{{Merge to, Hay hood, date=May 2022
A little catshead (alternatively cat's head or cats head) is an
architectural feature commonly found on multi-storied mills, agricultural buildings, and factories, composed of a small extension protruding from the
gable end
A gable is the generally triangular portion of a wall between the edges of intersecting roof pitches. The shape of the gable and how it is detailed depends on the structural system used, which reflects climate, material availability, and aesth ...
of a larger
roof
A roof ( : roofs or rooves) is the top covering of a building, including all materials and constructions necessary to support it on the walls of the building or on uprights, providing protection against rain, snow, sunlight, extremes of temper ...
.
A
grist mill
A gristmill (also: grist mill, corn mill, flour mill, feed mill or feedmill) grinds cereal grain into flour and Wheat middlings, middlings. The term can refer to either the Mill (grinding), grinding mechanism or the building that holds it. Grist i ...
with a single main roof and catsheads at each end vaguely resembles a
cat's head in sillohuette, with the catsheads forming the "ears" of the imaginary feline; this may be the origin of the name.
Catsheads originally existed to protect the ropes and pulleys associated with lifting equipment (such as the
block and tackle rigs used to shift multi-ton milling equipment and the simple wheel
pulleys used to lift
fodder
Fodder (), also called provender (), is any agriculture, agricultural foodstuff used specifically to feed domesticated livestock, such as cattle, domestic rabbit, rabbits, sheep, horses, chickens and pigs. "Fodder" refers particularly to food g ...
into haylofts) from ice and the corrosion caused by rain. In driest climates, if they had an opening to the building which lacked a door or window, this may have been adequate to prevent the goods from deteriorating.
Adding the protective catshead to the gable end of a roofline makes
roofing tasks such as taking and removing tiles/panels simpler, and was an economy as obviates the
flashing (weatherproofing)
Flashing refers to thin pieces of impervious material installed to prevent the passage of water into a structure from a joint or as part of a weather resistant barrier system. In modern buildings, flashing is intended to decrease water penetration ...
of a completely separate roof.
Whimsical architectural styles (such as
New World Queen Anne Revival architecture
In the New World, Queen Anne Revival was a historicist architectural style of the late 19th and early 20th centuries. It was popular in the United States, Canada, Australia, and other countries. In Australia, it is also called Federation archit ...
) may also sport catsheads as non-functional decorative features.
Architectural elements