Oriel window

Oriel window, Grande Île, Strasbourg

An oriel window is a form of bay window which protrudes from the main wall of a building but does not reach to the ground. Supported by corbels, brackets, or similar cantilevers, an oriel window generally projects from an upper floor, but is also sometimes used on the ground floor.

Etymology

According to the Oxford English Dictionary, the term oriel is derived from Anglo-Norman oriell and Late Latin oriolum, both meaning "gallery" or "porch", perhaps from Classical Latin aulaeum ("curtain").

History

Oriel windows became popular in the 15th century. They allowed more sunlight into a room compared to conventional flat windows, and were therefore popular in northern countries such as England. They also could increase the usable space in a house without changing the footprint of the building.

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 whilst remaining out of line-of-sight.

Notable examples

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

Gallery

• 
  Oriel windows with elaborate detailing, Kłodzko, Poland
• 
  A 15th-century oriel window at Barnard Castle in County Durham, England.
• 
  Oriel windows in San Francisco, California, USA
• 
  16th-century oriel window in the City of London, Priory Church of St Bartholomew the Great
• 
  19th-century neo-gothic oriel window on Bradford City Hall
• 
  Masonry oriel window above a canal supported by corbelling, Bruges, Belgium
• 
  Ground-floor oriel window, Perssonska gården, Hedemora, Sweden
• 
  Oriel Chambers, Liverpool, by Peter Ellis, 1864
• 
  Massive half timbered oriel window on a pre-1581 house, Bouxwiller, Bas-Rhin, Alsace, France
• 
  Large masonry oriel window of District Office in Świdwin, Poland
• 
  Oriel windows with brackets in Oloron-Sainte-Marie, France
• 
  An oriel window in Turl Street belonging to Exeter College, Oxford

See also

• Bay window for more details
• Bow window
• Bretèche
• Turret window

External links

• Media related to Oriel windows at Wikimedia Commons
• Chisholm, Hugh, ed. (1911). "Oriel". Encyclopædia Britannica (11th ed.). Cambridge University Press.