Dear All,
Following receipt of Joel's good advice I have revisited my earlier stated opinions but can find nothing that makes me change my mind.
Please consult the gospell according to St. Cecil - English Historic Carpentry - page 145 - Church of St Mary the Virgin, Sheering, Essex ably illustrated by Hewett in fig 129 where he shows a type of roof that he refers to as preceeding the 17th century Gambrel roof. This roof form is also commonly known as a Mansard roof with the two terms being relatively interchangeable. Present day American authors such as Sobon, Benson & Leffingwell all use the term Gambrell to describe a Mansard roof form similar to that illustrated by Hewett and rather interestingly Leffingwell also provides a sketch of a roof form idential to that illustrated by Corkhill which he describes as a hipped roof with gablet.
Sometimes what is not said or mentioned in text can be as important to note as what is said and I note that Yeomans, Harris, Charles and Lowell Cummins make no reference to nor make use of the term Gambrell or Mansard with the latter being surprising since the Fairbanks House (America's oldest) has two 17th and 18th century Mansard / Gambrell roofed extensions.
The present day defacto standard list of terms for use in recording timber-framed buildings is the CBA Handbook No5 by Alcock, Barley, Dixon and Meeson. They clearly illustrate on page 40 the definitions for hipped roof with gablet and Mansard as per my previous advice. Brunskill also illustrates and defines the use of the terms Gambrell and Mansard as follows :- ".... the double pitch or Gambrel roof, which is perhaps more accurately called the Mansard roof in its hipped version"
The terms hipped, half hipped, fully hipped and gablet are all terms that are used so frequently and understood by nearly all timber frame carpenters, building archeologists and historians that any attempts to confuse this well established convention would I think not be well received or accepted by practitioners.
Chris,
Comme d'habitude !
Regards
Ken Hume
