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24-561: Lawson Tower is a historic tower built in the style of a European castle turret . It is located off First Parish Road in Scituate Center, Massachusetts , United States. Built in 1902 to enclose a steel water tank, it is a major local landmark. The Scituate Water Company stopped using the tank in 1988. The tower is listed as both an American Water Landmark and in the National Register of Historic Places . It has become

48-676: A better line of sight to spot possible attackers. Thus, they also provided a better defensive position for defensive military forces to originate from. Turrets constructed above the rest of a structure only improve visibility, providing 360-degree views of the surrounding land allowing enemies to be spotted from further away. This provided more time for a fortress’s defenders to prepare for an attack. Turrets offered greater resilience to attacks and were less vulnerable than free-standing watch towers . As their defensive necessity lessened, turrets began to be used as ornamental elements instead. Turrets were sometimes used to house staircases, and towards

72-470: A cue from 16th-century practice, the Paris-trained designers of 19th-century Beaux-Arts architecture were encouraged to show imagination in varying corbels. A corbel table is a projecting moulded string course supported by a range of corbels. Sometimes these corbels carry a small arcade under the string course, the arches of which are pointed and trefoiled. As a rule, the corbel table carries

96-463: A popular tourist destination, featuring sweeping views of the South Shore, Old Scituate Light , Minot's Ledge Light and the nearby First Trinitarian Congregational Church . The tower is a steel frame structure standing 153 feet (47 m) in height, its tank and steel superstructure enclosed in a stylistically eclectic wooden shell. It is shingled to the top of the enclosed tank, where there

120-415: A property more interesting to prospective buyers and homes with a turret generally appraise higher than without one. Alternatively, turrets usually increase construction costs of a home as they are more difficult to frame and support than more common elements. Corbel In architecture , a corbel is a structural piece of stone, wood or metal jutting from a wall to carry a superincumbent weight,

144-613: A similar wooden water tower in East Boston was destroyed by fire in the early 1900s. Turret (architecture) The word turret originated in around the year 1300 from touret which meant “small tower rising from a city wall, castle, or other larger building.” Touret came from the Old French term torete which is the diminutive form of tour meaning “tower.” Tour dates back to the Latin word turris which also means “tower.” There

168-457: A type of bracket . A corbel is a solid piece of material in the wall, whereas a console is a piece applied to the structure. A piece of timber projecting in the same way was called a "tassel" or a "bragger" in England. The technique of corbelling , where rows of corbels deeply keyed inside a wall support a projecting wall or parapet , has been used since Neolithic (New Stone Age) times. It

192-487: A wall out from the vertical, has long been used as a simple kind of vaulting , for example in many Neolithic chambered cairns , where walls are gradually corbelled in until the opening can be spanned by a slab. Corbelled vaults are very common in early architecture around the world. Different types may be called the beehive house (ancient Britain and elsewhere), the Irish clochán , the pre-Roman nuraghe of Sardinia , and

216-514: Is a band of bracketing. Above this are two circular chambers, one to house bells and the other a clock. The tower is covered by a conical roof. The steel water tank was built in 1900 by the Scituate Water Company, the local municipal water supplier. At the same time, Thomas W. Lawson , a wealthy Boston businessman, was building his "Dreamwold" estate next door. Upset by the view of the utilitarian tank, Lawson negotiated with

240-537: Is a notable example, with 85 of its original 91 richly carved corbels still surviving). Similarly, in the Early English period corbels were sometimes elaborately carved, as at Lincoln Cathedral , and sometimes more simply so. Corbels sometimes end with a point apparently growing into the wall, or forming a knot, and often are supported by angels and other figures. In the later periods the carved foliage and other ornaments used on corbels resemble those used in

264-440: Is a record from 1862 of turret being used to mean “low, flat gun tower on a warship .” This is about when the word split into two separate definitions, with this definition being the one that goes on to describe gun turrets , a separate idea from the architectural element. Turrets initially arose on castles out of a defensive need for greater visibility. Since they project outwards from the main structure, turrets gave garrisons

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288-478: Is common in medieval architecture and in the Scottish baronial style as well as in the vocabulary of classical architecture , such as the modillions of a Corinthian cornice . The corbel arch and corbel vault use the technique systematically to make openings in walls and to form ceilings. These are found in the early architecture of most cultures, from Eurasia to Pre-Columbian architecture . A console

312-453: Is more specifically an S-shaped scroll bracket in the classical tradition, with the upper or inner part larger than the lower (as in the first illustration) or outer. Keystones are also often in the form of consoles. Whereas "corbel" is rarely used outside architecture, "console" is widely used for furniture , as in console table , and other decorative arts where the motif appears. The word corbel comes from Old French and derives from

336-663: The Latin corbellus , a diminutive of corvus (" raven "), which refers to the beak-like appearance. Similarly, the French refer to a bracket-corbel, usually a load-bearing internal feature, as a corbeau (" crow "). Norman ( Romanesque ) corbels often have a plain appearance, although they may be elaborately carved with stylised heads of humans, animals or imaginary "beasts", and sometimes with other motifs (The Church of St Mary and St David in Kilpeck, Herefordshire

360-538: The capitals of columns . Throughout England, in half-timber work, wooden corbels ("tassels" or "braggers") abound, carrying window-sills or oriel windows in wood, which also are often carved. The corbels carrying balconies in Italy and France were sometimes of great size and richly carved, and some of the finest examples of the Italian Cinquecento (16th century) style are found in them. Taking

384-503: The gutter , but in Lombard work the arcaded corbel table was used as a decoration to subdivide the storeys and break up the wall surface. In Italy sometimes over the corbels will form a moulding, and above a plain piece of projecting wall forming a parapet . The corbels carrying the arches of the corbel tables in Italy and France were often elaborately moulded, sometimes in two or three courses projecting over one another; those carrying

408-501: The machicolations of English and French castles had four courses. In modern chimney construction, a corbel table is constructed on the inside of a flue in the form of a concrete ring beam supported by a range of corbels. The corbels can be either in-situ or pre-cast concrete. The corbel tables described here are built at approximately ten-metre intervals to ensure stability of the barrel of refractory bricks constructed thereon. Corbelling, where rows of corbels gradually build

432-577: The tholos tombs (or "beehive tombs") of Late Bronze Age Greece and other parts of the Mediterranean. In medieval architecture , the technique was used to support upper storeys or a parapet projecting forward from the wall plane, often to form machicolations (openings between corbels could be used to drop things onto attackers). This later became a decorative feature, without the openings. Corbelling supporting upper stories and particularly supporting projecting corner turrets subsequently became

456-432: The appearance of small towers , either built into walls or atop larger towers. They projected outward from the structure they were incorporated into, greatly contributing to the characteristics discussed in the "Uses" section. Turrets do not extend down to the ground like full-sized towers. When built into walls, turrets are generally found at the corner of structures where two walls meet. Sometimes, however, they are found in

480-502: The company to enclose it. Lawson commissioned the Meneely Bell Foundry of West Troy, New York , to install ten bells at the top of the tower. These bells range in size from three hundred to three thousand pounds. This chime system was originally designed to be played either from the bell room eighty feet above the ground or on the console of the clavier room. The tower is equipped with an internal sprinkler system, after

504-405: The end of the thirteenth century they became important in this fashion. They allowed for the staircases to occupy smaller spaces without affecting the layout of the structure to which they were attached. Since turrets project outward from a structure, they directed attention, and more ornamentation was focused on them than the rest of the facade. Turrets could vary in size, although they all shared

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528-473: The main structure, not extending down to the ground. Residential turrets were greatly popularized in the Queen Anne residential style , and can often be found on a variety of Victorian and Queen Anne home designs today. Some residential turrets are designed to be open-air balconies as well. Turrets can help to bring in more natural light and are often used to create more space in a home. These elements make

552-427: The middle of a wall. Since turrets projected outward from a structure, they had to be supported either by weight-bearing corbels or be cantilevered . This put a restriction on how large a turret could be constructed. Turrets were expensive to build, as hoisting stones high above the ground to construct them was highly laborious. It is thought that many were timber-framed and cladded in stone which would have reduced

576-415: The weight needed to be supported by corbels/cantilevers and reduced the cost of construction. Turrets were traditionally supported by a corbel . The top of a turret could be finished with a pointed roof or another type of apex or might have had crenellations , such as in the image above. In the modern day, turrets are most commonly found on homes. These turrets are still towers that project outwardly from

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