A gambrel or gambrel roof 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 inside the building's upper level and shortening what would otherwise be a tall roof. The name comes from the MedievalLatin word gamba, meaning horse's hock or leg.[1][2] The term gambrel is of American origin,[3] the older, European name being a curb (kerb, kirb) roof.
Gambrel roofA cross-sectional diagram of a mansard roof, which is a hipped gambrel roof
Europeans historically did not distinguish between a gambrel roof and a mansard roof but called both types a mansard. In the United States, various shapes of gambrel roofs are sometimes called Dutch gambrel or Dutch Colonial gambrel with bell-cast eaves, Swedish, German, English, French, or New England gambrel.
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.
Gambrel is a Norman English word, sometimes spelled gambol such as in the 1774 Boston carpenters' price book (revised 1800). Other spellings include gamerel, gamrel, gambril, gameral, gambering, cambrel, cambering, chambrel[4] referring to a wooden bar used by butchers to hang the carcasses of slaughtered animals.[1] Butcher's gambrels, later made of metal, resembled the two-sloped appearance of a gambrel roof when in use.[5] Gambrel is also a term for the joint in the upper part of a horse's hind leg, the hock.
Know old Cambridge? Hope you do.— Born there? Don't say so! I was, too. (Born in a house with a gambrel-roof,— Standing still, if you must have proof.— "Gambrel?—Gambrel?"—Let me beg You'll look at a horse's hinder leg,— First great angle above the hoof,— That's the gambrel; hence gambrel-roof.)[6]
An earlier reference from 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."[7] Websters Dictionary also confusingly used the term hip in the definition of this roof.
The term is also used for a single mansard roof in France and Germany. In Dutch the term 'two-sided mansard roof' is used for gambrel roofs.
Origins of the gambrel in North Americaedit
The origin of the gambrel roof form in North America is unknown.[8] The oldest known gambrel roof in America was on the second Harvard Hall at Harvard University built in 1677.[9] Possibly the oldest surviving house in the U.S. with a gambrel roof is the c. 1677–78 Peter Tufts House. The oldest surviving framed house in North America, the Fairbanks House, has an ell with a gambrel roof, but this roof was a later addition.
Claims to the origin of the gambrel roof form in North America include:
Indigenous tribes of the Pacific Northwest, the Coast Salish, used gambrel roof form (Suttle & Lane (1990), p. 491).[10]
Spanish, Portuguese, Dutch, and English mariners and traders had visited or settled into 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;[11]
seamen who traveled to the Netherlands brought the design back to North America;[12]
or practical reasons such as a way to allow wider buildings, the use of shorter rafters, or to avoid taxes.[13]
Image galleryedit
Dwelling with gambrel roof in Amityville, New York, made famous by The Amityville Horror.
If the date of construction and the roof of the Henry Bull House was original to the circa 1639 date this would be the oldest known example of a gambrel in America.
^A New English Dictionary on Historical Principles: Founded Mainly ..., Volume 4. p. 36.
^US patent 1345112, W. A. Andrew, "Release gambrel", issued 1920-06-29
^Holmes, Oliver Wendell Sr (October 1858). "The Professor Under Chloroform" . The Atlantic Monthly. Washington D.C.: Jay Lauf. Vol. 2, no. 5 – via Wikisource.
^Bartlett, John Russell (1848). "GAMBREL". Dictionary of Americanisms: a glossary of words and phrases, usually regarded as peculiar to the United States. American culture. New York: Bartlett and Welford. p. 153. OCLC 6758564.
^Kelly, John Frederick. Early domestic architecture of connecticut. Unknown: 1924, Dover Publications, Inc. reprint 1963. 63.
^Harris, Cyril M.. American architecture: an illustrated encyclopedia. New York: W.W. Norton, 1998. 144. ISBN0393731030
^Indigenous tribes of the Pacific Northwest, the Coast Salish, used gambrel roof form (Suttle & Lane (1990), p. 491).
^Allen, James H. (2010). Statics for Dummies. For Dummies. Hoboken, New Jersey: Wiley. p. 255. ISBN978-0-470-59894-8. OCLC 505422830.
^"Atwood House Restoration Project Documentary Video". Atwood House Museum. Retrieved 5 August 2013.
^Robert E. Lee Memorial Foundation. Stratford: Colonial Home and Plantation, Westmoreland county, Virginia: birthplace of Robert E. Lee and of two signers of the Declaration of Independence. Press of B. S. Adams, 1940. 27.
Bibliographyedit
Corkhill, Thomas (1982). "Gambrel roof". The Complete Dictionary of Wood. Scarborough Books (1st ed.). New York: Stein and Day. p. 211. ISBN0-8128-6142-6. OCLC 12610712.
December 08, 2023
gambrel, hook, used, suspend, carcass, hook, quadruped, joint, hock, anatomy, gambrel, gambrel, roof, usually, symmetrical, sided, roof, with, slopes, each, side, upper, slope, positioned, shallow, angle, while, lower, slope, steep, this, design, provides, adv. For the hook used to suspend a carcass see Gambrel hook For the quadruped joint see Hock anatomy A gambrel or gambrel roof 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 inside the building s upper level and shortening what would otherwise be a tall roof The name comes from the Medieval Latin word gamba meaning horse s hock or leg 1 2 The term gambrel is of American origin 3 the older European name being a curb kerb kirb roof Gambrel roofA cross sectional diagram of a mansard roof which is a hipped gambrel roofEuropeans historically did not distinguish between a gambrel roof and a mansard roof but called both types a mansard In the United States various shapes of gambrel roofs are sometimes called Dutch gambrel or Dutch Colonial gambrel with bell cast eaves Swedish German English French or New England gambrel 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 facade whereas a mansard normally does not Contents 1 Origin and use of the term 2 Origins of the gambrel in North America 3 Image gallery 4 See also 5 References 6 BibliographyOrigin and use of the term editGambrel is a Norman English word sometimes spelled gambol such as in the 1774 Boston carpenters price book revised 1800 Other spellings include gamerel gamrel gambril gameral gambering cambrel cambering chambrel 4 referring to a wooden bar used by butchers to hang the carcasses of slaughtered animals 1 Butcher s gambrels later made of metal resembled the two sloped appearance of a gambrel roof when in use 5 Gambrel is also a term for the joint in the upper part of a horse s hind leg the hock In 1858 Oliver Wendell Holmes Sr wrote Know old Cambridge Hope you do Born there Don t say so I was too Born in a house with a gambrel roof Standing still if you must have proof Gambrel Gambrel Let me beg You ll look at a horse s hinder leg First great angle above the hoof That s the gambrel hence gambrel roof 6 An earlier reference from 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 7 Websters Dictionary also confusingly used the term hip in the definition of this roof The term is also used for a single mansard roof in France and Germany In Dutch the term two sided mansard roof is used for gambrel roofs Origins of the gambrel in North America editThe origin of the gambrel roof form in North America is unknown 8 The oldest known gambrel roof in America was on the second Harvard Hall at Harvard University built in 1677 9 Possibly the oldest surviving house in the U S with a gambrel roof is the c 1677 78 Peter Tufts House The oldest surviving framed house in North America the Fairbanks House has an ell with a gambrel roof but this roof was a later addition Claims to the origin of the gambrel roof form in North America include Indigenous tribes of the Pacific Northwest the Coast Salish used gambrel roof form Suttle amp Lane 1990 p 491 10 Spanish Portuguese Dutch and English mariners and traders had visited or settled into 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 11 seamen who traveled to the Netherlands brought the design back to North America 12 or practical reasons such as a way to allow wider buildings the use of shorter rafters or to avoid taxes 13 Image gallery edit nbsp Dwelling with gambrel roof in Amityville New York made famous by The Amityville Horror nbsp If the date of construction and the roof of the Henry Bull House was original to the circa 1639 date this would be the oldest known example of a gambrel in America nbsp Another candidate for oldest gambrel roof said to be from 1666 Alexander Standish House nbsp The first Harvard Hall Harvard University credited to be the oldest known example of a gambrel roof in North America built c 1677 burned 1766 nbsp Barn with a gambrel roof nbsp Gambrel roof seen on a Toledo Ohio East Toledo home in approximately 1937 nbsp Look up gambrel in Wiktionary the free dictionary nbsp Wikimedia Commons has media related to Gambrels See also editList of roof shapesReferences edit a b Harper Douglas gambrel Online Etymology Dictionary Retrieved 2010 11 13 Harper Douglas gambol Online Etymology Dictionary Retrieved 2010 11 13 O English Dictionary 2nd ed Gambrel 4 A New English Dictionary on Historical Principles Founded Mainly Volume 4 p 36 US patent 1345112 W A Andrew Release gambrel issued 1920 06 29 Holmes Oliver Wendell Sr October 1858 The Professor Under Chloroform The Atlantic Monthly Washington D C Jay Lauf Vol 2 no 5 via Wikisource Bartlett John Russell 1848 GAMBREL Dictionary of Americanisms a glossary of words and phrases usually regarded as peculiar to the United States American culture New York Bartlett and Welford p 153 OCLC 6758564 Kelly John Frederick Early domestic architecture of connecticut Unknown 1924 Dover Publications Inc reprint 1963 63 Harris Cyril M American architecture an illustrated encyclopedia New York W W Norton 1998 144 ISBN 0393731030 Indigenous tribes of the Pacific Northwest the Coast Salish used gambrel roof form Suttle amp Lane 1990 p 491 Allen James H 2010 Statics for Dummies For Dummies Hoboken New Jersey Wiley p 255 ISBN 978 0 470 59894 8 OCLC 505422830 Atwood House Restoration Project Documentary Video Atwood House Museum Retrieved 5 August 2013 Robert E Lee Memorial Foundation Stratford Colonial Home and Plantation Westmoreland county Virginia birthplace of Robert E Lee and of two signers of the Declaration of Independence Press of B S Adams 1940 27 Bibliography editCorkhill Thomas 1982 Gambrel roof The Complete Dictionary of Wood Scarborough Books 1st ed New York Stein and Day p 211 ISBN 0 8128 6142 6 OCLC 12610712 Retrieved from https en wikipedia org w index php title Gambrel amp oldid 1148745966, wikipedia, wiki, book, books, library,
