Protective course of masonry or brickwork capping a wall.
Corbel
Projecting block supporting something above. Corbel course: continuous course of projecting stones or bricks fulfilling the same function. Corbel table: series of corbels to carry a parapet or a wall-plate or wall-post. Corbelling: brick or masonry courses built out beyond one another to support a chimneystack, window, etc.; variants include continuous corbelling, i.e. of one even profile, and chequer-set corbelling, with corbels set touching and at different depths.
Corbiesteps
(Scots): Squared stones set like steps, e.g. on a gable. Also called crowsteps.
Corinthian
The most slender and ornate of the three main classical orders. It has a basket-shaped capital ornamented with acanthus foliage.
Cornice
Flat-topped ledge with moulded underside, projecting along the top of a building or feature, especially as the highest member of the classical entablature. Also the decorative moulding in the angle between wall and ceiling. An eaves cornice overhangs the edge of a roof.
Corps-de-logis
(French): The main building(s) as distinct from the wings or pavilions.
Cosmati work
A form of mosaic using simple geometrical patterns and coloured stones, developed in Italy in the 12th and 13th centuries.
Cottage orn
Near Bristol, Somerset
(French): An artfully rustic small house associated with the Picturesque movement.
Counterchanging
Of joists on a ceiling divided by beams into compartments, when placed in opposite directions in alternate squares.
Counterscarp bank
Low bank on the downhill or outer side of a hillfort ditch.