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ought to be cramped. The most secure manner of fixingcramps is to let them into the stones their whole thickness,and run them with lead ; but in slight works, it is sufficientto bed them in plaster, as is the practice in chimney-pieces.Iron is used in modern buildings, but the Romans, who wereaccustomed to employ cramps in the greatest profusion, usedbronze, a material much more durable than iron, as it is notso liable to rust.

Bronze or copper is preferable to iron, not only on accountof its own durability, but likewise because it is not so liableto destroy the masonry which it connects : the rust whichaccumulates round iron cramps, tends to rupture the masonryto a much greater extent, than the cramps to keep ittogether; besides this, if placed near the surface, iron is sureto discolour it. In general work, if the masonry be well puttogether, there will be but little need of cramps, especiallyif the separate masses be of moderate size; nor even if theybe of small dimensions, is there any absolute necessity fortheir employment, as we may gather from the works of theancients. Mr. Murphy instances the spires of Salisburycathedral, and of the church of Batalha, Portugal , whichthough not more than seven inches in thickness, are for themost part connected without the aid of iron cramps. Theseobservations apply with greater emphasis to wrought thanto cast iron.

Sir Christopher Wren used a large cramp or chain, belowthe springing of the dome of St. Paul’s , in order to distributethe pressure equally. This architect, however, seems tohave been fully aware of the caution requisite in the use ofiron in stone buildings, for he observes in his Parentalia,“ It has been observed in removing cramps from masonryat least four hundred years old, which were so bedded inmortar that all air was perfectly excluded, that the ironappeared as fresh as when it came from the forge. Incramping stones therefore, no iron should lie within nineinches of air, if possible; for air is the menstruum thatconsumes all materials. When for want of large stonesthe use of iron is requisite, care should be taken to excludethe air from it.”

Copper, bronze, or gun-metal form excellent and incorro-sive substitutes for iron in cramping masonry; they aremore expensive at the first outlay, but will be found inreality more economical; the first material may be mixedwith a small portion of tin, which imparts to it greaterdurability.

The above objections to iron, do not hold good as regardsbrickwork ; the only inconvenience in this case arises fromthe stain with which the rust is apt to disfigure the work,if the iron be placed too near the facing.

CRAMPOONS, pieces of iron hooked at the ends, fordrawing or pulling up timber, stones, &c.

CRANE-HOUSE, a house to shelter a crane : it shouldbe constructed of brick.

CREALS, a sort of jfetties or weir hedges, sometimeserected on the shores of rivers or the sea, for checking theforce of the tide in particular places, and occasioning adeposit of filth or mud in place of the constant wear andencroachment of the water upon the land. Smeaton’sReports, i. p. 4.

CREASING, Tile. See Tile-Creasing.

CREDENCE, a shelf or small table by the side of aChristian altar, on which the sacred elements are placedprevious to consecration. Sometimes the credence is simplya shelf in the niche above the piscina, but at other times aseparate table. At the church of S. Cross is a beautifulspecimen, rectangular in plan, having its front decoratedwith panels, and the stone slab supported above a cornice

CREUX (from the French ) a term .a sculpture, sfl'a hollow, out of which anything has been sc0 ^ c ulp tuI *5hence it has been used to denote that kind ox ^ ( 0 riv eiand graving, where the lines and figures are cut anwithin the surface carved or engraved upon. aI) stf er

There is no word in the English language, a t j, e ter” 1 'to this idea, and hence the necessity of adopting ,

It is opposed to the word relievo, where the lines

It is also used for

cabin of an ox

as a cottage. ’ , * _

CROCKET (from the French , croc, a hook, or ofornament used to decorate or finish the raking aTT „ a \^<parts of Gothic buildings, such as spires, pinnacles, = er s,canopies, &c.; consisting of projecting leaves, 1 ,„ r/ refor knops of foliage, and terminating usually -ornament or bunch of flowers or leaves at the suniuu ■ ^a finial. Sometimes they are used in vertical v

the cathedral, Lincoln, where they run up the mutn flI . ethe tower window. Crockets of the Early Engl" 8 ' 1 H s ufoften simple trefoil leaves, and sometimes bunch e3eaves, placed at considerable intervals, and curled a , ctiijj'in a similar manner to the head of a bishop’s pa st0 , y, r d 3early specimens are to be seen at Salisbury ^liif"cathedrals, but the simplest example exists at Linc° > tliexhibits a simple curve, curling round downwards-Decorated period, the leaves were usually continue u p\v'* fdistance attached to the moulding, and curie W

the “^Srpen^ea

■ ■ 1 | ^0enriched with flowers, it is fixed in a corner so that on 7 ^sides are exposed; at Fyfield, Berks, is another s P eC1semi-octagonal in plan, supported on a stem of sitingl« r r ^but of smaller dimensions ; the sides are panelled

wa y U P- mpt i » e9

CRENELLE, the embrasure of a battlement, so :m flD dapplied to the whole battlement, as also to the loophoother small apertures in the wall of a fortress, throng 11missiles were discharged. n3 in

CRESCENT, an ornament used by the Mahonaetheir mosques. arC of

Crescent, a series of buildings, disposed in the sS ea circle, which is either the half circumference, orof a segment less than the half. . ge veO

CRESILLA, a Grecian sculptrix, who chiselle( s( j 5 ,statues of the Amazons , for the temple of Dianaand was accounted the third in merit among the ncompetitors who vied in decorating that famed edifice'only inferior to Polycletus and Phidias . fon ta ' n

CRESSET, an open metal frame or cage, used toa light or beacon-fire. ... of 3

CREST, the ornamental finishing at the sum® a ]sstructure, consisting of battlements, open tracery, ® ncrockets, or even plain coping. ^ 0 \'&'

Crest-Tiles, tiles placed along the ridge of alapping on both sides like a saddle ; they are s ^ o>plain, and at others ornamented, moulded in thebattlements, Tudor-flowers, crockets, Wves, &c.

.be 111 ®

a

are prominent, and project .without the surface. gta ll ° rCRIB, the rack or manger of a stable, or 1 ^itatic 11 ’

any small

J - i>\

towards the extremity, sometimes

turned up ; a similar form prevail._

style , but they are sometimes merely flat square lea**' ^to the moulding by the stalk and one edge. 1“ s f 0 n ^we meet with animals in the place of crockets,^ 3 <flying buttresses of Henry VII. ’s chapel, Westm'n 3 b o? e S ab ! es of th e hall at Hampton Court ; 0,1 ‘'j 0 r>Archbishop Kempe, Canterbury, we find swans,o Bishop Bingham, Salisbury , angels are used t°purpose.

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