Church architectural elements
Exterior
Arcade
A passage or walkway covered over by a succession of arches or vaults supported by columns
Architrave
A moulded or ornamental band framing a rectangular opening. It is the lintel or beam that rests on the capitals of the columns
Archivolt, ornamental molding or band following the curve on the underside of an arch.
Bell tower
A tower which contains one or more bells, or which is designed to hold bells, even if it has none
More images …
Buttress
An architectural structure built against (a counterfort) or projecting from a wall which serves to support or reinforce the wall
More images …
Chapel
A place of worship sometimes attached to a large church and sometimes a stand-alone structure
More images …
Chapter house
A building or room attached to a cathedral or monastery in which meetings are held
More images …
Cloister
an enclosed space, commonly in the form of a green square with surrounding arcades, that forms the central part of a monastery
More images …
Crossing tower
The tower built above the junction of the four arms of a cruciform (cross-shaped) church
More images …
Cupola
A relatively small, most often dome-like, tall structure on top of a building. Often used to provide a lookout or to admit light and air, it usually crowns a larger roof or dome.
more images …
Dome
A structural element of architecture that resembles the hollow upper half of a sphere
More images …
Facade
The significant front of the church usually on the west front but can be on the side as well
More images …
Flèche
A spire or a lead-covered timber spire that are placed on the ridges of church or cathedral roofs and are usually relatively small
More images …
Flying buttress
A type of buttress that are used to transmit the horizontal thrust of a vault across an intervening space
More images …
Gargoyle
A carved stone grotesque with a spout designed to convey water from a roof and away from the side of a building
More images …
Tympanum
A semi-circular or triangular decorative wall surface over an entrance bounded by a lintel and arch
More images …
Refectory
A dining room, especially in monasteries
.jpg)
Interior
Aisle
A space for walking with rows of seats on either side or with rows of seats on one side and a wall on the other
Altar
A structure upon which offerings such as sacrifices and votive offerings are made for religious purposes
More images …
Altarpiece
An altarpiece is a picture or relief representing a religious subject and suspended in a frame behind the altar
More images …
Altar rails
A set of railings, sometimes ornate and frequently of marble or wood, delimiting the chancel
Ante-choir. A space in a church between the outer gate or railing of the rood screen and the door of the screen; sometimes there is only one rail, gate or door.
Baptismal font
An article of church furniture or a fixture used for the baptism of children and adults.
More images …
Bay
A unit defined as the zone between the outside edges of an engaged column, pilaster, post, or vertical wall area
More images …
Boss
A a knob or protrusion of stone or wood. Bosses can often be found in the ceilings of buildings, particularly at the intersection of a vault.
More images …
Capital
The crowning part at the top of a column or a pilaster
Chancel
The space around the altar, including the choir and the sanctuary, at the liturgical east end of a church
More images …
Chantry
An institutional chapel on private land or within a greater church, where a priest would chant masses
More images …
Choir
The area usually in the western part of the chancel between the nave and the sanctuary (which houses the altar)
More images …
Ciborium
A canopy or covering supported by columns, freestanding in the sanctuary, that covers the altar
More images …
Clerestory
An upper level of a Roman basilica or of the nave of a Romanesque or Gothic church, the walls of which rise above the rooflines of the lower aisles and are pierced with windows.
More images …
Consecration crosses
Crosses on the walls of a catholic church or cathedral showing where the catholic bishop has anointed the church with chrism oil in order to consecrate it "for the Glory of God".
More images …
Crypt
A stone chamber or vault beneath the floor of a church usually used as a chapel or burial vault possibly containing sarcophagi, coffins or relics
More images …
Fan vault
A form of vault used in the Perpendicular Gothic style, in which the ribs are all of the same curve and spaced equidistantly, in a manner resembling a fan.
More images …
High altar
The main altar of a church
Hypogeum
An underground temple or tomb
Keystone
A piece at the crown of a vault or arch which marks its apex, locking the other pieces into position.
More images …
Labyrinth
A single Eulerian path to the center sometimes laid on the floor of a large church
More images …
Matroneum
Originally a gallery on the interior of a building, later in medieval churches they became an architectonic elements, placed over the side aisles.
More images …
Narthex
The entrance or lobby area, located at the end of the nave that is either an indoor area separated from the nave by a screen or rail, or an external structure such as a porch to allow space for those not eligible for admittance into the general congregation.
Parapet
A wall-like barrier at the edge of a roof or structure
Pinnacle
An architectural ornament originally forming the cap or crown of a buttress or small turret, but afterwards used on parapets at the corners of towers and in many other situations
More images …
Pipe organ
A major musical instrument in a church usually placed above entrance on the west side
More images …
Processional poles
A long stick, often decorated at the top with statues of saints, used for carrying in religious processions.
More images …
Rood screen
An ornate screen, constructed of wood, stone or wrought iron used for dividing the chancel from the nave
More images …
Rose window
A circular window especially used in Gothic churches and divided into segments by stone mullions and tracery
More images …
Royal Arms
A wall relief or painting of the Royal Arms of the United Kingdom, usually found in Anglican churches, representing loyalty to the British crown
More images …
Sedilia
The seats (often) on the south side of the chancel near the altar for the use of the officiating priests
More images …
Side altar
Secondary altars of a church
Side-chapel
A chapel within a cathedral or larger church building
Solomonic column
A helical column, characterized by a spiraling twisting shaft like a corkscrew.
More images …
Triforium
A shallow gallery of arches within the thickness of inner wall, which stands above the nave
More images …
.JPG)
_-_Foto_G._Dall'Orto_28-5-2006.jpg)
.jpg)
