Wikipedia:Reference desk/Archives/Humanities/2014 October 30

= October 30 =

Architectural terminology


What do you call the little structure at the front of the roofline? It's the wrong shape for a cupola, and I don't know if it has bells in it, so I'm hesitant to call it a belfry. It's seemingly not used for getting a good view of things (this church was built in the wilderness in the woods, so they couldn't have seen very far away), so not a belvedere, and it's rather too tiny for a turret. Nyttend (talk) 16:12, 30 October 2014 (UTC)
 * It fits one of the pictures in the cupola article, and might be used for the same purpose, ventilation. However, you might be best off to write to that church and ask them. ←Baseball Bugs What's up, Doc? carrots→ 16:16, 30 October 2014 (UTC)
 * Unfortunately, the congregation's seemingly defunct; it was Methodist, and it's not listed in the church finder for http://www.umc.org, which lists several churches in the surrounding countryside. Nyttend (talk) 16:29, 30 October 2014 (UTC)
 * Calling it a cupola in the newly expanded article that I was working on. Nyttend (talk) 16:35, 30 October 2014 (UTC)
 * That seems reasonable. I just have to wonder, does someone own that property? ←Baseball Bugs What's up, Doc? carrots→ 17:08, 30 October 2014 (UTC)
 * In Ohio, as of ±10 years ago (when my church was trying to get rid of a piece of property), our lawyer told our minister that when a property owner no longer wanted to own a cemetery, the owner may transfer it to the township trustees, and the township trustees were obliged to take it; perhaps the local Annual Conference just gave it to Augusta Township. I tried and failed to find a GIS page, at which presumably I'd be able to find the owner.  Nyttend (talk) 17:28, 30 October 2014 (UTC)


 * Architecturally, this looks like a cupola, that is the outer shell is a cupola. Cupolas can be used for different purposes, such as a belfry, widow's walk, etc. Churches often used them for ventilation and the shutters on this one lend some evidence for that. --Mark viking (talk) 17:14, 30 October 2014 (UTC)
 * They can also be called "roof turrets". A few people tend to refuse to calling them cupolas unless meaning the structure named so in the railroads, because cupola was originally meaning a round structure, such as that which can be seen on the top of many of the various Capitol buildings.--Askedonty (talk) 17:43, 30 October 2014 (UTC)
 * I agree, there is no one true definition here. Some sources require cupolas to have domed roofs, others don't. --Mark viking (talk) 18:27, 30 October 2014 (UTC)


 * I used to go to a school with a structure identical to that and was told it was a belfry, even though there was no bell in it.--TammyMoet (talk) 21:21, 30 October 2014 (UTC)
 * This website (which sells the things) calls them "Cupolas (Roof Turrets)", so either term seems to be acceptable. Tevildo (talk) 03:17, 31 October 2014 (UTC)


 * I would imagine that it was originally intended to house a bell, hence the louvres to let the sound out. Following that link, we have an image of a 19th century school building in London, with the caption "Louvered cupola bell house". Alansplodge (talk) 13:57, 31 October 2014 (UTC)