In architecture, a splayed opening is a wall opening that is narrower on one side of the wall and wider on another. When used for a splayed window, it allows more light to enter the room. In fortifications, a splayed opening is used to broaden the arc of fire (cf. embrasure, loophole). [1]
![Rabattement drawing of a symmetrical splayed arch wall opening by Gines Martinez de Aranda [es] (c. 1600). B and D are the faces of the wall (plan view), also used as folding lines. A and C are elevations of the arch faces. Splayed arch rabattment.png](http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/b/b3/Splayed_arch_rabattment.png/220px-Splayed_arch_rabattment.png)
A splayed arch (also sluing arch [2] ) is an arch where the springings are not parallel ("splayed"), causing an opening on the exterior side of an arch to be different (usually wider) than the interior one. The intrados of a splayed arch is not generally cylindrical as it is for typical (round) arch, but has a conical shape. [3] [4]
José Calvo-López, a Spanish scholar of architecture, subdivides the splayed arches into symmetrical (where both springers form the same angles with the faces of the wall), and the ox horn arches, where one springer is orthogonal to the wall, and another is not, creating a "warped" intrados [3] (the use of the term "ox horn" should not be confused with French : corne de vache, "cow's horn" of a design technique that was used for skew arch profiles).
Double-splayed windows, widening towards both wall faces, with the narrowest part in the middle of a wall, are considered common in the Anglo-Saxon architecture, although the use of this trait for dating is questionable, [5] and English church buildings of the 12th century have such windows too. [6]
An arch is a curved vertical structure spanning an open space underneath it. Arches may support the load above them, or they may perform a purely decorative role. As a decorative element, the arch dates back to the 4th millennium BC, but structural load-bearing arches became popular only after their adoption by the Ancient Romans in the 4th century BC.
Anglo-Saxon architecture was a period in the history of architecture in England from the mid-5th century until the Norman Conquest of 1066. Anglo-Saxon secular buildings in Britain were generally simple, constructed mainly using timber with thatch for roofing. No universally accepted example survives above ground. Generally preferring not to settle within the old Roman cities, the Anglo-Saxons built small towns near their centres of agriculture, at fords in rivers or sited to serve as ports. In each town, a main hall was in the centre, provided with a central hearth.
An embrasure is the opening in a battlement between two raised solid portions (merlons). Alternatively, an embrasure can be a space hollowed out throughout the thickness of a wall by the establishment of a bay. This term designates the internal part of this space, relative to the closing device, door or window. In fortification this refers to the outward splay of a window or of an arrowslit on the inside.
A mullion is a vertical element that forms a division between units of a window or screen, or is used decoratively. It is also often used as a division between double doors. When dividing adjacent window units its primary purpose is a rigid support to the glazing of the window. Its secondary purpose is to provide structural support to an arch or lintel above the window opening. Horizontal elements separating the head of a door from a window above are called transoms.
In architecture, a squinch is a structural element used to support the base of a circular or octagonal dome that surmounts a square-plan chamber. Squinches are placed to diagonally span each upper corner where the walls meet. Constructed from masonry, they have several forms, including: a graduated series of stepped arches; a hollow, open half-cone laid horizontally; or a small half-dome niche. They are designed to spread the load of a dome to the intersecting walls on which they are built. By bridging corners, they also visually transition an angular space to a round or near-circular zone.
A voussoir is a wedge-shaped element, typically a stone, which is used in building an arch or vault.
This page is a glossary of architecture.
Escomb Church is the Church of England parish church of Escomb, County Durham, a village about 1+1⁄2 miles (2.4 km) west of Bishop Auckland. It is one of the oldest Anglo-Saxon churches in England and one of only four complete Anglo-Saxon churches remaining in England, the others being St Laurence's Church, Bradford-on-Avon, Greensted Church, and All Saints' Church, Brixworth. The church is a Grade I listed building.
All Saints' Church is a noted Anglo-Saxon Church of England parish church in Earls Barton, Northamptonshire. It is estimated that the building dates from the later tenth century, shortly after Danish raids on England.
St Mary's Church, Fetcham, Surrey, England is a Church of England parish church (community) but also refers to its building which dates to the 11th century, that of the Norman Conquest and as such is the settlement's oldest building. It is set off the residential road of its address, The Ridgeway, behind a small park, in the suburban part of the largely 20th century railway settlement adjoining the M25 London Orbital Motorway which has retained farmed rural outskirts. The closest secular building is Grade II* listed Fetcham Park House, which is in the same architectural category and the church has an adjoining church hall.
St Mary's Priory Church, Deerhurst, is the Church of England parish church of Deerhurst, Gloucestershire, England. Much of the church is Anglo-Saxon. It was built in the 8th century, when Deerhurst was part of the Anglo-Saxon kingdom of Mercia. It is contemporary with the Carolingian Renaissance on mainland Europe, which may have influenced it.
A four-centred arch or four-centered arch is a low, wide type of arch with a pointed apex. Its structure is achieved by drafting two arcs which rise steeply from each springing point on a small radius, and then turning into two arches with a wide radius and much lower springing point. It is a pointed sub-type of the general flattened depressed arch. This type of arch uses space efficiently and decoratively when used for doorways. It is also employed as a wall decoration in which arcade and window openings form part of the whole decorative surface. Two of the most notable types are known as the Persian arch, which is moderately "depressed" and found in Islamic architecture, and the Tudor arch, which is much flatter and found in English architecture. Another variant, the keel arch, has partially straight rather than curved sides and developed in Fatimid architecture.
In architecture, a springer is the lowest voussoir on each side of an arch. Since it is the bottom-most element of the arch, it is where the arch support terminates at the respond. It rests on the impost or pier of the arch, that is, the topmost part of the abutment, from which the arch arises.
Church windows are windows within cathedrals, basilicas and other church edifices. They have been a central element in church architecture since Early Christianity.
St Peter's Church, Monkwearmouth is the parish church of Monkwearmouth in Sunderland, Tyne and Wear, England. It is one of three churches in the Parish of Monkwearmouth. The others are the Victorian All Saints' Church, Monkwearmouth and the Edwardian St Andrew's Church, Roker.
Stereotomy is the art and science of cutting three-dimensional solids into particular shapes. Typically this involves materials such as stone or wood which is cut to be assembled into complex structures. In practice, the engineer makes a drawing of the intended stonework, showing where the joints in the face are to be located, and the stone cutter then details each block and cuts it to fit exactly with the others.
Saxo-Norman is the very end of the Anglo-Saxon period in England and the start of the Norman occupation, typically between 1060 and 1100. Often used to refer to architecture and physical culture, the term addresses the combination of Anglo-Saxon and Norman styles prevalent during the period.
In architecture, a semicircular arch is an arch with an intrados shaped like a semicircle. This type of arch was adopted and very widely used by the Romans, thus becoming permanently associated with Roman architecture.
The ramping arch is an asymmetrical arch that has its springers located at substantially different heights. Frequently a ramping arch is associated with a ramp or stairs.
In architecture, a triangular arch typically defines an arch where the intrados consists of two straight segments formed by two stone slabs leaning against each other. In this roof-like arrangement, mitre joint is usually used at the crown, thus the arch was in the past also called a mitre arch. Brick builders would call triangular any arch with straight inclined sides. Mayan corbel arches are also sometimes called triangular due to their shape.
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