Glossary of Architectural / Ecclesiastical Terms
Altar - raised structure with a flat top on
which the Eucharist is celebrated.
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Battlement – parapet with a series of
embrasures (indentations) and merlons (raised portions) between. Also
called Crenellation. <back>
Bench – seating in the nave for use of the
congregation. Colloquially, but erroneously, called pews.
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Canons – clergy in a secular (non-monastic)
cathedral or collegiate church.
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Chancel - the eastern part of the church in
which the altar is placed.
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Chancel arch - arch at the juncture of chancel
and nave. <back>
Corbel - a projection from the wall to carry
weight not intended to rest directly upon the wall itself.
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Cusp – spear shaped ornament, usually
pierced. In tracery, the small pointed part between two lobes of a
trefoil, quatrefoil, etc.
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Embattled – with a
battlement.
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Font - basin for baptismal water.
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Hagioscope – also known as a ‘squint’. An
oblique opening in a wall to enable persons in the transepts to see the
altar. <back>
Lancet window – slender pointed-arched
window. <back>
Lights – vertical sections of a window or
bell opening separated by mullions.
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Mullion – vertical division in a window.
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Nave - the main body of the church.
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Parapet - low protective wall, often decorated
with tracery or embattled. Often seen around the roof or tower.
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Provost
- the highest official in a cathedral or collegiate
church. <back>
Pulpit
- a raised, enclosed platform from which
the preacher delivers a sermon. Originally, sermons were delivered from
in front of the altar or in the churchyard. By the start of the 17th
century, each church had to have a pulpit by law.
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Quatrefoil – four-leafed decoration in pierced or blind
tracery. <back>
Reredos - structure behind and above the altar.
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Rood – a cross or crucifix.
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Rood beam - a beam across the arch leading to the choir in the
church. <back>
Rood loft – singing gallery on top of the rood screen.
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Rood screen - a carved wooden or stone
screen dividing the choir from the nave.
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Rood stairs – staircase giving access to the
rood loft. <back>
Scratch dial
- a sundial 'scratched' into the
south wall either to tell the time or to indicate times of service.
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Squint
– see hagioscope.
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Tracery
- pierced and decorated ornamental
stonework often in the space above window lights or in parapets, etc.
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Transepts
- the projecting arms of a church
built in the form of a cross.
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Tympanum – a lath and plaster or boarded
partition to fill the space between the chancel arch and the rood or
chancel screen. <back>
Vestry – a room where vestments and records
are kept. <back>
Wagon roof – roof where the appearance of the
cloth tilt over a wagon is achieved with close set rafters and arched
braces. Commonly found throughout south Somerset uncovered, panelled or
plastered. <back>
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