Abacus The flat slab of stone at the top of a column forming the top of a capital and supporting the arch or wall above it

Abutment The section of wall to the side of the curving part of the arch erected to counter the thrust of the arch

Aisle The passages to each side of the nave, separated from the nave by screens or columns

Altar Flat topped wooden or stone table containing the cross. Usually at the east end of the church (More...)

Alure The path along the top of a parapet at the top of a wall

Ambulatory The processional aisle around the apse at the east end of a church

Ampoule Vessel containing the sacred oil to anoint the kings of France at the cathedral at Rheims

Anglo-Saxon English architectural style C10-11, followed by NORMAN

Angle The corner of a building, inner or outer

Apex The highest point of an architectural feature. A pryramid shape is common

Apse A semicircular projection usually found at the east end of a church

Apsidal Ending in a semi-circle

Arcade A row of arches and columns dividing two places

Arcading A row of blind arches in a wall, such that the arches are filled in and lead nowhere

Arch A pointed or curved construction of wedge shaped stones. See Voussoir

Architect A person competent to design buildings and to supervise their construction

Architrave The ornamental moulding running around the curve of an arch, a door or window

Archivolt A moulding carried around an arch

Armature Metal framework in large untraceried window used to support the stained glass

Ashlar Hewn and squared stone ready for construction purposes

Atrium Covered row of columns in front of the door of a church

Bailey The open area in a castle between the keep and the curtain wall. This area can have working and domestic buildings in it

Ballflower Ornament in the shape of a flower with a ball surrounded by petals

Balustrade A row of balusters which are vertical members that support the handrail of a staircase

Baptistry Area of the church reserved for the administration of the sacrament of baptism.

Bar hole Horizontal hole to hold a timber bar used for securing a door

Barbican Outer defences of a castle where attackers would be vulnerable. Normally a double tower over a bridge or gate

Baronial In terms of architecture typically Scottish and elaborate in nature

Barrel-vault A tunnel-like semi-circular vault

Barrow Burial mound built over stone graves

Bartizan A watch-tower or turret jutting out from the top of a castle (bartisan)

Base course The lowest course of masonry of a wall or pier

Bastion A solid tower at the end or middle of a curtain wall

Bastle Two-story rectangular building where the lower floor is used to house animals and the upper floor for living quarters

Batter The inside face of a wall

Battlemented Describes the top of of a wall where there are rows of rectangular teeth. This is also known as crenellated or embattled

Bay A compartment into which a building is divided. Bays are marked by buttresses, pilasters in the walls, by the position of the main ribs of the vaulting of the interior, etc.

Beading Small circular objects in a row

Belfry A bell-tower or campanile

Berm Strip of ground between the outer curtain wall and the moat

Billet Moulding Norman ornamental moulding with cylindrical blocks

Blank arcading See arcading

Blind arcading See arcading

Boss An ornamental projection in ribbed vaults used to hide the joins

Brattice A wooden tower or a projecting wooden gallery at the top of a wall

Bressumer A beam used as a support for a projection

Breteche Hoardings: Wooden boards fitted to top of wall used as extra protection for defenders

Broach an old English term for a spire, or to denote a spire that springs from a tower without an intermediate parapet

Buttress The projection of stonework at the side or corners of a building to provide strength against the lateral forces

Cable Moulding A moulding in the form of a rope made from twisted strands

Calefactory Warming house in a monastery

Cantilever A projecting beam fixed at one end only

Capital The stone at the top of a column that supports the abacus and arch above it. The capital is usually carved

Caryatid A statue in female form used as a supporting pillar

Casemate Bomb-proof vault in a curtain wall for cannons

Castle Medieval fortification

Cathedral The principal church of a diocese where the bishop has the throne

Celestory Windows or opening set high in a wall to illuminate the area below

Cell A monastic dependency of a religious house

Chamber A room on an upper floor for living and sleeping

Chamfer The surface created by cutting away the angle of a beam along its length.

Chancel The east end of the church, sometimes divided into the sanctuary and presbytery. Anglo-Saxon and early Norman chancels were normally apsed and later chancels were square

Chapter House The building where the canons and Dean met each day to hear a chapter of St Benedict's Rule read out and to conduct the business of the abbey

Chevet East end of a church with an apse surrounded by other smaller ones

Chevron A zigzag form of ornamentation used in the Norman period

Choir The area of the church where the choristers and clergy sit

Cinquefoil A five-lobbed ornament

Clearstory The upper story or row of windows lighting the nave of the church

Cloister The rectangular covered area around an open space (garth) of a monastery or cathedral surrounded by covered walkways used for study and meditation. A photograph of the cloister at Lincoln Cathedral

Cob Walling material of straw and unbaked clay

Column Circular shaft with base and capital, designed to support the weight above

Concentric A concentric castle has a series of defences enclosing another

Corbel A stone jutting from a wall designed to support a roof or floor beam

Corbel table The horizontal section high on a wall of a church containing carved stone heads

Cove Concave moulding at junction of ceiling and wall

Crenellation Notched battlements at the top of a wall

Crocket A small carved and decorated projection in the form of a flower

Crossing The point at which the roofs of the four cross-arms of the church met. Below the crossing is the choir

Crowstep Step-shapes found at either side of the gable end of a building

Cruciform Cross-shaped. A church with transepts has a cruciform plan

Crypt Vault or chamber under the church

Cuirass Medieval armour covering the back (backplate) and chest (breastplate). Plain or ornately decorated

Curtain Wall The wall around the bailey with a sentry-walk along its top

Cushion capital Typical in Romanesque work, having a square top and rounded off lower section