A tourelle is a type of

turret Turret may refer to: * Turret (architecture), a small tower that projects above the wall of a building * Gun turret, a mechanism of a projectile-firing weapon * Objective turret, an indexable holder of multiple lenses in an optical microscope * Mi ...

, sometimes used in Chateauesque architecture. A general dictionary defines tourelle as "a small tower (as one springing from

corbeling In architecture, a corbel is a structural piece of stone, wood or metal jutting from a wall to carry a superincumbent weight, a type of bracket. A corbel is a solid piece of material in the wall, whereas a console is a piece applied to the s ...

or pier)". An architectural dictionary defines it more specifically as a "

corbelled In architecture, a corbel is a structural piece of stone, wood or metal jutting from a wall to carry a superincumbent weight, a type of bracket. A corbel is a solid piece of material in the wall, whereas a console is a piece applied to the st ...

, circular in plan, cone-roofed, sometimes containing a circular stair, set at the angle of a tower or wall at high level, and common in

Scottish-Baronial architecture Scottish baronial or Scots baronial is an architectural style of 19th century Gothic Revival which revived the forms and ornaments of historical architecture of Scotland in the Late Middle Ages and the Early Modern Period. Reminiscent of Sco ...

".''Oxford Dictionary of Architecture'' A distinction may be made between turrets that are atop corner towers going all the way down to the ground, vs.

s that project out and up. A tourelle is the latter.

References

{{reflist Architectural elements