Glossary of Church Architecture

Aisle An extension to the side of the nave or chancel separated off by an arcade. Sometime

used for the passageways between the seating. See Alley.

Alley The passageways between blocks of pews.

Altar The ceremonial table at which the Eucharist (Mass, Holy Communion) is celebrated. May
be made of wood or stone. 

Altar-piece A piece of art placed on the wall behind the altar (see Reredos) In the 18th
century, these took the form of large classical-style screens. 

Altar frontal A cloth or embroidery hanging for decorating the front of the altar. 

Apex The apex of an arch is its highest point.

Arcade A series of arches like a pierced wall, separating off an area. See  Wall Arcade or Blind
Arcade

Aumbry A cupboard. In the Middle Ages used to store the communion vessels. Since 1900, in
some churches, used for keeping the reserved sacrament. See Tabernacle.

Arch Braced Roof Curved pair of roof braces forming an arch which connect the wall (or post)
below with tie beam or collar beam above.

Ashlar  Thin slabs of freestone used as facing

Baldachino A canopy over the altar, supported on columns, sometimes called a ciborium.

Barrel Vault . Form of vault  made up of continuous semicircular or pointed arch.

Battlemented Parapet A parapet with crenellations or battlements i.e with alternate raised or

lowered sections. May be called crenellated or castellated.

Bay a division of a church or roof, usually marked by arcade arches or roof trusses. 

Beam Long thick piece of wood or metal or concrete, etc., used in construction .See Tie
Beam & Collar Beam.

Belfry A room or structure in which bells are hung, usually part of a church tower.

Blind or Wall Arcade An arcade built flat against a wall, as a decorative feature.

Blind Tracery Tracery applied to a solid wall.

Boss An ornamental knob covering the intersection of ribs in a vault or on a ceiling.

Box-pew The true pew. Surrounded by wooden panelling, and with a lockable door.

Abbreviation for Horse Box Pew.

Box- tomb  A chest-style monument. The interior is a hollow cavity, and the body is buried
underground. May also be called a chest tomb. 

Brace A supporting beam that steadies or holds something else erect.

Broken pediment a pediment where the apex is missing.

Buttress Masonry built against a wall to give extra strength, and to distribute the downward
thrust. See Flying Buttress.     

Candelabrum Large branched candlestick. May be free-standing or hung from the roof.

Capitals The head of a column, pillar, or pilaster. The form of the capital is often a good guide
to its date

Castellated Parapet A parapet with crenellations or battlements i.e with alternate raised or

lowered sections. May be called battlemented or crenellated.

Chancel The part of the church at the east end, where the altar stands and where the clergy
sit.

Chancel Screen A screen dividing the chancel from the nave – another term for Rood Screen.

Chantry chapel A chapel in which masses were said for the soul of its founder. 

Chapel(side-chapel) An area of a church with its own altar, originally for the cult of a saint
other than the patron saint. Maybe an extension, or simply screened off with parcloses.

Chest Tomb Chest shaped tomb usually of stone. May also be called a box tomb 

Choir Stalls Seating running east-west in the chancel or crossing, where the choir sits.

Ciborium (1) Another name for baldachino; (2) a chalice-like vessel with a lid, used for the
bread at the Eucharist. 

Clerestorey Upper storey of the nave wall rising above the aisle roof.  Pierced by windows to

light the nave.May also be found in the chancel

Collar Beam A structure component to prevent roof spreading by tying together opposing sets
of roof rafters. See Beam.

Communion Rails Rails in front of the altar at which the congregation kneels to receive

communion. First introduced in the 16th century. 

Corbel Block of stone bonded into a wall either inside or out, supporting the end of a beam, or
a statue. 

Corbel Table Series of corbels, just below the roof eaves. Used to carry a parapet, a wall plate
or wall post.

Course Continuous layer in a wall e.g. layer of stones. See String Course & Zigzag Course

Crenellated Parapet A parapet with crenellations or battlements i.e with alternate raised or
lowered sections. May be called battlemented or castellated. 

Crossing The area in the centre of a cruciform church, where the east-west and north-south
arms cross.

Cruciform Cross shaped, often of a church floor plan.

Cusps pointed projections in window tracery or in arches.

Decalogue The ten commandments 

Decorated When capitalised, Decorated refers to a style of architecture dating from the late
13th to the mid 14th Century, characterised by elaborate window tracery and tall columns.
Represents the middle of the Gothicperiod

Dormer (window) A form of window ‘pushed up’ through the roof line to bring extra light into
the top of a building.

Early English An architectural style dating from the late 12th to the late 13th  century,
characterised by the earliest use of pointed arches and representing the beginning of
the Gothic period

Fan Vault Form of vault made up of halved concave masonry cones decorated with blind

tracery.

Flushwork Decorative patterns in flint flat against limestone, brick or carrstone, used to

decorate the outside of some churches

Flying Buttress A buttress which stands away from its building, and is attached to it by a

‘bridge’.

Font Container used for the consecrated water used in baptism

Freestone  Stone which can be easily worked, usually oolitic limestone, or sandstone. It has a

fine grain, and may be 'freely worked' with metal tools. Thin slabs of freestone used as facing
are called Ashlar.

Gallery Balcony overlooking the main interior space of a building. Usually at the west end of a
church, but some occur in the side-aisles. Generally put up in the 16th to 18th centuries, and
removed in the late 19th. 

Galletting Small pieces of flint inserted into the mortar between the large flints.

Gargoyle A projecting stone, ususally carved in a grotesque manner, which throws rainwater
away from the walls and footings of a church 

Gothic Art, architecture or decoration styles dating from after the Norman period but before the
renaissance. 

Gothick  An 18th century revival version of the medieval gothic style,sometimes called
Strawberry Hill Gothic. It predates the 19th century Gothic Revival style.
Gothic Revival A 19th century revival version of the medieval Gothic style. Sometimes called
Victorian Gothic. Dates from approximately 1840 to WW1.

Grotesque Decoration which either interweaves human and animal form with vegetation, or
consists of a comically distorted face 

Gradine A shelf behind the altar, usually part of the reredos, on which the cross and
candlesticks stand.

Hagioscope In a wall usually to allow sight of the altar. Also called Squint

Hammerbeam  An abbreviated tie-beam

Hatchment A diamond shaped panel showing the coat of arms of a deceased person. Often
displayed high on the church wall

Headstop A carving at the end of a hood mould, often taking the form of a head.

High Altar The main altar in a church at which the Eucharist (Mass, Holy Communion) is
celebrated. May be made of wood or stone. 

Hood mould Projecting moulding above an arch or lintel used to throw off water.

Horse Box-pew The true pew. Surrounded by wooden panelling, and with a lockable door. May
be abbreviated to Box Pew.

Incumbent The cleric in charge of a church. May be called Rector, Vicar, or Priest-in-Charge. 

Knapped Flints Flints which have been broken open to expose the dark interior, and then cut
to shape e.g they may be squared.

Lectern A desk from which readings are given. Often take the form of a brass eagle.

Lierne Vault  A form of tierceron vault with subsidiary ribs (liernes) running between the
tiercerons and main ribs, making patterns

Light A vertical division of a window.

Long-and-short work A method of forming quoins by placing long narrow blocks of stone

alternately with thin wide ones. Characteristic of Anglo-Saxon style masonry. 

Misericord Shelf on a carved bracket placed on the underside of a hinged choir stall seat.
Supports an occupant when standing. Often bears interesting carvings.

Mullion The upright in a window; divides the window into a number of lights.

Narthex  An area at the west end of the nave.

Nave The main body of the church, where the congregation sits.

Ogee or Ogive A double S-shaped curve. Used as an arch form in the 14th century.
See Reticulated.

Orientation A church is assumed to have its altar at the east end. Most deviate from true east
to some degree north or south.

Parapet A raised rim around the edge of a roof. See Castellated Parapet, Battlemented

Parapet or Crenellated Parapet. 

Parclose screen A screen that encloses a side chapel within the church. 

Patron (1) The patron saint of a church; (2) the person or corporation with the right to appoint
the incumbent.

Parvise The room over a porch.

Pediment A triangular or sometime curved head to panelling – used in 18th century altar-

pieces. See Broken Pediment. 

Perpendicular An architectural style dating from the mid 14th to the late 16th century,
characterised by mullions reaching to the top of windows, and by the development of fan 
vaulting. Represents the last part of the Gothic period.

Pews Seating for the laity outside the chancel. What are usually called ‘pews’ are in fact
benches. See Box Pew and Reading Pew.

Piers Another name for pillar. 

Pilaster Very shallow buttress, which has no structural use; it articulates the building on the

outside. 

Pinnacles Projecting points at the corners of a tower, or along a parapet, or topping off

a buttress. 

Piscina Recess in the wall near an altar, with a drain, for washing the communion vessels. 

Plinth A solid base on which something stands.

Porch Covered approach to entrance of building; in the Middle Ages used for weddings.

Pulpit A structure for the Priest to speak from, raised above the congregation.See Three-
Decker-Pulpit.

Pyx A vessel for the consecrated bread. In mediaeval English churches, a pyx hanging over
the altar was used for the reserved sacrament.

Quatrefoil A four lobed shape. 

Quoins Stones forming the external angles of a wall. 

Rafters The main structural timbers in a roof. are called principal rafters. The ones which fill
gaps between are the common rafters. 
Reading Pew or Desk A seat with a desk from which the service is read, usually in the nave. 

Reredos A screen or decoration behind the altar in a church, usually containing religious

images. Often painted wood, but may be carved, gilded, etc. Sometimes a tapestry, or other
fabric is used. 

Reserved sacrament The bread consecrated at the Eucharist, and kept for use with the sick.

Reticulated A net- like form of of tracery made up of ogees.

Return Stalls Stalls in the chancel which run along the back of the screen facing east.

Rib Vault A vault in which the sections are marked out by raised stone ribs.

Romanesque The architecture of the Anglo-Saxon and Norman styles, c600-c1100.

Rood The crucifix at the entrance to the chancel. Usually stood on a beam, with attendant

figures of St Mary and St John. Some modern versions are suspended, especially where there is
no screen. 

Rood Dado The solid bottom half of the Rood Screen, occasionally surviving alone after the
rest is removed.

Rood Loft A gallery at the top of the rood screen, used for access to the lamps burning before
the Rood.Sometimes used for parts of the liturgy. 

Rood Screen A screen dividing the Nave from the Chancel, topped with a Rood. 

Rood Stair A stair for access to the Rood Loft.

Rood Stair Turret Contains the stair to the Rood Loft .

Sanctuary Area around the main altar of the church, within the communion rails.

Screen A pierced barrier, often carved wood, dividing a space but allowing vision through to
another area.

Sedilia A set of one to three recesses in the chancel wall, used as seats for the clergy during
Mass. 

Side Altar An altar in a side chapel 

Sound Hole A square stone pierced with tracery . Supposed to let the sound of the bells out,
but actually to ventilate the chamber below the belfry.

Spandrel The space between an arch and its surround. In a roof,  the space between
a brace and a rafter

Springings The springing of an arch is the point where it leaves the pillar or wall. 

Squint A hole in a wall usually to allow sight of the altar. Also called Hagioscope
Strapwork  A form of decoration which originated in the Netherlands c1540, and characteristic
of the Elizabethan and Jacobean periods. It consists of interlaced bands or straps, and may be
executed in stone, wood, or plaster

String Course Horizontal course or moulding projecting from the surface of a wall.

Tabernacle A box to hold the reserved sacrament, which stands on the altar. See Aumbry. 

Tester A flat, horizontal canopy. May be above an altar, or over a pulpit, when it is called a
sounding-board.

Three-decker pulpit A structure combining a pulpit, a reading-pew, and the clerk’s desk. 

Tie Beam A horizontal beam used to prevent two other structural members from spreading
apart. SeeHammerbeam.

Tierceron Vault A rib vault with subsidiary (tierceron)ribs.

Tracery Openwork pattern of masonry or wood in the upper part of an opening e.g window or
screen. See Blind Tracery , Y-Tracery , Reticulated .

Transept Part of a church built at right-angles to the main structure. May be added to an

existing church, or be part of a cruciform building.

Trefoil A three lobed shape. 

Truss Supporting structure or framework.

Turret A small tower. In parish churches they often contain staircases.

Vault (1) Arched stone roof ; (2) a burial chamber. See Barrel Vault, Fan Vault, Rib
Vault ,Tierceron Vault

Vestry A room in which vestments are kept, but also used for most parish business

Victorian Gothic A 19th century revival version of the medieval Gothic style. Sometimes called
Gothic Revival. Dates from approximately 1840 to WW1.

Wall or Blind Arcade An arcade built flat against a wall, as a decorative feature

 Y-Tracery Tracery with mullions branching into a Y shape

Zigzag Course Course with abrupt alternate right and left turns

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