A Glossary of Terms Used on this Site

Please select from the alphabetical list:

A B C D E F G H I J K L M N O P Q R S T U V W X Y Z

Term: Description:Abacus Flat portion on top of a capital.

Adulterine Castle A castle erected without the liege lord's permission or licence to crenellate (ie: supply with battlements). No picture because it just looks like any other castle!

Aisle Part that serves as a corridor, usually with an series of arches supported by columns on one side. Here, at Durham Cathedral, the nave has an aisle on either side.

Alcazaba A castle or citadel that occupies the high point of a city or town. For example, the Malaguenian fortress of Bobastro shown here.

Alcazar A Spanish term referring to a fortified palace (similar to a castle). For example, the Alcázar of Segovia as shown here.

Allure A walkway at the top of a curtain wall surrounding the castle. The walkway could be made of masonry or wood.

Ambulatory A roofed cloister, gallery, or alley; a sheltered place, straight or circular, that makes a covered way for walking. It is also the aisle that makes the circuit of the apse of a church.

Anthemion A pattern of honeysuckle or palm leaves in a radiating cluster, used as a motif in Greek art. There are some examples of the pattern shown with a photo of the actual flower.

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Apse A semicircular or multisided termination to part of a building, such as the aisles or choir of a church.

Arcade A series of arches supported by piers or columns. The arcade may be freestanding or part of a wall as a decoration.

Arch Construction of brick, stone, etc. that spans an opening but doesn't use a lintel (a single block or beam across the opening).

Arrow Loop, arrow slit

A slit or hole through the castle wall to allow archers and bowmen to shoot down onto attacking forces. The illustration shows a range of arrow loop shapes.

Ashlar Dressed stonework of any type, where the blocks have squared sides, carefully squared corners, and are laid in regular courses, usually with fine joints. The faces of the stones, called ashlars, are generally smooth and polished, but can be tooled. The picture on the left is Ashlar as opposed to rough stone on the right.

Aumbry A small recess near the altar in a church, where sacred vessels are kept. The photo shows an aumbry from All Saints Church, Worcester, Massachusetts.

Bailey An enclosed courtyard surrounding the motte or main defensive mound with the castle on top. Some castles had more than one bailey (or courtyard), some had none. The inner bailey is shown in red and the outer bailey in green on the image of Beaumaris castle.

Balustrade, Baluster A series of short pillars or posts that support a rail. An individual pillar is a baluster.

Bar hole Holes behind the door to receive a timber bar used as door bolt.

Barbican A tower or fortification that protects the gate or drawbridge of a castle. The two barbicans shown here are from Lewes Castle (on the top) and Scarborough Castle (bottom).

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Barrel vault Cylindrical roof constructed of separate bricks or stones to create an extended arch like structure.

Bartizan Small turret projecting from the corner or flank of a tower or wall, usually at the top to act as a crow's nest or lookout.

Bastide A bastide was the medieval word for a new town planted in open country. The photo is of Belvès, Black Perigord, in the Dordogne is a medieval bastide.

Bastilles Initially small timber forts that were garrisoned and used by a besieging army to protect their own positions. The French then later used the term bastille to refer to masonry fortifications consisting of one or more towers that were used to block a passage. Why a photo of Joan of Arc? The English had put Orléans under siege by setting up a ring of six bastilles around the city, either building new bastilles (fortresses) or by modifying existing churches and solid buildings. Joan of Arc relieved the city by destroying each bastille in turn.

Bastion A tower or turret projecting from a wall length or at the junction of two walls to provide flanking cover.

Batter The inward and upward slope of a external wall. The photo shows the base of the wall of Brodick Castle, on Arran.

Battlement The classic castle parapet (a narrow wall built along the outer edge of a wall walk for protection) with up and down crenelations or battlements. The gaps are called embrasures and the raised portions are called merlons. The embrasures allowed the defenders to fire down on the attackers whilst getting protection from the merlons.

Bay A vertical division of a building that is not denoted by a wall but by some other means such as a window, column or buttress.

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Belfry Upper storey of a tower or area in a steeple, in which one or more bells are hung. The photo on top is of the belfry tower in Ghent, Flanders. Regarding castles, a belfry is a mobile siege tower made of wood. It was moved up to the castle wall (with difficulty!) and a drawbridge like platform dropped onto the battlements to allow the attackers access.

Belvedere A small lookout tower on the roof of a house.

Bergfried These were tall towers which are generally believed to be observation posts, rather than residences as they are always the tallest tower and thinner than a keep. They became common on German castles. Guttenberg Castle, shown in the photo, has a fine bergfried tower.

Berm The flat area between a rampart or wall and its associated moat or ditch.

Bivalate A hillfort defended by two concentric ditches. The photo shows Pen Dinas Iron Age hillfort in Wales.

Blockhouse Small square fortification, usually of timber bond overlapping arrangement of bricks in courses. The example shown upper right is a reconstruction of Fort Edward Blockhouse (1750), Windsor in Nova Scotia, Canada. The photo below is of Fort Blockhouse, Plymouth.

Bonnet Freestanding fortification. a small roof over a bay

Boss A knob or projection usually placed to cover the intersection of ribs in a vault. Central stone of arch or vault; key stone.

Bossed masonary, Bossage

In architecture, bossed masonry (or bossage) describes a stone in a building, left rough and projecting, to be

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afterward carved into shape. The term is also applied to Rustic work, consisting of stones which seem to advance beyond the level of the building, by reason of indentures or channels left in the joinings. In the photo on the upper left is of bossed masonry. The lower photo is rustic work.

Boulevard A French term referring to a low earthwork placed in front of a gate or section of a wall to mount cannons. Also, can refer to a terreplein or level space where heavy guns can be mounted behind the parapet at the top of a rampart The photo shows the terreplein of the Fortresses of Liège.

Brattice A temporary wooden parapet or gallery erected on the battlements of a fortress and used during a siege. They work like machicolations (holes in the floor to drop nasty things on attackers) to cover blind spots on the walls.

Breastwork A defensive work of moderate height, hastily thrown up, of earth or other material. The sketch on the upper right is of a classic earthwork breastwork and the one below is a timber one as used sometimes in the American civil war.

Bressumer The main beam in a timber construction usually carved (Sommier is French for beam). Now generally taken to mean a large horizontal beam, usually timber, spanning a wide opening such as a shop-front or fireplace (as shown in the photo.

Bretèche, Brattice A type of stone machicolation which opens over a door or window. The little photo is to remind you what a machicolation is (drop nasty things onto attackers at the foot/face of the wall). The bretèche is just over the doorway or window rather than the whole battlements.

Broch A large stone tower built in Scotland between 100BC and 100AD (iron age) without mortar and a small, crawl-in entrance. The upper photo is of Mousa Broch on the Island of Mousa in the Shetland Isles - the finest Broch surviving, 40 ft high (© and courtesy Historic Scotland). The lower photo is of Clickimin Broch also in the Shetlands.

Burg A German stronghold. The photo is of the Burg Hohenzollern, (the Castle of Hohenzollern, Germany).

Burh A Burh is a defended settlement dating to the Anglo-Saxon period, built to defend against the Viking invasion. Small ones were little more than forts but larger ones would have their own

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judicial administration and an established market as well as a military presence. Many towns with names that have 'borough', 'burgh' or 'bury' originate from saxon burhs. The picture shows a plan of a late saxon burh at Eashing in Surrey. The fortifications often included revetted embankments (ie: embankments supported by stones, timber, etc.)

Buttery Generally next to the kitchen, a room where drinks, especially wine, was stored in butts (or barrels) - which give the room its name.

Buttress A structure built against a wall to support or reinforce it. Usually an exterior masonry structure that opposes the lateral thrust of an arch or a vault and adds extra support. The term 'counterfort' is used when the projection is on the inside. A flying buttress is an arch, resting at one end on a detached pier and it carries the thrust of the nave vault over the aisles or cloister. In the illustration top left, the weight of the roof doesn't just push down but also outwards, forcing the walls apart. The counteract this force, a buttress is placed against the wall to push back against the wall. On the right is of the same illustration is an ordinary buttress and on the left a 'flying' buttress which is not solid (Much lighter and more elegant). The upper right photo is of an ordinary buttress and the lower photo is a flying buttress. The bottom left illustration shows alternative butresses: 'set-back', 'diagonal', 'clasping' and 'angle' butresses.

Cantilever A projecting structure, such as a beam, that is supported at one end and carries a load at the other end or along its length. In a building, the support is often through the weight of a wall.

Capital Decorative element that divides a column or pier from the masonry which it supports. The capital is the area enclosed by the red line on the engraving.

Casemates An armoured compartment for artillery on a rampart.

Castle A castle is a fortified (or resembling a fortified by ornamentation) building or group of buildings, designed for residential use as a place of privacy, security, or refuge that usually dominates the surrounding country. (This is my own definition as there seems to be some argument as to an exact definition) The lefthand photo is of Caerlaverock Castle - a 'serious' defensive castle that saw lots of action. The righthand photo shows Culzean Castle - a beautiful country house designed by Robert Adam for comfort and style, not defence. They are both castles!

Cesspit A pit for refuse or sewage. Diagram C shows a garderobe toilet emptying into a cesspit. The cesspit would need some access that would allow it to be emptied by some unfortunate workers!

Chamfer The small plane formed when a sharp edge or arris is cut away, usually at an angle of 45°; hollow chamfer, when the plane is concave; sunk chamfer, when it is recessed.

Chancel Eastern end of a church. It is the

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space around the altar in a church, often enclosed, for use by the clergy and the choir.

Châtelet A French term for a building designed for the defence of an outwork or gate, sometimes of great strength or size, but distinguished from the chateau, or castle proper, in being purely defensive and not residential.

Chemin de Ronde French term for the allure or 'Wall Walk'. The walkway at the top of a curtain wall surrounding the castle.

Chemise Inner walled enclosure of a castle. The photo shows the chemise of the castle of La Buissière.

Chevron A zig-zag motif. The photo shows a chevron motif over a doorway.

Choir Section of the church, usually within the chancel, used by singers and choir.

Clasping Clasping buttress is one that surrounds the corner of the wall being supported. See 'Buttresses' for other types.

Concentric Castles In the plan of Beaumaris Castle, a concentric castle, there are two roughly circular walls - an inner and an outer. The inner (green) wall is higher than the outer (red) wall so defenders can fire over the outer wall at the enemy. If an attacker gets over the water (blue) moat and scales the outer curtain wall, they still had to cross the gap between the walls and scale the inner, higher wall.

Crenellation The classic castle parapet (a narrow wall built along the outer edge of a wall walk for protection) with up and down crenellations or battlements. The gaps are called embrasures and the raised portions are called merlons. The embrasures allowed the defend

Curtain Wall, Inner and outer Curtain walls

In the plan of Beaumaris Castle, the inner curtain wall is shown in green. The inner wall is higher than the outer

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(red) wall so defenders can fire over the outer wall at the enemy. If an attacker gets over the water moat and scales the outer curtain wall, they still had to cross the gap between the walls and scale the inner, higher wall.

Dentil A series of small rectangular blocks projecting down, usually below a cornice. (Dentils because they look like teeth).

Dormer A vertical window built into a sloping roof that has a section of roof of its own.

Double-splayed An (embrasure) opening where the smallest aperture (size of opening) is in the middle of the wall. (Ie: the wall splays wider both into and out from the window frame).

Dressing Surface finishing of a wall, etc. Dressed stonework involves the use of a chisel to shape, smooth and decorate the surface of the stone block.

Drystone The process of constructing a wall using stone blocks with no mortar or jointing compound. Yorkshire is famous for its drystone walls. Scottish drystone walls are often made of rounder boulders due to the lack of sedimentary rocks that split cleanly along the bed lines. Many areas have mainly ignious rocks requiring very different construction techniques.

Dungeon, Bottle dungeon

The dungeon is a prison built into the bottom of the castle. A bottle dungeon is a pit, sometimes cut into the base rock of the castle, with an opening at the top and access by a ladder.

Embattled A castle that has battlements (Crenellated)

Embrasure A tapered opening: an opening in the wall of a building for a door or window, tapered so as to be wider on the inside than on the outside. A slanted opening in fortification: a slanted opening in the wall or parapet of a fortification, designed so that a defender can fire through it on attackers.

Facades The face of a building, especially the principal face. The photo shows the facade of Westminster Banqueting Hall.

Fascine A bundle of sticks used in building fortifications such as lining or filling a trench, filling material to bridge ditches and many other uses. Each fascine measured about 20" in diameter and between 5 to 6 feet in length.

Fausse braie A second rampart, exterior to, parallel to and much lower than the main rampart and castle wall behind it. Although it

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protected the base of the main castle wall, the shrapnel and debris caused but shot hitting the main wall above would fall on the unfortunate soldiers defending the fausse braie below. For this reason, the area enclosed by the fausse braie was know as a shot tap.

Footings The building construction below ground level that provides a stable support of the construction on top.

Forebuilding A subsidiary tower or projection attached to the front of a keep containing access to its first floor entrance.

Freestone A stone, such as limestone, that is soft enough to be cut easily without shattering or splitting. Immediately the stone is quarried it contains moisture (quarry sap). This is lost over the following years creating a hard skin.

Fresco A painting technique in which pigments suspended in water are applied to a damp lime-plaster surface. The pigments dry to become part of the plaster wall or surface.

Frieze A decorative horizontal band, as along the upper part of a wall in a room. The photo shows the frieze in the dining room of Dalquharran Castle.

Gable A vertical triangular wall between two sloping roof sections.

Gallery A covered corridor (often one that extends along the wall of a building where the roof is supported with arches or columns) or narrow recessed balcony area along an upper floor on the interior of a building.

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Garderobe A toilet built into the wall of a castle. Different types were built such as A-emptying via a chute, B-built into an overhanging part of the wall (both perhaps emptying into a moat), C-emptying into a cesspit which would eb emptied at regular intervals.

Gatehouse A building or tower connected to a castle or town wall and perhaps a bridge or draw-bridge on the other side to protect an entrance. A The photo is of the gatehouse at Rothesay Castle.

Glacis A bank sloping down from a castle wall which acts as a defence against invaders. The bank could be made of earth or bare rock making it difficult for seige engines to move up against the castle wall and an area where attackers are completely exposed. The area outlined in red is the stone faced glacis of Karan Castle in Jordan.

Great chamber The bed-sittingroom or master bedroom belonging to the lord of the castle.

Great Hall The main eating and meeting room of the castle which may also contain the throne.

Groined The edge formed by the joining of two vaults in a roof; the rib covering the intersection.

Half-timber A method of construction where the skeleton frame of the building is timber, usually oak. The outside walls are infilled with wattle and daub, plaster, or brick, leaving the structural timber exposed. The timbers were often an important decorative feature, and this construction method was used extensively in England for cottages, farmhouses, and manorshouses. The photo is of the Tudor gentlemans house of Stoneacre, Kent.

Herringbone Brick or stone laid in alternate diagonal courses.

Hoarding Upper wooden stories on a stone castle wall; the living area; sometimes, a temporary wooden balcony suspended from the tops of walls from

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which missiles could be dropped. Similar to Brattice work which was temporary, and machicolation which was masonry. Hoarding can be seen in the picture by Andrew Spratt of Braal Castle

Impost A horizontal bracket or course in a wall from which the arch springs. It is sometimes positioned immediately above the capital and sometimes used instead of a capital and receives the vertical weight of the arch. Not to be consfused with an abacus. The picture shows the impost in blue.

Jamb The frame in which a door or window sits, as shown by the red area in the picture.

Joist Beams, usually timber, that support a floor. The red items in the picture supporting the floor boards on top in black.

Keep A strong central tower (usually square but could be octagonal, circular, etc.) which forms the heart of a castle where the Lord and his family would live. The photo is of the keep of Newcastle-upon-tyne castle.

Keystone The central top wedge shaped stone or block in and arch. The picture has the keystone coloured red.

Lancet Long pointed windows. The photo shows the three lancet windows of the chapel at Kildrummy Castle.

Lias A greyish rock which splits easily into slabs. Lias is from the lower Jurassic period which saw much deposition of clay followed by limestone. The photo shows cliffs of Liassic limestone, outcropping to the west of Lyme Regis.

Lintel A beam of wood, stone, concrete or steel that spans the top of an

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opening (window, door, etc.) and supports the contructions above (the stone blocks, bricks, etc.). The photo shows a doorway at the old Alloway Kirk. The stone lintel is outlined in red. The blue area is a releaving arch - it supports the stonework above the arch reducing the load on the lintel by distributing forces to either side of the doorway. Stone is very powerful in compression but is not strong in tension, and there is a danger of the stone lintel cracking if too much weight is placed on it.

Loops, Arrow loop A slit or hole through the castle wall to allow archers and bowmen to shoot down onto attacking forces. The illustration shows a range of arrow loop shapes.

Machicolation, Machicoulis

Openings in the floor of a battlement parapet, through which stones, burning objects or hot liquids (such as boiling oil or molten lead) could be dropped on attackers at the base of a defensive wall. A machicolated battlement projects outwards from the supporting wall in order to facilitate this.

Mantlet A moveable plate or shield that protects those operating a gun, engaged in seige work or other activities. On cannons, the mantlet was made of rope to protect the gun handlers from flying debris such as splinters and shrapnel. The top illustration shows a mantlet that can be wheeled around for protection of seige workers. The photo of the tank gun barrel has the mantlet highlighted in red.

Merlon The classic castle parapet (a narrow wall built along the outer edge of a wall walk for protection) with up and down crenellations or battlements. The gaps are called embrasures and the raised portions are called merlons. The embrasures allowed the defend

Moat A deep defensive ditch built around the perimeter of the castle, often filled with water, as shown in blue in the plan of Beaumaris castle.

Motte Motte and Bailey castles were introduced to England, then Scotland, by William the conquerer after the battle of Hastings. The small section from the Bayeaux tapestry shows the construction of Hastings castle, the first in Britain. The Motte is the raised mound of earth upon which the tower or keep was built and where the lord would live. The Bailey is a defensive fenced area linked to the motte where the soldiers would live. The motte is

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shown in Blue in the illustration.

Mullion A vertical or horizontal unit or joint between single windows in a multiple window unit. The illustration shows a mullion separating two long thin lancet windows.

Mural Tower A tower built into the curtain wall to allow defenders to attack the enemy at the foot of the wall.

Murder Hole Similar to machicolations on a curtain wall, murder holes were positioned at a gateway or passageway to allow defenders to pour hot liquids, fire arrows, etc. in to the attackers.

Narthex The entrance or lobby area at the western end of the nave. Traditionally the narthex was a part of the church building, but was not considered part of the church proper. It was either an indoor area separated from the nave by a screen, rail or a row of columns, or an external structure such as a porch. The purpose of the narthex was to allow those not eligible for admittance into the general congregation (particularly catechumens- individuals preparing to be baptized in the Church, and penitents- persons performing penance under the direction of a confessor) to hear and partake in the service. The engraving shows the narthex of S. Giorgio in Velbro, Rome, Italy.

Nave The central space of a church for the main congregation, separated from the choir or chancel by a low wall or screen. It is usually separated from the side aisles by columns.

Newel The central post or column around which the steps of a circular staircase wind, and which provides support for the staircase, or at the top and bottom of a flight of stairs also supporting the handrails, as shown in green in the picture.

Oillet, Oilette In mediaeval castles, it is a small, sometimes circular, opening (or loophole) through which arrows could be fired. It is also a term used in Gothic architecture for a small circular window opening with stone tracery around it.

Oolite A variety of limestone, consisting of small round grains, resembling the roe of a fish. It sometimes constitutes extensive beds, as in the European Jurassic.

Orillons Arrowhead bastions. They can clearly be seen in red in the plan of

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the Peter-Paul Fortress in St.Petersburg.

Oubliette A tiny cylindical or bottle shaped cell in which prisoners were kept. The entrance was a hole in the ceiling through which the prisoner was lowered. Sometimes the cell was so small there was no room for the prisoner to lie down.

Palisade A palisade is a Medieval wooden fence or stockade. It was constructed most often around castles and villages as a temporary wall until a permanent stone wall could be created. The illusatration show a palisade (in green) around the bailey of a motte and bailey castle.

Parados When fighting in a trench against an enemy, the front side (facing the enemy) of the trench is called the parapet and the rear side is the parados. In the world wars, the parados was built up higher than the parapet to prevent the soldiers from being silhouetted against the sky behind, making them easy targets for German snipers.

Pediment A wide, low-pitched triangular gable, as shown outlined in red on the picture of the Supreme Court of America

Pilaster A rectangular or semicircular element of vertical stonework or masonry which projects only slightly from the wall and has both a capital and a base. Sometimes the pilaster provides actual support for a feature above, often it is purely decorative, as seen on the front of the photo of the Library Company building in Philadelphia.

Pilasters A rectangular column with a capital and base, projecting only slightly from a wall as an ornamental motif.

Pinnacle an architectural ornament originally forming the cap or crown of a buttress or small turret, but afterwards used on parapets at the corners of towers and in many other situations.

Pitching Rough cobbling on, for example, a courtyard - as show in the photo of Morel Farm belonging to the National Trust for Jersey.

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Plinth A rectagular or square vertically sided base support to a column, pilaster or other architectural element such as a statue. In the photo, the entire magnificent Taj Mahal is built on a high plinth (marked in red).

Postern A small inconspicupis entry. In a castle, the postern gate leads down to the ditch or moat and would provide possible secret escape in time of trouble. The photo shows the postern gate of Peel Castle on the Isle of Man.

Putlog Hole A hole intentionally left in the surface of a wall for insertion of a horizontal pole to support scaffolding used during construction, floor joists, or supported hourdings. The photo shows many putlog holes in Athassel Priory.

Quatrefoil A quatrefoil window is a round window which is composed of four equal lobes, like a four-petaled flower.

Rampart A bank or steep slope of rubble or earth surrounding a castle or fortified loaction for defensive purposes. (Is sometimes used to refer simply to the castle walls).

Rath A early medieval cirular enclosed settlement or earthen ringwork - often a hill fort. The aerial photo shows the Burren ringfort.

Re-entrant An internal angle (opposite of salient). The photo shows the stair tower built into the re-entrant angle of the two main walls of Glamis Castle.

Reeded A style of decoration used on columns and other architectural features such as architraves. It consists of concave raised parallel ribs running along the length of the item. Fluting is similar but convex.

Relieving arch, Flat arch

A band of moldings or other ornamentation about an arched opening or an arch placed in the wall above

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the lintel to absorb some of the weight of the wall the lintel supports.

Retirata Improvised fieldwork built inside a castle wall to counter an imminent breach.

Revetment A facing of masonry, concrete or other material used to protect an embankment (such as a rampart) from erosion or slumping. The photo of Leeds Castle in Kent shows the revetment wall outlined in red.

Ringwork an earthen fortification similar to a motte but consisting of an area encircled with lower earthen walls and an enclosing ditch, topped by timber palisades. The photo shows Caerau Castle Ringwork.

Romanesque Era Romanesque is the style of Architecture immediately preceding Gothic within Europe - mainly between 11th and 12th centuries.

Rustication A method of creating textures upon masonry wall surfaces, chiefly upon those of stone, by projecting the blocks beyond the surface of the mortar joints. The picture shows rusticated stonework at the bottom and bossed above.

Salient In a castle, it is an outwardly projecting part of the fortification. On a battlefield, a salient projects into the enemies territory leaving the salient exposed to attack on three sides.

Sally Port, Postern gate

A small inconspicupis entry. In a castle, the postern gate leads down to the ditch or moat and would provide possible secret escape in time of trouble. The photo shows the postern gate of Peel Castle on the Isle of Man.

Siege-fort, Counter castle

A strong but temporary fortification, usually similar to a motte and bailey, built by the beseiger to block an escape route or relief route which the beseiged may attempt to use.

Sill The main horizontal member across the bottom of a window frame.

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Soffit The horizontal board that fills the gap between the top of the wall and the overlapping roof.

Stockade A fortified fence made of heavy timbers.

Stringcourse A narrow decorative horizontal band of masonry, extending across the building facade.

Tenaille A defensive outwork (trench or wall) built just outside the castle wall to defend the castle ditch and to provide a secure position before and after sorties from the castle.

Transepts The two (North and South) projections of the church that form the cross shape - as shown in red on the plan of Canterbury Cathedral.

Transom In architecture, a horizontal beam or lintel that separates the top of a door or large window from a smaller window above. If the smaller window opens and is hinged to the transom beam, it is also called a transom.

Trefoil A trefoil window is a round window which is composed of three equal lobes, like a three-petaled flower.

Truss In architecture, a triangular arrangement of usually wood or steel beams used to support the roof or floor above over a large gap. The upper image shows a modern roof truss in red, the middle is a very modern sophisticated roof truss system and the bottom shows the roof trusses of the old Pariament House.

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Turret A small tower rising above and resting on one of the main towers. It is also often used to describe any tower that projects above the surrounding building. It can also refer to an armoured rotatable enclosure fitted with guns as on a ship or tank.

Tympanum The triangular recessed face of a pediment or the space enclosed by a lintel and an arch over a doorway. The area is often richly decorated or sculpted. The Tympanum is coloured green in the image.

Undercroft An undercroft is a cellar or underground room, althought the undercroft from Moyse's Hall is on the ground floor with the hall above on the first floor. The undercroft was often brick-lined and vaulted, and used for storage in buildings since medieval times. The undercroft at Wingfield Manor is below ground but also under the hall. In a church, it is sometimes used to describe the crypt beneath the nave, chancel and trancepts, and used for burial purposes.

Vault An arched structure of brick or stone supporting a ceiling. A barrel vault is a half cylinder shape as shown in the barrel vaulted corridor in the basement of Dalquharran Castle. A groin vault is the intersection of two barrel vaults as shown in the undercroft of Wingfield Manor.

Vitrified Means that the object has a glass (or glass like) surface created by firing at very high temperature. Floor and wall tiles are often vitrified as are some very hard bricks and stoneware items such as drainage pipes which must not b permeable to liquids. The picture shows a vitrified brick from the Yoke Vitrified Brick Co.

Voussoir A wedge-shaped stone used in constructing an arch. One is highlighted in red in the image.

Wall-plate A timber that lies along the top of the wall providing a level and secure fixing for the rafters or joists to rest on.

Wall-stair A staircase built into thickness of the wall. Many castles had thick enough walls to allow a staircase to be built into there thickness.

Ward, Inner and outer ward

The same as a bailey - it is the area inside the curtain wall. Ie, the green area on the plan of Beaumaris Castle is the outer ward or bailey and the red area is the inner ward or bailey.

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Wattle As in Wattle and Daub, building materials dating from Neolithic times. The wattle consists of a woven panel of wooden stakes which is often held between a timber frame structure. The wattle is plastered on both sides with a mixture made up of earth (mud, clay or subsoil), animal dung or lime and straw or grass to bind the mixture. Once set, the Wattle and daub is usually protected by an overhanging roof or whitewashed to improve its water resistance.

Yett An Iron lattice gate; a sort of Scottish portcullis. It was constructed by passing bars through other bars which in turn go through others producing an immensely strong and difficult construction to dismantle.

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