Gambrel
Encyclopedia
A gambrel is a usually-symmetrical two-sided roof with two slopes on each side. The upper slope is positioned at a shallow angle, while the lower slope is steep. This design provides the advantages of a sloped roof while maximizing headroom on the building's upper level. The name comes from the Medieval Latin
word gamba, meaning horse's hock or leg.
The cross-section of a gambrel roof is similar to that of a mansard roof
, but a gambrel has vertical gable
ends instead of being hipped
at the four corners of the building. A gambrel roof overhangs the façade
, whereas a mansard normally does not.
Spanish
, Portuguese
, Dutch
, and English
mariners and traders had visited or settled in to the area of southeast Asia now called Indonesia
prior to permanent European settlement in America. In Indonesia, they saw dwellings with a roof style where the end of a roof started as a hip and finished as a gable end at the ridge. The gable end was an opening, to allow smoke to dissipate from the cooking fires. This roof design was brought back to Europe and the American Colonies, and adapted to local conditions. The roof style is still in use around the world today.
Gambrel is a Norman English word, sometimes spelled gamerel, gamrel, gambril, or gameral, referring to a wooden bar used by butchers to hang the carcasses of slaughtered animals. Butcher's gambrels, later made of metal, resembled the two-sloped appearance of a gambrel roof when in use. Gambrel is also a term for the joint in the upper part of a horse's hind leg, the hock
. In fact, there is an old folk rhyme that says, "First joint above the hoof is the Gambrel, hence a Gambrel Roof."
The Dictionary of Americanisms, published in 1848, defines gambrel as "A hipped roof of a house, so called from the resemblance to the hind leg of a horse which by farriers is termed the gambrel."
The term is also used for a single Mansard roof
in France and Germany.
Latin
Latin is an Italic language originally spoken in Latium and Ancient Rome. It, along with most European languages, is a descendant of the ancient Proto-Indo-European language. Although it is considered a dead language, a number of scholars and members of the Christian clergy speak it fluently, and...
word gamba, meaning horse's hock or leg.
The cross-section of a gambrel roof is similar to that of a mansard roof
Mansard roof
A mansard or mansard roof is a four-sided gambrel-style hip roof characterized by two slopes on each of its sides with the lower slope at a steeper angle than the upper that is punctured by dormer windows. The roof creates an additional floor of habitable space, such as a garret...
, but a gambrel has vertical gable
Gable
A gable is the generally triangular portion of a wall between the edges of a sloping roof. The shape of the gable and how it is detailed depends on the structural system being used and aesthetic concerns. Thus the type of roof enclosing the volume dictates the shape of the gable...
ends instead of being hipped
Hip roof
A hip roof, or hipped roof, is a type of roof where all sides slope downwards to the walls, usually with a fairly gentle slope. Thus it is a house with no gables or other vertical sides to the roof. A square hip roof is shaped like a pyramid. Hip roofs on the houses could have two triangular side...
at the four corners of the building. A gambrel roof overhangs the façade
Facade
A facade or façade is generally one exterior side of a building, usually, but not always, the front. The word comes from the French language, literally meaning "frontage" or "face"....
, whereas a mansard normally does not.
History
Spain
Spain , officially the Kingdom of Spain languages]] under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. In each of these, Spain's official name is as follows:;;;;;;), is a country and member state of the European Union located in southwestern Europe on the Iberian Peninsula...
, Portuguese
Portugal
Portugal , officially the Portuguese Republic is a country situated in southwestern Europe on the Iberian Peninsula. Portugal is the westernmost country of Europe, and is bordered by the Atlantic Ocean to the West and South and by Spain to the North and East. The Atlantic archipelagos of the...
, Dutch
Netherlands
The Netherlands is a constituent country of the Kingdom of the Netherlands, located mainly in North-West Europe and with several islands in the Caribbean. Mainland Netherlands borders the North Sea to the north and west, Belgium to the south, and Germany to the east, and shares maritime borders...
, and English
England
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...
mariners and traders had visited or settled in to the area of southeast Asia now called Indonesia
Indonesia
Indonesia , officially the Republic of Indonesia , is a country in Southeast Asia and Oceania. Indonesia is an archipelago comprising approximately 13,000 islands. It has 33 provinces with over 238 million people, and is the world's fourth most populous country. Indonesia is a republic, with an...
prior to permanent European settlement in America. In Indonesia, they saw dwellings with a roof style where the end of a roof started as a hip and finished as a gable end at the ridge. The gable end was an opening, to allow smoke to dissipate from the cooking fires. This roof design was brought back to Europe and the American Colonies, and adapted to local conditions. The roof style is still in use around the world today.
Origin and use of the term
Hock (zoology)
The hock, or gambrel, is the joint between the tarsal bones and tibia of a digitigrade or unguligrade quadrupedal mammal, such as a horse, cat, or dog...
. In fact, there is an old folk rhyme that says, "First joint above the hoof is the Gambrel, hence a Gambrel Roof."
The Dictionary of Americanisms, published in 1848, defines gambrel as "A hipped roof of a house, so called from the resemblance to the hind leg of a horse which by farriers is termed the gambrel."
The term is also used for a single Mansard roof
Mansard roof
A mansard or mansard roof is a four-sided gambrel-style hip roof characterized by two slopes on each of its sides with the lower slope at a steeper angle than the upper that is punctured by dormer windows. The roof creates an additional floor of habitable space, such as a garret...
in France and Germany.