Glossary

Glossary

Aisle – The side of a church separated from the nave by pillars.
Alabaster – A fine-textured usually white and translucent gypsum.
Alms box – A box for collecting charitable donations.
Altar – A table where the bread and wine are consecrated.
Anchorite – A religious recluse
Apse – A semi-circular extension to the east end of a church, with domed or arched roof
Arcade – A series of arches
Ashlar – Masonry made of cut and worked stones.
Aumbry – A recessed cupboard in the chancel wall for storing sacred vessels.

Baluster – A spindle in a balcony or staircase
Bargate stone – A durable sandstone with high iron oxide content giving it a warm yellow colour.
Bell-cage – The timber framework which supports the bells.
Bellcote – A small tower in which the church bells are hung.
Broach spire – An octagonal spire rising from a square tower by means of triangular faces.

Caen stone – A cream coloured limestone quarried in north-western France near Caen.
Capital –  A distinct, broad section at the top of a column
Chancel – The part of the church with altar, sanctuary and choir.
Cinquefoil – An architectural detail in the form of five flower petals or leaflets.
Clerestory – A series of windows at high level above, for example, the nave walls.
Cloister – A covered walk with an open colonnade on one side.
Consecration  Cross – A cross marking the point where a church was consecrated
Corbel –  projection jutting out from a wall to support a structure above it.
Credence shelf – A small shelf for holding the bread, wine and vessels of the Eucharist
Crown post – A large post in a roof, standing on a tie-beam and supporting a collar
Crossing – Area of the intersection of nave/chancel with the transepts.
Crozier (Crosier) – A bishop’s staff surmounted by a cross or crook.
Cruciform – With the shape of a cross, as in a church footprint.
Cupola – A rounded dome on a roof.

Decorated – The second phase of English Gothic architecture (approximately  1275-1380).
Dogtooth – A carved pyramidal moulding used in 13th century  English architecture.

Early English – The first phase of English Gothic architecture (approximately 1180-1275)
Eucharist  – 1) A ceremony commemorating The Last Supper  2) The consecrated elements.

Galletting – A technique in which small pieces of stone are inserted into wet mortar joints.
Gnomon – The part of a sundial that casts a shadow.
Gothic – An architectural style developed in Europe in the mid 12th century.

Hagioscope  see Squint
Hood mould – An external moulded projection over an opening to throw off water.
Horsham stone  – Sandstone slabs from the Wealden clay around Horsham. Used as roof slates.

Label (stop)  –  Label = Hood mould. Stop: A boss at the end of a label.
Laity – Ordinary worshippers as distinct from the clergy.
Lancet – A narrow acutely pointed window or arch.
Lectern – A reading stand with a sloping top
Ledger stone  – A flat slab of stone on a grave.
Living – A church office with fixed assets and the revenue from it.

Lombardic – Of the Lombards, a Germanic people who settled in Italy in the 6th century.
Long and short – Alternate vertical and horizontal masonry, especially in Saxon church quoins.

Mass dial – Lines cut into a church wall to form a simple sundial showing times of masses.
Mullion – A vertical element that divides parts of a window
Mural – A painting applied directly on a wall.

Nave – The central part of the church intended for the laity.
Nook-shaft  – A shaft set into the angle of a doorway or window jamb.

Ogee – A double curve with the two arcs running in opposite directions.
Order – In masonry, one ring of several around an arch.

Parclose  – A screen or railing which separates a side chapel.
Parvis(e) – An enclosed area or room in front of a church.
Pilaster – An upright support with rectangular plan, usually with base and capital.
Pediment – A triangular gable above a horizontal door head.
Perpendicular – The third phase of English Gothic architecture (approximately 1380-1550)
Purbeck marble – A limestone found in the Isle of Purbeck, a peninsula in south-east Dorset
Piscina – A basin near the altar for washing communion vessels.
Porticus  – A side chapel projecting from the nave, entered through an arch in nave wall.

Quoin –  The exterior angle of a wall, often contrasting with the adjoining masonry.
Quatrefoil  – An architectural detail in the form of four flower petals or leaflets.

Ragstone  – A hard sandstone or, as in Kentish ragstone, a hard limestone found in Kent.
Reformation – An early 16th century European movement to reform the catholic church.
Romanesque – An architectural style developed in Italy, and appearing in Normandy c950
Rood – A large crucifix on a screen or beam at the entrance to the chancel.
Rere-arch – An inner arch of a doorway that differs in size from the external arch.
Reredos  – An ornamental wood or stone screen behind an altar.
Respond – A half pier that supports an arch.

Salamander – An amphibian able to regenerate body parts. Said to be blessed with eternal life.
Sandstone  -A sedimentary rock of compacted, usually quartz, sand
Scratch dial  See Mass dial
Sedilia – Stone seats for the use of the priest, deacon and subdeacon during Mass.
Sepulchre – 1) A tomb. 2) A receptacle for religious items, as in Easter Sepulchre.
Squint – An oblique opening through a church wall providing a view of the altar.
Squire’s Pew – A private pew, often a gallery,
Stoup – A basin for holy water, usually by the entrance door.
Sussex marble – Also called Petworth marble. A limestone similar to Purbeck marble.

Tester – A canopy over a pulpit.
Tracery – Ornamental open stonework in the upper part of a Gothic window.
Transept – Either of the two arms of a cruciform church plan, at right angles to the nave.
Trefoil – An architectural detail in the form of three lobes, as in clover.

Vaulted (roof) – An arched roof or ceiling.
Vestry – A room used for church meetings.

Wyvern – A legendary winged creature with a dragon’s head.