Trail:

Glossary

Ring fort
(Irish): Circular or near-circular enclosure consisting of one or more earthen (or occasionally stone) banks, classified according to the number of surrounding ditches as univallate, bivallate or trivallate. Most date from early Christian times and housed single farms or served as cattle enclosures for farms. Also called a rath.
Ringing chamber
Stage in a tower where the bell ringers stand.
Riser
Vertical face of a step.
Roach
A rough-textured form of Portland stone, with small cavities and fossil shells.
Rocaille
(French): Asymmetrical arrangements of unworked rocks, or its imitation in other materials, associated especially with the Rococo style; also called rockwork.
Rock-faced
Masonry cleft to produce a natural, rugged appearance.
Rockwork
Asymmetrical arrangements of unworked rocks, or its imitation in other materials, associated especially with the Rococo style; also called rocaille.
Rococo
A style of 18th-century decoration characterized by asymmetrical ornament, often in C- or S-shapes usually derived from foliage or shells. It began in France, flourishing most fully there and in Germany and Central Europe. It is sometimes associated with the imitation Chinese manner known as Chinoiserie, and, in the British Isles, with the phase of the Gothic Revival known as Gothick.
Roll moulding
Medieval moulding of semicircular or more than semi-circular section.
Roman
The architecture of the Roman Empire, to which most of Britain belonged from 43 to c. 410 A.D. Our knowledge of Romano-British architecture depends mostly on archaeological reconstructions from foundations and fragments, though some notable fortifications and other military works survive above ground level in recognizable form.