ANAGLYPTA: An embossed paper, lighter and more versatile than the earlier lincrusta.
ARCHITRAVE: The moulding around a door, window or niche.
ASHLAR: Large blocks of stone cut square with fine joints.
BALUSTER: Plain or decorated post supporting the stair rail. A balustrade is a row of balusters with a rail along the top.
BARGEBOARD: External vertical boards, often decorated, that protect the ends of the sloping roof on a gable.
BAY WINDOW: A window projecting from the façade of a house, of varying height but always resting on the ground.
BITUMEN: A petroleum derivative used for waterproofing flat roofs and forming a damp proof layer in walls or under floors.
BOND: The way bricks are laid in a wall, with the different patterns formed by alternative arrangements of headers (the short ends) and stretchers (the long side).
BOW WINDOW: A bay window with a curved profile.
BUTTRESS: A vertical support angled up against a wall. Arts & Crafts types tended to have a steep slope down its full height.
CAMES: Lead work that holds the small panes (quarries) of glass in a window.
CASEMENT WINDOW: A window that is hinged along one side.
CAST IRON: Brittle metal formed in moulds, whereas wrought iron is pliable and forged into decorative patterns.
CORNICE: A decorative moulding that runs around the top of an external or internal wall.
DADO: The lower section of a wall. The moulding along the top of this is the dado rail.
DAMP PROOF MEMBRANE (DPM): A waterproof barrier incorporated within walls and ground floors to stop rising damp penetrating the structure above.
DORMER WINDOW: A window projecting out of the roof, with a flat or gabled top.
EAVES: The section of the roof timbers under the tiles or slates where they meet the wall, usually protected by a fascia board.
FAÇADE: The main vertical face of the house.
FLUE: The duct for smoke from the fireplace up into the chimney.
FRIEZE: The horizontal strip of decoration above the picture rail. In this period it was often a paper complementing the wallpaper below. In Arts & Crafts houses it was commonly painted white.
GABLE: The pointed upper section of wall at the end of a pitched roof. A Dutch gable is shaped with concave and convex curves.
GOTHIC: Medieval architecture that used the pointed arch.
GOTHIC REVIVAL: The rediscovery of Gothic architecture, which was championed by Pugin and Ruskin and dominated building from the 1850s to the 1870s.
GOTHICK: A less accurate and more whimsical form of Gothic that was popular in the late 18th and early 19th centuries. Characterised by wide arched windows with Y-shaped tracery.
HANGING TILES: Clay tiles hung vertically off thin strips of wood to cover walls and used by Arts & Crafts architects for their visual appeal.
HERRINGBONE: Brickwork laid in a zig-zag.
HIPPED ROOF: A roof with a slope on all four sides.
INGLENOOK: A recessed space for a fire, with seating to the sides.
JAMBS: The sides of an opening for a door or window.
JETTY: The projection of an upper storey of a timber-framed building.
JOGGLE: Stone blocks with a notch on one face and matching recess on the other to prevent them slipping (see Figs 5.6 and 5.8).
JOISTS: Timber, concrete or steel beams that support the floor.
LINCRUSTA: An embossed paper which appeared in the 1870s and was made by a similar process to linoleum floor tiles but with wood pulp rather than cork.
LINTEL: A flat beam that is fitted above a door or window to take the load of the wall above.
LOAD BEARING: A wall that has to support a load – usually floors and a roof.
MADDER RED: A colour made from the madder root plant which was a bright red, with a hint of purple, often known as rose madder.
MANSARD ROOF: A roof formed from two slopes at a different angle with a profile like the top of a 50p coin, which allows more height for a room within.
MOULDING: A decorative strip of wood, stone or plaster.
MULLION: The vertical member dividing up a window. A low, long window with only mullions is known as a mullion window.
MUNTIN: A vertical framing member set between two rails in a door or panelling.
ORIEL WINDOW: A projecting window on an upper storey.
PANELLING: Wooden lining of interior walls with vertical muntins and horizontal rails framing the panels.
PARAPET: The top section of wall continuing above the sloping end of the roof.
PARGETING: Patterns raised or incised in plaster on the exterior surface of a house.
PEBBLEDASH: Render with small pebbles and stones thrown against it while drying.
PILASTER: A flat column.
PITCH: The angle by which a roof slopes. A plain sloping roof of two sides is called a pitched roof.
PURLIN: Large timbers that run the length of the roof, supporting the rafters.
QUOINS: Raised or highlighted stones up the corner of a building.
RAFTERS: Timbers that are set in a row along the slope of the roof, with laths running across their upper surface onto which the tiles are fixed.
RENDER: A protective covering for a wall, made from two or three layers of cement.
REVEAL: The sides (jambs) of a recessed window or door opening.
ROUGHCAST: A render with small stones mixed within to give a rough texture when dried.
SCREED: A mix of sand and cement used to pour over and form the upper layer of the ground floor. Tiles or carpet were fitted directly to its dried surface.
STRING: The side support panel for a staircase.
STRING COURSE: A horizontal band running across a façade and usually projecting.
TERRACOTTA: Fine clay moulded and fired into decorative pieces, usually left unglazed on Arts & Crafts buildings.
TRACERY: The stone ribs forming geometric shapes and intersecting patterns in the upper half of a medieval window.
TRUSS: An arrangement of timber or steel pieces incorporating triangles to form a long beam or support for a roof. When carefully designed they can stretch further than a single beam.
VERNACULAR: Buildings made from local materials in styles and method of construction passed down within a distinct area, as opposed to architect-designed structures made from mass-produced materials.
WEATHERBOARDING: Overlapping horizontal planks used to protect timber-framed structures from the elements and added by Arts & Crafts architects for the visual appeal.