glossary
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ceiling
horizontal arch, often made of wooden planking -
Chancel arch
arch at the entrance to the chancel. -
Chapter room
a meeting place for the chapter or governing body of a monastery or a cathedral -
Chess-board
geometric embellishment made up of squares which are alternately protruding and hollow. -
Choir stalls
Canopied and carved seats for the choir and officiating clergy in a church. -
Clerestory lights
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column, pillar
usually a weight-carrying member, such as a pier or a column.
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Column-shaped statue
tall column sculpted in the form of a character. -
Compound pillar
a pillar that is either made up of a solid core surrounded by a cluster of shafts, or is simply a cluster of shafts -
Concave moulding
semi-circular hollow moulding. -
Console
a corbel (or console) is a piece of stone jutting out of a wall to carry any superincumbent weight. A piece of timber projecting in the same way was called a "tassel" or a "bragger". -
Corbel
a stone Abutment projecting from a wall supporting vaults, arches & roofs. -
Cornice
a continuous horizontal projecting course or moulding at the top of a wall. -
Course
horizontal row of stones.
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Crocket
Small decorative leafy sculpture mainly used on the outer curve of arches in the 13th and 14th centuries. -
Cross springer
transverse brick or stone arch lining the vault in order to support it and separating two sections of the vault. -
Cruciform
cross shaped. -
Crypt
A vaulted underground room usually at the east end of the church, beneath the chancel. -
Cupola
a dome-shaped or quadrilateral-shaped ornamental structure located on top of a larger roof or dome. -
Curtain wall
a straight wall linking two towers. -
Cusped arch
arch composed of several arcs or parts of a circle.