Bell-gable

The bell gable (, , ) is an architectural element crowning the upper end of the wall of church buildings, usually in lieu of a church tower. It consists of a gable end in stone, with small hollow semi-circular arches where the church bells are placed. It is a characteristic example of the simplicity of Romanesque architecture.

Overview

The bell-gables or ''espadañas'' are a feature of Romanesque architecture in Spain. They replaced the bell tower beginning the 12th century due to the Cistercian reformation that called for a more simplified and less ostentatious churches, but also for economical and practical reasons as the Reconquista accelerated and wider territory needed to be re-christianized building more temples and ''espadañas'' were cheaper and simpler to build. Today, they are a common sighting in small village churches throughout Spain and Portugal. This simple and sober architectural element would later be brought to the Americas and the Philippines by the Iberian colonizers, where it would find widespread use especially in the earliest structures.

The bell gable usually rises over the front façade wall, but in some churches it may be located on top of any other wall or even on top of the toral arch in the midst of the roof.
In the Spanish regions of Catalonia and the Valencian Community, the bell-gables are also known as ''campanar de paret'' (wall bell tower) or ''campanar de cadireta''. (little-chair bell tower) because it reminds one of the back of a chair.

In Écija, Spain, the bell tower of the church of Santa Bárbara fell destroyed by a lightning strike in 1892 and was replaced by an ''espadaña'',Ramon Freire Galvez, ''Écija, lo que no conocimos.... lo que perdimos...''
a more expedient solution than rebuilding the tower.

A bell-cot is a similar structure, but may appear in places other than gables or building ends.Sturgis, p. 284

Main types and styles

File:ChurchCoamo.JPG, Bell gable at San Blas de Illescas Church, Puerto Rico
File:Oratorio de Amaxalco 10.JPG, Single-eyed bell gable of the Amaxalco oratory, in Tlalpan, Mexico.
File:Sant_Pere_d'Ullastret_-_Espadanya.jpg, Four-eyed bell gable at Sant Pere d'Ullastret church, Spain.
File:Templo del DivinoSalvador.jpg, Church at San Salvador, Hidalgo, Mexico. Notice the small bell-gable in the top of the smaller chapel.
File:Écija2.jpg, ''Espadaña'' at the Church of San Francisco, Écija, Spain.
File:Fuerza de San Pedro.jpg, Unoccupied bell-gable at Fort San Pedro, in Cebú, Philippines.
File:Patio de los Naranjos Ex Convento del Carmen.JPG, Two bell-gables at El Carmen complex in San Ángel, Mexico.
File:Uspenia parom.JPG, Russian bell gable at the Church of Dormition "s Paroma", Pskov
File:Detalle Campanario Ex-Convento de Nuestra Señora de Loreto.jpg, Bell-gable detached from the village church of Molango, Mexico.
File:Basco Cathedral 02.JPG, Bell-gable at Basco Cathedral, Philippines.
File:Argnat eglise.jpg, Bell-gable on the village church in Argnat, Puy-de-Dôme
File:Capilla de Santa Cecilia, San Luis de la Paz, Guanajuato - Fachada 1.jpg, Unoccupied bell-gable in a chapel at San Luis de la Paz, Mexico.
File:Sanjuanbautistamission.jpg, Bell-gable at Mission San Juan Bautista, United States.
File:Haro - Basilica de Nuestra Señora de la Vega 01.jpg, The ''espadaña'' of the Basilica de Nuestra Señora de la Vega, Haro, Spain
File:FacadeAcolman2.JPG, The bell-gable on top of the convent of Acolman, Mexico.
File:Fachada igrexa de gomariz.jpg, Gomariz church in Leiro, Galicia (Spain)
File:Ex-convento de la Asunción, Tochimilco, Puebla 02.JPG, Old bell-gable at Tochimilco, Mexico, reused as a niche.
File:Santjaumedenveja1e.JPG, Sant Jaume d'Enveja church with its large bell-gable, Spain.
File:Convento de los Reyes Magos.jpg, Convent in Metztitlán, Mexico, with a bell-gable on top.
File:Nailloux, clocher-mur.JPG, Nailloux, Haute-Garonne, France, Toulouse-type "''clocher-mur''"
File:Templo de Nuestra Señora de los Remedios, Puebla.jpg, Church of Los Remedios in Puebla, Mexico, with a bell-gable to the right and a belltower to the left.
File:Il est midi.webm, Static bells struck by solenoid-operated hammers in a bell-gable.
File:Ermita de Valmayor 14.jpg, Ermita de Valmayor Valdemorillo (Spain)
File:Capilla de nuestra señora de la Merced de las Huertas - panoramio.jpg, Weird bell-gable in the Merced de las Huertas church, in Mexico City. It is attached to a belltower.

See also

*Bell tower
* Zvonnitsa

References

External links

Bamboo or Brick: The travails of building churches in Spanish Colonial Philippines
by Jose Regalado Trota, Ayala Museum

{{Bells

Church architecture
Architectural elements
Types of wall
Articles containing video clips