An oriel window is a form of

bay window A bay window is a window space projecting outward from the main walls of a building and forming a bay in a room. Types Bay window is a generic term for all protruding window constructions, regardless of whether they are curved or angular, or ...

which protrudes from the main wall of a building but does not reach to the ground. Supported by corbels,

brackets A bracket is either of two tall fore- or back-facing punctuation marks commonly used to isolate a segment of text or data from its surroundings. Typically deployed in symmetric pairs, an individual bracket may be identified as a 'left' or 'r ...

, or similar

cantilever A cantilever is a rigid structural element that extends horizontally and is supported at only one end. Typically it extends from a flat vertical surface such as a wall, to which it must be firmly attached. Like other structural elements, a cant ...

s, an oriel window is most commonly found projecting from an upper floor but is also sometimes used on the ground floor. Oriel windows are seen in Arab architecture in the form of mashrabiya and in Turkish are known as ''şahnişin'' or ''cumba''. In Islamic culture, these windows and balconies project from the street-front of a house, providing an area in which women could peer out and see the activities below while remaining invisible.

Origins

According to the ''

Oxford English Dictionary The ''Oxford English Dictionary'' (''OED'') is the first and foundational historical dictionary of the English language, published by Oxford University Press (OUP). It traces the historical development of the English language, providing a c ...

'', the term ''oriel'' is derived from

Anglo-Norman Anglo-Norman may refer to: *Anglo-Normans, the medieval ruling class in England following the Norman conquest of 1066 *Anglo-Norman language **Anglo-Norman literature *Anglo-Norman England, or Norman England, the period in English history from 1066 ...

' and

Late Latin Late Latin ( la, Latinitas serior) is the scholarly name for the form of Literary Latin of late antiquity.Roberts (1996), p. 537. English dictionary definitions of Late Latin date this period from the , and continuing into the 7th century in t ...

', both meaning "gallery" or "porch", perhaps from

Classical Latin Classical Latin is the form of Literary Latin recognized as a literary standard by writers of the late Roman Republic and early Roman Empire. It was used from 75 BC to the 3rd century AD, when it developed into Late Latin. In some later period ...

' ("curtain"). * Oriel College, Oxford, took its name from a balcony or oriel window forming a feature of a building which occupied the site the college now stands on. * Oriel Chambers in

Liverpool Liverpool is a City status in the United Kingdom, city and metropolitan borough in Merseyside, England. With a population of in 2019, it is the List of English districts by population, 10th largest English district by population and its E ...

was a very controversial building when it was built, featuring an entire façade of glass oriel windows.

Gallery

File:Barnard Castle's round tower, 2007.jpg, A 15th century oriel window at Barnard Castle in

County Durham County Durham ( ), officially simply Durham,UK General Acts 1997 c. 23Lieutenancies Act 1997 Schedule 1(3). From legislation.gov.uk, retrieved 6 April 2022. is a ceremonial county in North East England.North East Assembly �About North East E ...

, England. File:Myrtle Street Flats (San Francisco).JPG, Oriel windows in

San Francisco San Francisco (; Spanish for " Saint Francis"), officially the City and County of San Francisco, is the commercial, financial, and cultural center of Northern California. The city proper is the fourth most populous in California and 17t ...

California California is a state in the Western United States, located along the Pacific Coast. With nearly 39.2million residents across a total area of approximately , it is the most populous U.S. state and the 3rd largest by area. It is also the m ...

, USA File:Prior Bolton Oriel Window.jpg, 16th century oriel window in the

City of London The City of London is a city, ceremonial county and local government district that contains the historic centre and constitutes, alongside Canary Wharf, the primary central business district (CBD) of London. It constituted most of London f ...

, Priory Church of St Bartholomew the Great File:Bradford City Hall by J Illingworth.jpg, 19th century neo-gothic oriel window on

Bradford City Hall Bradford City Hall is a 19th-century town hall in Centenary Square, Bradford, West Yorkshire, England. It is a Grade I listed building which has a distinctive clock tower. History Before its relocation, between 1847 and 1873, the town hall ...

File:Maison_8_rue_des_Pucelles_à_Strasbourg_(2).jpg, Oriel window located in

Grande Île, Strasbourg The Grande Île (german: Große Insel) is an island that lies at the historic centre of the city of Strasbourg in France. Its name means "Large Island", and derives from the fact that it is surrounded on one side by the main channel of the Ill ...

File:Perssonska gården (Gäddan 1) 2012-09-27 14-12-05.jpg, Ground floor oriel window, Perssonska gården,

Hedemora Hedemora is a town in Dalarna County and the seat of Hedemora Municipality, Sweden, with 7,273 inhabitants in 2010. Despite its small population, Hedemora is for historical reasons normally still referred to as a ''city'', and as such the oldest ...

Sweden Sweden, formally the Kingdom of Sweden,The United Nations Group of Experts on Geographical Names states that the country's formal name is the Kingdom of SwedenUNGEGN World Geographical Names, Sweden./ref> is a Nordic countries, Nordic c ...

File:Oriel chambers.jpg, Oriel Chambers,

, by Peter Ellis, 1864 File:Maison bleue.jpg, Massive half timbered oriel window on a pre-1581 house,

Bouxwiller, Bas-Rhin Bouxwiller (; german: Buchsweiler, ; gsw, Buxwiller, label=Alemannic German, or ) is a commune in the Bas-Rhin department, Alsace, Grand Est, northeastern France. Likely meaning "Bucco's land", Bouxwiller is the capital of the Bouxwiller canto ...

, Alsace, France File:Świdwin wlz.JPG, Massive oriel window of District Office in

Świdwin Świdwin (german: Schivelbein; csb, Skwilbëno) is a town in West Pomeranian Voivodeship of northwestern Poland. It is the capital of Świdwin County established 1999, previously having been in Koszalin Voivodeship (1950–1998), and the admi ...

Poland Poland, officially the Republic of Poland, is a country in Central Europe. It is divided into 16 administrative provinces called voivodeships, covering an area of . Poland has a population of over 38 million and is the fifth-most populou ...

Image:Gave Aspe Oloron-Sainte-Marie.jpg, Oriel windows with brackets in Oloron-Sainte-Marie, France

References

Windows {{architecturalelement-stub

Origins

Gallery

See also

References