Spire light

Lucarne on the church spire of St Botolph's Church, Ratcliffe on the Wreake, England

Spire light (Fr. lucarne), the term given to the windows in a spire which are found in all periods of English Gothic architecture, and in French spires form a very important feature in the composition.[1]

There is an early example in the spire of the cathedral at Oxford; they are not glazed, and have occasionally, if of large size, transoms to strengthen the mullions.[1]

The term lucarne is used in France to mean "dormer window", and in the United Kingdom to mean a spire light.[2][3] They take many different forms which distinguishes the form of small roof above the window: "à chevalet" (straight lucarne), lucarne avec saillie and lucarne "à la capucine" (or with receding roof).

References

  1. 1 2 One or more of the preceding sentences incorporates text from a publication now in the public domain: Chisholm, Hugh, ed. (1911). "Spire Light". Encyclopædia Britannica. Vol. 25 (11th ed.). Cambridge University Press. p. 693.
  2. ↑ Kuiper, Kathleen. "Dormer". britannica.com. Britannica. Retrieved 16 June 2026.
  3. ↑ "Glossary of architectural terms" (PDF). bradford.gov.uk. Bradford City Council. pp. 278, 290, 291. Retrieved 16 June 2026.


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