Storeys
"...a half-circular turret, battlemented, or, to use the appropriate phrase, bartizan'd on the top, served as a case for a narrow turnpike stair, by which an ascent was gained from storey to storey."
[The Heart of Mid-Lothian, by Sir Walter Scott]
For the benefit of readers whose countries use a different system, in Britain they used the following to describe the different storeys or levels of a house:
Basement refers to habitable rooms that are below ground or partially below ground. These might include the kitchen, servant's hall, or butler's pantry. Although cellars were also below ground, cellars were rooms for storage only, like the coal cellar, or the wine cellar. If a basement was half below ground, they might have narrow windows at the top of the room to let in light.
The ground floor is level with the ground outside the house, or could be raised slightly above street level to accommodate a partially below ground basement. In that case, you might climb a few steps to reach the ground floor.
The first floor is the level you reach after climbing one set of stairs to reach the level immediately above the ground floor. In a townhouse, the first floor would have noticeably larger windows as the primary rooms were located on the first floor.
The second floor is the level you reach after climbing the stairs to reach the level immediately above the first floor.
The attic level is the level just beneath the roof, usually with much smaller, low-ceilinged rooms, and much smaller windows. Only the grander houses tended to have an attic floor. Many houses went straight from the second floor to the garret/attic in the roof space.
Garrets are rooms that may be formed inside the angled pitch of the roof space, if the roof was big enough. They were sometimes called attics in houses where there was no attic level. They would be reached by a much narrower staircase than used in the rest of the house. Often used for storage, they could also be used to house servants. In poorer areas, they were rented as lower cost accommodation. Because of this, garrets were associated with starving poets or artists.
Very few houses during the Regency period went above five floors, including the basement and garrets. However, streets that were originally built in the 18th and early 19th centuries will today be filled with much taller houses, after being remodelled to add extra floors during the Victorian period.
Piano Nobile - meaning Noble Floor in Italian, this was the principal floor with the main reception rooms, used for entertaining guests. In a London townhouse, the piano nobile would have been the first floor. In large country houses, the piano nobile might be on either the ground floor or the first floor, depending on the age and design of the house.
Windows
"Jones's Mansion, the only ancient edifice that remains at present to be noticed, stands at the corner of Ox Lane, leading to St Alkmund's. It is in various styles of architecture, exhibiting the square mullioned window of James the First's days, as well as the wide gable and clumsy sash of Charles the Second's time."
[The beauties of England and Wales: or, Delineations, topographical, historical, and descriptive, of each county, Volume 18, Part 1, pub. 1813]
By the beginning of the 19th century, various styles of windows had already come into or gone out of fashion, depending on the era when the properties were built.
Bay Windows were windows that projected out from the main wall of a building. You might have a square bay, made up of three or four casement or sash windows, arranged in a half-rectangle, or an angled bay. The wall beneath it mirrored the shape of the window, so you could walk into or sit in the bay. A bay window may be on the ground floor only, or replicate the shape of the bay in the rooms immediately above. Square bay windows were common in Elizabethan properties, and the angular style bays were occasionally built on Georgian properties, but bay windows didn't become really popular again until the 1870s.
"I believe there are few country parsonages in England half so good. It may admit of improvement, however. Far be it from me to say otherwise; and anything in reason--a bow thrown out, perhaps--though, between ourselves, if there is one thing more than another my aversion, it is a patched-on bow."
[Chapter 26, Northanger Abbey, by Jane Austen]
A Bow Window was a semi-circular window that projected out from the main wall of a building. The wall beneath copied the shape of the window, extending the space inside the room. They were fashionable by the end of the 1700s, when Jane Austen began writing Northanger Abbey, and some homeowners may have chosen to modernise their house by adding a "patched on bow" window where there had originally been a flat window. Bow windows were often seen on shop fronts, allowing the owner to display more of their goods to the passing public. One of the most famous bow windows in Regency England was on the ground floor at White's Club in St. James's Street, where Beau Brummell would often sit to watch those walking by.
"For my temptation to think it a right, I refer every caviller to a brick house, sashed windows below, and casements above, in Highbury."
[Chapter 50, Emma, by Jane Austen]
Casement Windows were attached to the frame by hinges on the side, and they would open outwards. Before sash windows became common, these were the main style of opening window found in British buildings. Older casement windows were often glazed with leaded glass; small rectangle or diamond-shaped glass pieces joined together with strips of lead.
Where tall casement windows ended at floor level they were still called windows, even though you could walk through them to reach a balcony or terrace. They were sometimes referred to as "floor-length windows", but they're also described as French Windows from around 1810 onwards. The term "French Door" did not appear until 1847.
Dormer Windows were windows that projected out vertically from a sloping roof, often found in a garret or attic. Each window would have its own little roof and side walls so someone inside could walk right up to the glass to look out. Circular or arched dormer windows might have been seen in newer high-status houses.
Fanlights were semicircular fixed windows that sat above a solid door to cast natural light into what would otherwise be a dark hallway or room. Fan-shaped lights were particularly popular in Georgian buildings, but rectangle-shaped lights of six panes were also used at various times to allow daylight into dark areas, in which case they were just called lights. The term "Transom", meaning a window over a door, didn't come into use until 1844.
An Oriel Window was a small window, often shaped like a bay or a bow window, but without a supporting wall beneath. Instead, the oriel window projected from an otherwise flat wall and was supported beneath the window sill with one or two brackets.
"As soon as she was dressed, Helen went to the window and threw up the sash for the first time to enjoy the fresh air, and to see the prospect which she was told was beautiful; and she saw that it was beautiful."
[Chapter 43, Helen, by Maria Edgeworth]
Sash Windows were the "modern" window of the day, installed in most newly built houses. They were first used in the seventeenth century but remained popular right the way through into the 20th century. They opened by sliding up or down, the sashes being counterbalanced by weights and pulleys so they would stay open. In most cases, the window was formed with an upper and lower sash, and each sash was separated into six, eight or even ten panes of glass.
I recently visited a house built in 1804, where the sash windows reached down to the floor and were larger than the door. The top and bottom sashes were large enough that you could raise the lower sash to its full, opened height and walk through the opening into the garden.
In poor housing, some upper storey windows were designed with the sash windows sliding side to side, instead of up and down. These were known as a Yorkshire sash, a low-cost alternative to the standard sash because the counterbalancing weights were not required.
Skylight - A window built into a roof, used to provide natural light over an internal staircase.
"Charlotte having received possession of her apartment, found amusement enough in standing at her ample Venetian window."
[Sandition, by Jane Austen]
Venetian Window - This was made up of three windows in a row. The middle one would be arched, and taller than the two flat-topped windows on either side. It was commonly used in the "Palladian" style of architecture.
Between 1696 and 1851, British properties were subject to a Window Tax, which was paid by the building's owner rather than their tenants. In 1798, the lowest rate of window tax in England was four shillings and sixpence a year, for a house with no more than six windows or lights, worth less than five pounds in rent a year. (if the rent was five pounds a year or more, the tax was six shillings) The tax rose on a sliding scale, depending on the number of windows, so a house with ten windows or lights would be taxed one pound and fourteen shillings, while eleven windows would cost two pounds and four shillings. A canny householder would often remove windows and block up the opening to save paying more tax than necessary.
If you were fortunate enough to live in a house with one hundred and eighty windows or lights, then you would have been charged £61 per year in tax in 1798. That might sound like a lot of windows, but the largest house in the country, Wentworth Woodhouse, in Yorkshire, had 365 rooms, and many of those rooms had more than one window.
The people who most suffered from this tax were the tenants of rented houses, when their landlords blocked up windows to avoid paying more tax than necessary. This meant the very poor were often living in rooms with no natural light or fresh air.
Exterior Features
"So she led the way to a little conservatory, and a little pinery, and a little grapery, and a little aviary, and a little pheasantry, and a little dairy for show, and a little cottage for ditto, with a grotto full of shells, and a little hermitage full of earwigs, and a little ruin full of looking-glass, 'to enlarge and multiply the effect of the Gothic.' 'But you could only put your head in, because it was just fresh painted..."
[Chapter 6, The Absentee, by Maria Edgeworth]
As well as the different types of rooms found inside a house, other buildings and features were often found outside or separate from the main house. How many outbuildings you had depended on the size and complexity of the house. In an estate agent's advertisement, they would frequently be lumped together as servants' offices.
Apiary - A beehive, or a collection of beehives. The cultivation of bees was considered a "rural amusement" but also provided wax for candles, as well as honey for both family use and as a valuable crop to sell or swap with neighbours:
"In favourable years, as for instance in 1809, a single stock of bees has been found, by judicious management in this respect, to produce twelve gallons, or ninety-six pounds of honey, making, at the moderate price of one shilling per pound, nearly a clear profit of five pounds sterling."
[A New System of Practical Economy by H. Colburn, pub. 1825]
Area - space outside a basement, below ground level, that allows light into windows and access to the basement rooms from the ground level, usually by means of steps. For safety and security, the area was surrounded by an iron fence and gate at the top of the stairs. The area provided separate access for servants and tradesmen. Although areas were commonly found outside townhouses, some country houses with basements also had them.
Aviary - a large outdoor birdcage, useful for anyone who breeds pet birds, like budgerigars, or keeps birds of prey for hunting.
Bakehouse - This would have included a coal or log fired bread oven to bake bread for the household and estate, if there was no bread oven in the kitchen.
Banqueting House - this was a small or medium-sized garden pavilion, usually two stories high, which overlooked the gardens. Stairs would either go directly from the garden to the first floor or in larger examples there might be internal stairs. The space on the first floor would have contained a table and the owners of the house could entertain their guests with food and a view of the park or gardens. They were most commonly found with houses from the 16th and 17th centuries but could also be added later by garden designers as a folly or a focal point in the landscape. Single level versions would be built on a hill for a similar effect.
Boathouse - if an estate was fortunate to be located on a river or near a lake, there might be a boathouse to store pleasure boats that they could row or sail on the water.
Brewhouse - This provided a place for a household to brew their own beer. This might sound like a luxury to us today, but in the days when water could be contaminated, beer was much safer to drink. On a large estate, they would brew beer for the family, servants and outdoor workers.
Byre - a small cowshed, large enough for one cow to be kept and milked.
Carriage sweep - a carriage drive that sweeps around in a loop or circle, allowing a carriage to pull up outside the main front door to drop off its passengers and then move off without having to turn around. Sometimes it's shortened to sweep, as in this example from Jane Austen's unfinished novel, The Watsons:
"Mr. Edwards lived in the best house in the street, and the best in the place, if Mr. Tomlinson, the banker, might be indulged in calling his newly erected house at the end of the town, with a shrubbery and sweep, in the country."
Chapel - if there was no room inside the house, a detached chapel was sometimes built in the garden. On a large estate, they may have employed a chaplain to conduct private religious services. However, baptisms, marriages and burials would still have to take place in a parish church, unless the church gave particular permission. (such as a special licence for marriages)
Coachhouse - This was usually attached to the stables, and was the equivalent of a modern garage. Sometimes they were described as a Chaise House, which might have suggested it was only large enough for a chaise, rather than a full-sized coach.
Dovecot - A birdhouse for doves to breed. A Pigeon Box was a similar structure for breeding pigeons. During the Regency period they were often ornamental structures, but at the time doves and pigeons were also used as food.
Dower House - On large estates, the Dower house was a separate small property, often located within the grounds of the estate, where a widow could move to when her husband died and the heir inherited the estate.
Fishpond - not only used for fishing as a sport or a pastime but also to provide a supply of fresh fish for the household.
Flower Garden - Not just for looking at or walking through. A flower garden also provided cut flowers for floral displays in the house, or to be made into scented products in the still room, such as rose water or sachets of dried lavender for scenting clothes.
Folly - It was fashionable in the 18th century to construct a Folly in the garden. A folly was a structure built for ornamental rather than practical purposes. They were often created to provide a focal point for the landscape. Some were towers, while others might appear to be ancient temples, Chinese pagodas, strangely shaped mausoleums, newly built "ruins" or picturesque caves, often called grottos.
Gamekeeper's Cottage - accommodation provided for the Gamekeeper, particularly on estates where game birds are reared for shooting. It would often be located in woodland, near to where the covey of birds was located.
Gatehouse - A house that incorporates a gateway. Particularly found in castles or Tudor houses, a gatehouse protected the entrance to the estate or the space in front of the house. Once the gates opened, a carriage would drive through the archway in the middle of the gatehouse.
Gatekeeper's Lodge - On large country estates there was usually gates on every entrance, and on a large estate, there could be two or three entrances in different directions. The Gatekeeper's job was to open the gates for visitors. Lodges were often small, two or three-room detached cottages where the gatekeeper and their family lived.
Greenhouse - a detached glass house used for growing fruits and vegetables, particularly those that do not normally grow in the English weather. Specialist greenhouses included the Orangery, which would produce oranges and lemons, and the Pinary, which produced pineapples - considered a particular delicacy during the 18th century. You might also have a Melonry, a Peachery, or a Grapery. A Succession House was a series of greenhouses where food crops could be planted in successive weeks so that there was a crop always ready for harvesting during the season. Greenhouses that were heated with stoves or furnaces, to grow fruit that needed heat to ripen, were also called forcing houses. Some forcing houses were 100ft in length.
Hermitage - at one time it was popular to build a simple dwelling on the estate for a hermit to live a solitary life, for which the hermit was paid. The hermit in his abode would have been seen as a "garden feature" and admired by visitors in the same way they would admire a curious folly.
Haha - a garden feature, the Haha was a deep ditch with a vertical wall on the inner side and sloping down on the outer side. It separated the gardens from land used to graze animals. This avoided the need for a wall or a fence that would block the view of the surrounding countryside, yet it meant that sheep or cows could not enter the formal garden areas. In some sources, it is called a Sunken Fence.
Home Farm - The home farm would have been owned and operated by the landowner or a farm manager, for the benefit of their household, rather than let out to tenants. Some of the food grown on the farm would go to the kitchens, or animals would be butchered to supply meat for the family. Gentlemen with an interest in agriculture would have taken more control of their home farm than others who were content to let others manage the day to day work.
Icehouse - This was a storeroom that was often buried underground, and reached by a set of steps. Some looked like a brick igloo, covered over with soil and grass. Being underground meant the temperature stayed constant, and when packed with straw or other insulation material it helped to keep ice blocks from melting. Only found on large estates.
Kennels - dogs were not only kept as pets. They also provided security and worked as hunting dogs. Gentlemen sometimes kept a pack of hounds for foxhunting, which required extensive kennel facilities.
Kitchen Garden - a place where herbs, fruits and vegetables were grown to provide food for the family. At a country house, it might be surrounded by a high wall. In a village house, it could be in the part of the garden closest to the kitchen, or with the best access to sunlight, and may be separated from the family garden by a hedge or wall.
Laundry - In a larger country house, the washing would have been moved away from the main house. Once it had been in the washhouse, the laundry was where the clothes were dried and ironed.
Orchard - an orchard didn't just contain apple trees. You could also find pears, plums, cherries and nut trees in orchards. The fruits produced would contribute to the household larder, either eaten fresh, stored for future use or preserved in jars and as jam. Excess household fruit or even hedgerow fruit from around the estate could be made into fruit wine or fruit spirit.
Paddock - An area of grass, surrounded by a fence. Often used to exercise horses.
Pheasantry - On large estates, the owner might set up a pheasantry to breed and rear pheasant chicks ready for the shooting season. This was a sustainable way of managing bird populations, although a gamekeeper would be required to protect this investment from local poachers.
Piggery - A brick-built pigsty, with a small yard in front, surrounded by a wall, which gave the pigs somewhere to run around and lie down. Even modest houses could have a piggery.
Plantation - In Britain, it was common to plant up an area with trees, as a crop. Once they were grown the trees would be felled and would hopefully become valuable timber. Many large country estates were surrounded by plantations.
Pleasure Grounds - Estate agents of the day used this term to describe the gardens surrounding a gentleman's house that would give pleasure to those who walked or sat there. They would usually include grass lawns, flower gardens and shrubberies, as Sir Walter Elliot describes:
"I am not particularly disposed to favour a tenant. The park would be open to him of course, and few navy officers, or men of any other description, can have had such a range; but what restrictions I might impose on the use of the pleasure-grounds, is another thing. I am not fond of the idea of my shrubberies being always approachable; and I should recommend Miss Elliot to be on her guard with respect to her flower garden."
[Chapter 3, Persuasion by Jane Austen]
Poultry House and yard - a place to house and protect chickens, ducks, geese or turkeys from predators. Poultry did not just produce food, in the form of eggs and meat. The feathers would be used in pillows, cushions and mattresses, and the carcase would have made stock. Goose quills were particularly sought after to make quill pens.
Privy - an outdoor toilet, enclosed in a temporary structure, usually made of wood. It would have covered a pit latrine; a hole dug in the ground where waste drops. Occasionally, the structure would have contained a close stool with space beneath for a chamber pot or bucket, in which case the privy could also be stone or brick-built.
Shrubbery - a part of the garden planted with specimen shrubs.
Stables - a place for horses, and their equipment, including saddles, harnesses and feed. The smallest were one and two horse stables, but larger ones could hold fifty horses or more. The stables at Chatsworth House in Derbyshire had sufficient stalls for 80 horses, which would have been used by the Duke and his family, plus any guests who came to stay. Large stables would often contain a separate hayloft and a tack room or harness room, plus accommodation above for the stable boys, postillions and coachmen.
Steward's or Bailiff's house - on a larger estate this was where the steward or bailiff might live. When Jane Austen's father died her brother, living at Chawton House, offered his mother and sisters the Bailiff's house in Chawton village rent-free.
Washhouse - In a country house, the washing of clothes and household linen would have been carried out in the washhouse, before being taken to the laundry for drying and ironing.
Water features - there was usually some form of water feature in every planned park. It might be a natural or man-made lake -- often described as a sheet of water -- a river, a canal, a natural waterfall or man-made cascade, and very often a fountain.
If you come across any other house terms that haven't yet been covered, please drop them in the comments below. There will be separate chapters coming up on cottages, town houses and country houses, which should cover all the different house types.
[Image: A Cottage design suitable for a Gardener's cottage or Gatekeeper's Lodge, from "Rural Residences: A series of designs for cottages, decorated cottages, small villas and other ornamental buildings", by John B. Papworth, pub. 1818 (Public Domain)]
Edited to add a definition for Privy, Byre, Area and Gatehouse.
Edited to add details of the Banqueting House.
Edited to add observations of large sash windows you could walk through.
Edited to extend the descriptions of the Apiary and flower garden