch gable was a notable feature of the Renaissance architecture, which spread to northern Europe from the Low Countries, arriving in Britain during the latter part of the 16th century. Later Dutch gables with flowing curves became absorbed into Baroque architecture.

Gothic
An architectural style that flourished in Europe during the High and Late Middle Ages. It evolved from Romanesque architecture and was succeeded by Renaissance architecture. The defining element of Gothic architecture is the pointed or ogival arch. It is the primary engineering innovation and the characteristic design component. The use of the pointed arch in turn led to the development of the pointed rib vault and flying buttresses, combined with elaborate tracery and stained glass windows. The term "Gothic architecture" originated as a pejorative description. Giorgio Vasari used the term "barbarous German style" in his Lives of the Artists to describe what is now considered the Gothic style.

Ionic
The Ionic capital is characterized by the use of volutes, a spiral, scroll-like ornament. The Ionic columns normally stand on a base which separates the shaft of the column from the stylobate or platform while the cap is usually enriched with egg-and-dart.

Jetty
Describes where the upper storey of a timber frame building is cantilevered (projects) out over the street below. Jettying (jetty, jutty, getee (obsolete) from Old French getee, jette) is a building technique used in medieval timber-frame buildings in which an upper floor projects beyond the dimensions of the floor below. This has the advantage of increasing the available space in the building without obstructing the street. A jetty is an upper floor that depends on a cantilever system in which a horizontal beam, the jetty bressummer, supports the wall above and projects forward beyond the floor below (a technique also called oversailing). The bressummer (or breastsummer) itself rests on the ends of a row of jetty beams or joists which are supported by jetty plates. Jetty joists in their turn were slotted sideways into the horizontal, diagonal dragon beams at angle of 45° by means of mortise and tenon joints. The etymology of dragon is unclear. The term may be descended from German träger (a carrier), Danish dragere (bearing beam, joist, girder) or Dutch draagbalk (beam). Sometimes the post below the dragon beam is called a dragon post.

Mullion
A vertical dividing post that separates the panes or lights of a window.

Opus Quadratum
Opus quadratum is an ancient Roman construction technique, in which squared blocks of stone of the same height were set in parallel courses, most often without the use of mortar. This technique was used by the Romans from about the 6th century BC, and over time the precision and accuracy of the block cutting improved. The technique continued to be used throughout the age of the Roman Empire, even after the introduction of mortar, and was often used in addition to other techniques.

Oriel Window
Essentially a bay window that projects out from the upper storeys of a building and supported on brackets or pillars etc, and does not reach the ground. According to the Oxford English Dictionary, the term oriel is derived from Anglo-Norman oriell and post-classical Latin oriolum, both meaning "gallery" or "porch", perhaps from classical Latin aulaeum ("curtain").

Romanesque
Romanesque architecture is an architectural style of medieval Europe characterized by semi-circular arches. There is no consensus for the beginning date of the Romanesque style, with proposals ranging from the 6th to the 11th century, this later date being the most commonly held. Combining features of ancient Roman and Byzantine buildings and other local traditions, Romanesque architecture is known by its massive quality, thick walls, round arches, sturdy pillars, barrel vaults, large towers and decorative arcading. The best examples of it in Chester are found at St Johns. Romanesque architecture was the first distinctive style to spread across Europe since the Roman Empire. With the decline of Rome, Roman building methods survived to an extent in Western Europe, although the round arch continued in use, the engineering skills required to vault large spaces and build large domes were lost.

Squint
"Squints" are normally found in Churches, but have been known from various manor houses where they typically look into the banqueting hall. Perhaps the intention here would be to "eavesdrop" on conversations and gain an advantage in business transactions for the Leches. Priest holes and squints are rare in Cheshire, but there is a good example at Leche House.

Transom
In architecture, a transom is a transverse horizontal structural beam or bar, or a crosspiece separating a door from a window above it. This contrasts with a mullion, a vertical structural member.

Tudor
"Tudor" has become a designation for half-timbered buildings, although the truth is there are cruck and frame houses with half timbering that predate 1485 by quite a bit and the style bleeds early into the Jacobean era. The low Tudor arch was a defining feature of this style rather than simply the use of half-timbering. During this period, the arrival of the chimney stack and enclosed hearths resulted in the decline of the great hall based around an open hearth that was typical of earlier Medieval architecture. Instead, fireplaces could now be placed upstairs and it became possible to have a second story that ran the whole length of the house. Tudor chimney-pieces were made large and elaborate to draw attention to the owner's adoption of this new technology. The jetty appeared, as a way to show off the modernity of having a complete, full-length upper floor. Early chimneys were often elaborate to again indicate the wealth of the owner.

Tuscan
The Tuscan order (Latin Ordo Tuscanicus or Ordo Tuscanus, with the meaning of Etruscan order) is one of the two classical orders developed by the Romans. In its simplicity, the Tuscan order is seen as similar to the Doric order, and yet in its overall proportions, intercolumniation and simpler entablature, it follows the ratios of the Ionic.