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Glossary

Perpendicular
Holy Trinity Church
Long Melford
Suffolk
English version of late Gothic, developed from the 1320s, which continued into the early 16th century; sometimes abbreviated to Perp. Characterised by large windows with a grid pattern of mullions and transoms, with the mullions continuing to the head to the arch, which is often of flattened or four-centred form. This motif of panel tracery is used also for wall decoration, and on the fan vaults that were used for the most prestigious buildings.
Perron
Central stair to a doorway, usually of double-curved plan.
Pew
Loosely, seating for the laity outside the chancel; strictly, an enclosed seat. A box pew is enclosed by a high wooden back and ends, the latter having doors. Churchwarden’s pew: an especially tall or elaborate pew for use by the churchwarden, usually placed at the west end of a church.
Piano nobile
(Italian): Principal floor of a classical building, above a ground floor or basement and with a lesser storey overhead.
Piazza
Formal urban open space surrounded by buildings.
Picturesque
Near Bristol, Somerset
An approach to architecture and landscape design first defined by English theorists in the later 18th century. Characterized in architecture by irregular forms and textures, sometimes with the implication of gradual growth or decay, and in planning by a preference for asymmetrical layouts that composed into attractive views. Its influence continued into the 20th century, for instance in the arrangement of some post-war New Towns.
Piended roof
The Scottish term for a hipped roof, i.e. with sloping rather than gabled ends. A piended platform roof is flat in the centre.
Pier
Large masonry or brick support, often for an arch. A compound pier is composed of grouped shafts, or a solid core surrounded by shafts.
Pietra dura
(Italian, lit. hard stone): Ornamental or pictorial inlay by means of thin slabs of stone.
Pilaster
No. 14 Abbey Yard
Flat representation of a classical column in shallow relief. A pilaster respond is set at the end of a colonnade, arcade etc. to balance visually the column which it faces. A pilaster strip is a pilaster without base or capital (also called a lesene).

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