Looking at Buildings

Glossary

Wind-braces: Short, usually curved braces in a timber-framed roof, connecting side purlins or ridge piece with the principals.
Winder: A step on a curved or turning section of a stair.
Winder stair: A stair in a rectangular compartment with a central supporting newel.
Wrenaissance: Midland Bank,
Piccadilly, London
A jocular term for a style of the late 19th and early 20th centuries, based on the works of the English Baroque architect Sir Christopher Wren (1632-1723) and his contemporaries. Also called Neo-Wren.
Wrought iron: Ductile iron that is strong in tension, forged into decorative patterns or forged and rolled into e.g. bars, joists, boiler plates. Compare cast iron.
Wyatt window: Term for the type of large tripartite sash window with narrower side lights and a segmental arch above, made popular by the Wyatt family of architects in the late 18th century.
Wynd: (Scots): Subsidiary street or lane, often running into a main street.
Y-tracery: A form of bar tracery, used c. 1300, which branches into a Y-shape.
Yett: (Scots, lit. gate): Hinged openwork gate at a main doorway, made of iron bars alternately penetrating and penetrated.
Zigzag: Used for V-shapes used in series or (later) double series on a moulding in Norman architecture, especially when on a single plane; also called chevron.