Glossary

Bay Window:
A window that projects outwards from an outside wall.
Cast Iron:
A hard, alloy of iron and carbon that can be cast in a mould.
Conservation Area:
An area of notable environmental or historical importance which is protected by law against undesirable change.
Corbel:
A projecting block.
Cornicing:
Plaster moulding at the top of a wall, between wall and ceiling
Dereliction:
Having been abandoned and become dilapidated.
Dormer:
A window that projects upwards from a sloping roof.
Eaves:
The part of the roof that meets or overhangs the walls.
Façade:
The principal front of a building
Finial:
An ornamental post at the top of a gable.
Finite:
Limited, will not last forever.
Frieze:
Horizontal band of sculpted decoration.
Gable Wall:
The generally triangular portion of a wall between the edges of a dual pitched roof.
Hierarchy:
The ranking of people or rooms according to their status or authority.
Industrial Revolution:
The transformation of an agricultural economy to one based on manufacture.
Insulating:
Adding a material that helps prevent heat loss
Lintel:
A horizontal, structural piece of timber, stone, steel or concrete above a door or window.
Pantry:
A small room in which food, crockery and cutlery are kept.
Parapet:
A low wall.
Pilasters:
Shallow rectangular column projecting slightly from a wall.
Recycle:
Convert ‘waste’ into something usable.
Renewable:
Something that is not depleted by use
Restoration:
Returning a building to its former condition.
Retrofit:
Adding a component to a building that it was not built with, eg. Adding insulation to an old house.
Roof Ridge:
Top of the roof.
Scullery:
A small room in which dishes are washed and other dirty kitchen jobs are carried out.
Self-sufficient:
Needing no outside help in meeting ones basic needs.
String Course:
A raised row of bricks on a building.
Subterranean:
Below the ground.
Suburb:
An outlying district of a city.
Sustainable:
Able to be maintained at a certain level, avoiding the depletion of natural resourses.
Symmetrical:
One side is the same as the other.
Urbanisation:
Process by which cities grow.
Veranda:
A roofed platform that runs along the outside of a house at ground level.
Whitewash:
A solution of lime and water used to paint walls

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