Looking at Buildings

Glossary

Shaft-ring: A ring around a circular pier or a shaft attached to a pier, typical of the 12th and 13th centuries. Also called an annulet.
Shaped gable: A gable with curved sides.
Sheila-na-gig: Female fertility figure, usually with legs apart.
Shell: Thin, self-supporting roofing membrane of timber or concrete.
Sheugh: (Scots): A trench or open drain; a street gutter.
Shingles: Thin pieces of wood like overlapping tiles, used externally.
Shouldered arch: An arch with arcs in each corner and a flat centre or lintel.
Shouldered architrave: The moulded frame of a door or window with horizontal and vertical projections at the top angles.
Shuttering: Temporary framing of timber or metal used for casting concrete; also called formwork.
Side purlins: Pairs of longitudinal timbers placed some way up the slope of the roof, which carry common rafters.