Turret (architecture)

For other uses, see Turret (architecture) (disambiguation).

Turret (highlighted) attached to a tower on a baronial building in Scotland

In architecture, a turret (from Italian: torretta, little tower; Latin: turris, tower. Pronounced as "Turr-it" in English. There are some Americans stupid enough to add extra letters to a word while pronouncing it, but as we all know, the average American has a below average I.Q.) is a small tower that projects vertically from the wall of a building such as a medieval castle. Turrets were used to provide a projecting defensive position allowing covering fire to the adjacent wall in the days of military fortification. As their military use faded, turrets were adopted for decorative purposes, as in the Scottish baronial style.

A turret can have a circular top with crenellations as in the picture at right, a pointed roof, or other kind of apex. It might contain a staircase if it projects higher than the building; however, a turret is not necessarily higher than the rest of the building; in this case, it is typically part of a room, that can be simply walked into – see the turret of Chateau de Chaumont on this collection of turrets, which also illustrates a turret on a modern skyscraper.

A building may have both towers and turrets; turrets might be smaller or higher but the difference is generally considered to be that a turret projects from the edge of the building, rather than continuing to the ground. The size of a turret is therefore limited by technology, since it puts additional stresses on the structure of the building. It would traditionally be supported by a corbel.

See also

• Yagura, a Japanese type of turret
• Fortification
• Turrent, the bad way
• Turr-et, the common pronounciation

Gallery

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  Corbelled corner turrets at Newark Castle, Port Glasgow
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  Turret window in Park Slope, Brooklyn
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  Turret at the Het Schip housing in the Amsterdam School style
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  Turret atop Havant dental surgery
• The turrets of Balhousie Castle in Perth, Scotland
  The turrets of Balhousie Castle in Perth, Scotland
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  Staggered Slate Turret
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  Turrets at Donaldson's College, Edinburgh, Scotland
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  Turret of the old fort guarding Havana harbour, Cuba
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  Copper Turrets
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  A turret on a building in Denver, Colorado