The Victorians liked high-pitched roofs and sometimes decorated the edges of them with lengths of wood called bargeboards.

Wakefield's County Hall is covered in interesting carvings. These are on the gables, each one has figures representing different things; this one has a man reading and says ‘literature’.

More Examples of Wakefield Carvings

There are many chimney pots in a city, these can be seen on Wakefield Town Hall.

More Examples of Wakefield's Chimney pots

Columns can be seen on many buildings There are three styles of column, based on Ancient Greek orders. The main difference between them is the decorated top, or capital. The columns themselves either plain or fluted, which means they have deep vertical grooves.

Examples of Column Styles

 

Domes have been used in building construction for centuries. A famous example is the Pantheon in Rome that was built in AD112. In Muslim architecture domes are used for mosques and tombs. The most famous domed building in London is St Paul’s Cathedral, built in the late 1600s. Here are some examples of small domes in Wakefield, built in the Victorian period.

 

A niche is a round-topped recess in a wall, with a decorative urn or sculpture displayed in it. They were very popular in the Georgian period. This one is on the side of St John’s Church, built in the 1790s.

 

Pediments are the triangular features that are built above doorways, windows or the whole building. Some also have a round window in the middle.

 

Pilasters are flat columns that do not hold a building up, just decorate it.

 

A portico is a pediment supported on columns which sticks out from the centre of the building, like the 1806 Court House on Wood Street.

 

The famous St Marks tower in Venice was very popular with the Victorians. Versions of it can be seen in many towns and cities in Britain. Wakefield’s version is the Town Hall clock tower.