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Glossary

Portico
A porch with the roof and frequently a pediment supported by a row of columns. Porticoes are described by the number of columns, e.g. distyle (two), tetrastyle (four), hexastyle (six), octostyle (eight). A prostyle portico has columns standing free. A portico in antis has columns on the same plane as the front of the building. Blind portico: the front features of a portico applied to a wall; also called a temple front.
Porticus (plural: porticus)
Subsidiary room or cell opening from the main body of an Anglo-Saxon church.
Portland stone
A hard, durable white limestone from the Isle of Portland in Dorset. Portland roach is rough-textured and has small cavities and fossil shells.
Post
Upright support in a structure.
Postern
Small gateway at the back of a building, especially a castle or gatehouse, or to the side of a larger entrance door or gate.
Postmodernism
A much-debated cultural label, used in the architectural world since the 1970s to denote the reuse of motifs from historical styles, in contexts where a Modernist approach would have omitted them. Postmodern buildings often mix these in a knowing or ironical way, sometimes in combination with new materials and for non-traditional functions.
Potence
(Scots): Rotating ladder for access to nesting boxes in a doocot (dovecote).
Pound lock
(canals): A chamber with gates at each end allowing boats to float from one level to another. Successor to the flash lock.
Pre-cast
Of concrete: cast as components before construction.
Pre-stressed
Of concrete: incorporating tensioned steel rods.

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