Acanthus
Refers to the pattern of Acanthus leaf used to decorate the capitals of Greek columns. The leaves resemble thistles.
Apse
The semicircular space at the end of the central aisle of a church.
Byzantine style
The term given for the development of the Roman style in the city of Byzantium which is the old name for Constantinople. The dome is the most outstanding feature of this style.
Capitals
The uppermost part of the column.
Corinthian Order
The Corinthian is the most elaborate of the Orders. The capital is a combination of the Ionic Volute and the Acanthus leaf. The column has more numerous mouldings than the Doric or Ionic and carries a greater richness of design.
Doric Order
In this order the column is sturdy and short. The capital is made of a square slab called the Abacus and a curved one called the Echinus.
The shaft is grooved and the grooves are called Flutings. The ridge formed between the grooves is called the Arris. The Doric column has no base. The Doric freeze is divided into square, sculptured panels called Metopes and rectangular ones called Triglyphs.
Flying Buttress
An architectural feature of the Gothic order. The Flying buttresses connect the buttresses of the Nave with the lower and stronger one of the aisles. They make the walls of the cathedral unnecessary as a means of support and permit the wall area to be taken up with large stained glass windows.
Flutings
The moulded grooves of columns
Gargoyle
A carved grotesque, frequently based on the form of a dragon, which decorate the ends of water spouts.
Gothic
The Gothic Order is divided into three periods: Early-English or Thirteenth century, Fourteenth Century which is highly decorated and Perpendicular or Late Gothic. The central features of the Gothic style are the Ribbled vaulting, the Pointed arch, the Flying Buttress and the great windows positioned in the walls.
Ionic Order
The most characteristic feature of the Ionic Column is the Ram's horns sculpture upon the capital. The shaft is more slender than in the Doric Order and the tapering towards the top is less pronounced. The number of flutings on the column number 24. Unlike the Doric column the Ionic column rests on a base which consists of three cushion-shaped blocks which themselves rest upon a square block called the Plinith. The Cornice is not rectangular but gains its projection by a series of elaborate mouldings in which each overlaps the one beneath it.
Lozenge
A diamond shaped moulding typically found in Norman architecture.
Nave
The central aisle of the Church, leading from the main entrance to the apse.
Norman
The Romanesque style of the English churches built in the 11th and 12th centuries.
Orders
Three distinct styles developed in Greek architecture. They are known as "Orders" and are termed Doric, Ionic and Corinthian. An Order is made up of two parts: the column and the Entablature. The Column had three divisions - the Base, Shaft and Capital. The Entablature also has three divisions - the Architrave or chief beam, the Frieze or border and the Cornice or crown.
Roman style
The Romans took the three Greek orders and modified them. They flattened the Echinus of the Doric column and added a base to it. They made the volute curves of the Ionic capital circular, and loaded the Corinthian capital with additional ornamentation. They also developed two new orders - the Tuscan - a kind of simplified Doric, and the Composite - a combination of the Ionic and the Corinthian. Unlike Greek columns which were a means for support of a roof, Roman columns were often purely decorative. A "pilaster" was a Roman column cut in half and attached to a wall.
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