What does that mean?

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A

A3

Standard ISO paper size: 297mm x 420mm (± 2mm). Roughly 11.7" x 16.5"

A4

Standard ISO paper size: 210mm x 297mm (± 2mm). Roughly 8.3" x 11.7"

Abbey

Major monastic buildings. Ruled over by an Abbot or Abbess.

Abbot or Abbess

The monk or nun in overall charge of an Abbey. Many Abbots had the right to sit in the House of Lords and had the status of noblemen.

AD

Used to denote years after the birth of Christ (from the Latin Anno Domini). In these politically correct times this is usually rendered as CE standing for Current Era.

Adit

Horizontal passage into a mine. Typically for drainage.

Agister

Official employed by the Verderers to supervise the animals depastured on the New Forest

Aisle

Area either side of the main Nave outside the columns supporting the roof. Often an extension to a church by conversion of the former exterior wall to an arcade, covered with a lean-to roof.

Alien House

A monastic house which, during the Hundred Years War, was subject to additional taxes and other burdens due to its strong ties to an enemy power.

Almshouse

A house, often part of a group of houses, founded by charitable benefactors in earlier times to provide for those in need and often to cater for a particular group of people.

Ancient and Ornamental Woodland

The old unenclosed woodlands of the New Forest

Apse

Vaulted semicircular or polygonal end of a chancel, chapel or other building. Often at the east end of a church containing the altar.

Arcade

Range of arches supported on columns.

Arts and Crafts

An international movement in the decorative and fine arts inspired by the writings of the architect Augustus Pugin, the writer John Ruskin and the artist William Morris that flourished between 1880 and 1910.

Augustinian

Relating to several religious orders and congregations based on the Rule of St Augustine. The two main branches are the Augustinian Hermits and the Augustinian Canons.

Augustinians

Named after Saint Augustine of Hippo (354 - 430), are several Christian monastic orders and congregations of both men and women living according to a guide to religious life known as the Rule of Saint Augustine.

Aumbry

Cupboard to hold sacred vessels.

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B

Bailey

The space enclosed by the outer wall of a castle.

Baptists

A group of denominations and churches that believe that baptism should be be performed by complete immersion, and only for professing adult believers.

Barrel Roof

Continuous round-arched vault, like half a barrel.

Barrow

A large mound of earth or stones over the remains of the dead.

Basilican

A Christian church building, having a nave with a semicircular apse, two or four side aisles, a narthex, and a clerestory.

Bastion

Projection from the general outline of a fortification from which the garrison can see and defend by flanking fire the ground in front of the ramparts.

Battery

Any place where guns or mortars are mounted

BC

Used to denote years Before the birth of Christ. In these politically correct times this is sometimes rendered as BCE standing for Before Current Era.

Beaker

The Bell-Beaker culture was found in Western Europe starting in the late Neolithic and running into the early Bronze Age.

Beeching Cuts

The severe reduction of the rail network and restructuring of the railways in Great Britain, set out by Dr Richard Beeching in his report The Reshaping of British Railways (1963)

Benedictines

Most important order of monks in England. Devoted much of their time to education and learning as well as manual labour. Wore black habits.

Black Death

A series of plagues that swept across Europe in the mid-fourteenth century killing millions of people.

Blockhouse

Small detached fort

Blue John

A white/purple banded variety of Fluorite common in the Derbyshire Peak District

Bothie

Small, generally one roomed, hut, common up to the Seventeenth Century. Not unknown much later.

Box Pews

High-sided enclosed pews, often of different sizes and allocated to specific families according to status.

Bronze Age

The period starting in Britain around 3000 BC characterised by the use of bronze tools and weapons. It ended with the introduction of iron around 400 BC.

Bullaun Stone

A large rock where a basin or bullaun has been carved out. Generally thought to date from the Bronze Age

Byzantine

The continuation of the Eastern Roman Empire during Late Antiquity and the Middle Ages. It had its capital in the city of Constantinople (now Istanbul).

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C

Cadw

The Welsh Government's historic environment service. Also a Welsh word meaning 'to keep' or 'to protect'.

Cairn

A man-made pile (or stack) of stones

Canon Regular

Someone who lives in community under the Rule of Augustinian sharing their property in common, and engaging in the public ministry of liturgy and sacraments.

Caponier

Covered passage in the moat of a fort either for communication with outworks or for providing flanking fire

Casbah

A castle or palace in northern Africa or the older section of a city in northern Africa or the Middle East.

Casemate

A well-protected vault under a rampart, normally used as a gun emplacement and/or for accommodation for the garrison.

CE

The term Current Era is used to denote years after the birth of Christ, out of respect for those who find the phrase Latin Anno Domini (AD) meaning 'the year of Our Lord' problematic.

Celtic

Ancient inhabitants of the British Isles, largely displaced from England and southern Scotland by the Anglo-Saxon and Danish settlers in the fifth century. Anything pertaining to the Welsh, Cornish or Scots Gaelic peoples.

Chancel

Eastern part of a church containing the choir and main altar

Chantry Chapel

Mediaeval chapel endowed for the celebration of masses, especially for the soul of the founder of the chapel

Charcoal

Wood burned in the absence of air, so that subsequently it burns without flame. Extensively used in iron smelting prior to 1800

Chimera

A fabulous monster in Lycia, Greece with a lion\'s head, a goat\'s body, and a serpent\'s tail. Also used by some western scholars of Chinese art for any winged quadruped.

Cistercians

Important order of monks in England. Devoted their time to simple services and hard manual labour. Built their monasteries in remote areas. Wore white habits and thus became known as the 'White Monks'.

Claretians

A community of Roman Catholic priests and brothers, founded by Saint Anthony Claret in 1849.

Clerestory

Uppermost storey standing above the aisle roof, pierced by windows

Cluniac

An order of monks founded in 910AD who all owed allegiance to the Abbot of Cluny. Their monasteries were thus classed a priories. They lived by a very strict interpretation of the Rule of St Benedict.

Commissioned Officer

An officer who derives authority directly from a sovereign power, and holds a commission charging them with specific duties and responsibilities.

Commoner

Someone having 'Rights of Common' in the New Forest. Farmers basically.

Coppice

Woodland managed for small timber. Clear felled on, typically, a nine year cycle.

Corbel

Stone bracket, usually moulded or carved, often with angels or human heads

Cottage Ornée

A genre of 'picturesque' Gothic architecture that flourished for about 25 years from 1790.

Counterscarp Gallery

An artillery gallery in the moat of a fort running around the outer side of the ditch. Often connected to the main buildings by a caponier.

Crannog

a type of ancient loch-dwelling found throughout Scotland and Ireland.

Crocket

Small decorative leafy sculpture mainly used on the outer curve of arches in the 13th and 14th centuries

Cruciform

Church plan in the shape of a cross

Culverin

Medium to heavy cannon used during the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries

Cupola

A small dome like an upturned cup, usually set on a much larger dome or roof.

Curtain Walls

Outer walls of a fortification which link the flank of one bastion or tower to the next.

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D

Decorated

Middle phase of Gothic architecture, characterised by elaborate window tracery and naturalistic carving c1250-1370

Dissolution of the Monasteries

A set of administrative and legal processes between 1536 and 1541 by which Henry VIII disbanded monasteries, appropriated their income, and disposed of their assets.

Dogger

A hard iron ore boulder embedded in softer rock.

Domesday Book

A survey of all England around 1086 commissioned by William the Conqueror for tax purposes.

Doom

Painting of the Last Judgement often depicted on mediaeval walls, usually over the chancel arch

Doorstep Green

locally-owned and run public spaces across England,first created by the Countryside Agency in a project started in 2001.

Dorter

The monks sleeping quarters. Usually above the east side of the cloister with a night stair into the church.

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E

Early English

First phase of Gothic architecture characterised by the earliest pointed arches and simple lancet windows c1190-1280

Early medieval

A period of European history lasting from the 5th century to approximately 1000AD.

Edwardian

The period of British history broadly coinciding with the reign Edward VII (1901–10) together with the years leading up the outbreak of the Great War in 1914.

Elizabethan

The period associated with the reign of Queen Elizabeth I (1558-1603), which saw the flowering of English literature and poetry. Large stately homes start to be built in this period, characterised by a lack any defensive capability.

Embrasure

Opening in a fortification through which a gun fires.

Enclosure

An area of land, fenced either to keep stock in or wildlife out.

English Civil War

A series of armed conflicts from 1642-1651 between Parliamentarians (Roundheads) and Royalists (Cavaliers) over who should govern the country.

Expense Magazine

A magazine in which a small amount of ammunition is kept for immediate use.

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F

Famine House

Derelict one room properties often abandoned in the great famine of the 1840s and 50s.

Fan Vault

A form of vault used in the late Gothic period, in which the ribs are all of the same curve and spaced equidistantly, in a manner resembling a fan.

Flush

New Forest term for a small pond or boggy place often with a spring.

Folly

A structure, such as a pavilion in a garden, that is chiefly decorative rather than practical in purpose.

Font

An article of church furniture used for baptism using a non-immersion method, usually in infancy.

Forcastle

The upper deck of a sailing ship forward of the foremast, or the forward part of a ship with the sailors\' living quarters. In medieval shipbuilding, a ship of war was usually equipped with a tall, multi-deck castle-like structure in the bow of the ship.

Forest

An area set aside for hunting with special laws particularly in respect of poaching.

Fortalice

A small fort or defensive structure.

Fulacht Fiadh

A horseshoe-shaped mound of charcoal-enriched soil and heat shattered stone with a slight depression at its centre. They may have been used as outdoor cooking areas

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G

Garderobe

Originally a chamber for storing clothes, a wardrobe. In medieval times this would also include a latrine as the smell was thought to keep moths away. Later it came to mean just a latrine, usually one built in the thickness of an exterior wall

Georgian

In Britain, the period from approximately 1714 - 1811 (i.e. during the reigns of George I-IV), and the style of neo-classical architecture current at that time.

Glacis

An earthwork on the outside of the moat of a fort or castle sloping gradually to ground level. This feature reduced the target area for enemy gunners

Gnomon

The metal rod in the centre of a sun dial.

Gothic

Architecture which flourished from about the late 12th century until the English Reformation in 1540, characterised by the pointed arch. Later revived by the Victorians

Gothic Revival

Rediscovery by the Victorians of mediaeval Gothic style

Gothick

18th century fashion based upon a fanciful interpretation of mediaeval Gothic

Grange

An outlying farm belonging to an abbey or other religious house.

Greek Revival

An architectural movement of the late 18th and early 19th centuries, predominantly in Northern Europe and the United States. It can be seen as the last phase in the development of Neoclassical architecture.

Grockle

Slightly dismissive term for a 'tourist' first popularized by characters in the film The System (1962).

Gun Loop/Gun Port

Opening in a wall through which a gun fires

Guns: Inch

Generally used to define the calibre of guns which fired shells as opposed to solid shot, and indicating the diameter of the barrel.

Guns: pdr (Pounder)

Generally used to define the calibre of guns which fired solid shot as opposed to shells, and indicating the weight of their shot

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H

Hard

An area of river bank or foreshore used as a landing place.

Hatchments

Diamond shaped boards bearing a coat of arms of a deceased person

Henge

A Bronze Age monument consisting of a circular area enclosed by a bank and external ditch, often containing one or more circles of upright stones or wood pillars.

Henrician Castles

A chain of coastal artillery forts, also known as Device Forts, built by Henry VIII between 1539 and 1547, after he declared himself Supreme Head of the Church in England and divorced Katherine of Aragon.

Hunting Lodge

Accommodation built in the forests for visiting royalty or nobility; usually moated.

Hypocaust

A system of central heating that produces and circulates hot air below the floor of a room.

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I

Incline

Short length of steep rope operated railway used to gain height rapidly.

Inclosure

A term still used in the New Forest for a fenced area of woodland set aside for the commercial production of timber. Elsewhere it is an archaic form of the word Enclosure

Incumbent

Person in present possession of a benefice or office. Most usually used of priests.

Iron Age

The period starting in Britain around 400 BC characterised by the use of iron tools and weapons. In popular usage it ended with the Roman invasion in the first century AD.

Iron Age Hill Fort

A roughly circular enclosure of defensive banks and ditches around the top of a hill dating from around 600BC up until the Roman invasion in the first century AD.

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J

Jacobean

Relating to the period from 1603 to 1625 when James I was king of England

Jamb

Vertical side of a doorway or window

Jutes

A Germanic people believed to have originated from Jutland peninsula in modern Denmark. Along with the Angles and Saxons, they settled in Great Britain from the late 4th century onwards, principally in Kent.

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K

Keep

Great tower of a castle, usually in the centre and the place of last resort for a garrison in time of siege.

Knights Hospitaller

A religious and military order established in 1099 during the First Crusade to care and protect Jerusalem and the Holy Land. Originally based in Rhodes, they later moved to Malta, and are now know as the Knights of St John.

Knights Templar

A Catholic military order founded in 1119. They were amongst the most skilled fighting units of the Crusades, and were prominent in Christian finance. They were suppressed by Pope Clement V in 1312.

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L

Lancet

Narrow pointed window of the Early English period

Lantern

In architecture: A structure on top of a dome or roof with glazed sides to admit light.

Lawn

A term used in the New Forest for open areas of rough grazing.

Local Nature Reserve

A place with wildlife or geological features that are of special interest locally.

Long Barrow

A style of monument constructed across Western Europe in the fifth and fourth millennia BCE, during the Early Neolithic period. Typically constructed from earth and either timber or stone.

Louvre

System of slats designed to allow free passage to air and sound but exclude rain

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M

Machicolation

A floor opening between the supporting corbels of a battlement, through which stones could be dropped on attackers at the base of a defensive wall.

Magazine

An ammunition store.

Mantlet

In architecture: A low screen wall outside the main line of defence of a castle.

Mark

Old English unit of currency. 3 Marks = 2 Pounds Sterling. Pre-decimalisation (1971) it was still common to find items priced at 13s 4d or 6s 8d (i.e. a Mark or half a Mark)

Marl

A limy clay often used as an improver for sandy soils

Martello Tower

A small defensive fort. They were built in several countries of the British Empire during the 19th century, from the time of the Napoleonic Wars onwards.

Mass Dial

A sun dial on the south face of the church, which cast the sun's shadow on marks (scratches) to indicate the time of masses.

Mathematical Tiles

Brick-like tiles used to disguise a timber-framed house.

Medieval

The period in European history between the fall of Rome and the Renaissance. Often dated as being from 470 to 1450AD. Also known as the Middle Ages.

Merinids

A Berber dynasty of the Beni Merin tribe that ruled in Morocco from 1269 to 1465.

Misercord

Carved underside of a choir stall seat.

Mole

Architecturally, a mole is a massive structure, usually of stone, used as a pier, breakwater, or a causeway between places separated by water.

Moorish

A style of architecture characterized by horseshoe-shaped arches that was common in Spain from the 13th to 16th centuries when the country was occupied by the the Moors, people of Berber, Black African and Arab descent from North Africa.

Moot

In Saxon times a meeting place or an assembly (usually for local decision making)

Motte

A large earthwork mound in the centre of a castle on which the Keep is built.

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N

Natural Gas

Methane produced by the same geological processes as oil and often associated with it.

Nave

Main body of the church west of the chancel used by the congregation

Neo-classical

Style of architecture inspired by the ancient Greek temples and other remains. Characterised by columns porticos and the use of statuary

Neolithic

Also known as the New Stone Age. The period between the birth of settled farming in around 10,000 BC, and the introduction of bronze around 3,000 BC.

Nick-nacks

A small trivial article usually intended for ornament

Norman

Scandinavian/French settlers who conquered large areas of Europe including England in 1066. Also the massive Romanesque round-arched architectural style they favoured 1066 - c1190.

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O

Ogee

Recumbent S-shaped curve forming arches and gables, a hallmark of the late Decorated period

Ogham

Celtic alphabet of twenty characters formed by lines marked either side of a base line, or round the edge of a memorial stone. Each character is said to represent a different kind of tree.

Oriel

A projecting bay window corbelled or cantilevered out from a wall

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P

Palladian

A European style of neo-classical architecture derived from the work of the Venetian architect Andrea Palladio (1508-1580).

Palmerston Forts

Forts around Portsmouth and elsewhere built in the 19th century on the orders of Prime Minister Lord Palmerston to counter the threat of a French invasion. Sometimes known as 'Palmerston's Follies' as a peace deal was signed before they were completed.

Palstave

A peculiar bronze adz with an L-shaped haft, used in prehistoric Europe about the middle of the bronze age.

Pannage

The right to feed swine in a wood or forest, sometime for a restricted period only.

Permissive Path

A path that is open by permission of the owner and is not a definitive public right of way. Sometimes referred to as concessionary paths.

Perpendicular

Final phase of Gothic architecture, characterised by large windows, flattened arches, impressive towers and fan vaulting c1350-1540

Pillbox

A small, usually round or hexagonal, concrete gun position built during the early years of the Second World War

Pirn

A weaving term for the long thin bobbin that holds the thread in the centre of a shuttle.

Piscina

Recess with basin and drain for washing the sacred vessels

Poitin

A potato based whiskey

Pollard

Trees managed for small timber by removing the upper branches on, typically, a nine year cycle. An alternative to coppicing where grazing animals a present.

Poop Deck

In naval architecture, a poop deck forms the roof of a cabin built in the rear, or aft, part of the superstructure of a ship.

Portcullis

Vertical iron or wooden grill that can be let down in grooves to block the entrance of a fort.

Post Mill

A type of windmill where, to face the sails into the wind, the whole body of the mill is rotated around a central post. Usually built entirely of wood.

Premonstratensian

An Order of Canons Regular founded by Saint Norbert in Prémontré, France. Also known as the Norbetines or White Canons.

Prior/Prioress

The deputy to an Abbott or Abbess, either in charge of the day to day running of the abbey or of a smaller subsidiary Priory.

Priory

A lesser monastic house, dependent on a parent abbey. Run by a Prior or Prioress with around a dozen monks or nuns.

Pulpit

A platform or raised structure in a church, from which the sermon is delivered.

Purlin

A horizontal beam along the length of a roof, supporting the rafters.

Putto

A figure in a work of art depicted as a chubby male child, usually nude and sometimes winged.

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Q

Quaker

A member of the Religious Society of Friends. A religion based on the idea that each one of us can have a direct relationship with the Divine.

Queen Anne

An English Baroque architectural style of around the reign of Queen Anne (1702-1714),revived in the late 19th and the early 20th century. Mostly used of domestic buildings up to the size of a manor house

Queen Regnant

A female monarch who reigns in her own right. Unlike a Queen Consort who is the wife of a King.

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R

Redoubt

Either, a small blockhouse or other defensive work (usually without accommodation), or a detached outwork that is part of a larger defensive plan.

Reformation

The period associated with the rise of Protestantism in the sixteenth century

Regency

Strictly the period 1811 and 1820 when George III was deemed unfit to be king and his son ruled as Prince Regent. In architectural terms this is extended to cover the period between 1795 and 1837.

Rere-dorter

Another term for Latrine. The monks' or nuns' toilet and washing block. Normally built over a source of running water.

Reredos

Wall or screen behind the altar, usually ornamented with painting or carving

Rib

Projecting feature of a vault which is sometimes ornamental, sometimes structural

Ring Fort

A circular fortified settlements that were mostly built during the Iron Age (800 BC–400 AD), although some may have been built as late as the Early Middle Ages.

Roman

Of or relating to ancient Rome, its people culture, or Empire. In Britain the period between 43AD and about 410AD

Roman Cement

A "natural cement" made by burning Septaria (nodules found in clay deposits that contain both clay minerals and calcium carbonate) developed by James Parker in the 1780s, and patented in 1796. It is nothing like the concrete used by the Romans.

Romanesque

The massive round-arched architectural style favoured by the Normans. Usually refered to as Norman Arcitecture in Britain

Rood

Cross or crucifix placed between the chancel and nave. A rood screen separates the two parts of a church and is often painted or carved. Traditionally figures of Christ Crucified (the Rood) flanked by St Mary Virgin and St John the Evangelist stood above

Rood Screen

An ornate screen constructed of wood, stone or wrought iron that divides the chancel from the nave.

Rösti

A traditional Swiss dish made from grated potato, often with the addition of bacon, onions, cheese or other ingredients

Royal Arms

Arms of the monarch usually painted on wood or canvas. It became compulsory to display them in churches after the Reformation

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S

Sacristy

A room in the church or attached thereto, where the vestments, church furnishings, sacred vessels, and other treasures are kept, and where the clergy meet for the various ecclesiastical functions. More commonly referred to as a Vestry these days

Sanctuary

Most sacred part of a church or chapel. The area around the altar.

Sarsen

Large sandstone blocks or fragments found in south-central England, probably remnants of eroded Tertiary beds. Often used in the construction of Stone Circles and other prehistoric structures.

Saxon

Germanic and Danish Settlers who came to England and southern Scotland from the fifth century onwards. Also the heavy round-arched style of architecture with little decoration in use from 7th century to 1066.

Scratch Dial

A sun dial on the south face of the church, which cast the sun's shadow on marks (scratches) to indicate the time of masses.

Screens Passage

In traditional medieval houses, a passage running from one side of the building to the other between the two external doors. Service rooms were usually located on one side of the passage and the Great Hall on the other.

Sedilia

Recessed seats in the south wall of the chancel for the priest, deacon and sub-deacon

Setts

A broadly rectangular quarried stone used originally for paving roads. Today, a decorative stone paving used in landscape architecture.

Shingles

Tile-like roof covering usually of redwood, cedar or cypress, smooth sawn and of uniform size and shape. Can be applied to any 'tiled' roof covering of asphalt, asbestos, wood, tile, slate, or any other material.

Sibbeen

An illegal Irish pub, usually serving poitin

Solar

In medieval houses, the private quarters of the owner, usually located above the services rooms, overlooking the Great Hall

Special Hire

Ugandan term for what we in the west would call a taxi. What the Ugandans call a 'taxi' is a hopelessly overloaded mini-bus plying a fixed route.

Squab

A young unfledged pigeon.

Standard Tree

A tree allowed to grow to its full height. Originally used mainly for ships timbers, house construction, etc.

Starfish Decoy Site

A large-scale night-time decoy created during the Blitz to simulate a burning British city.

Strawberry Hill

The 18th century Gothic Revival style of architecture popularised by Horace Walpole's famous Gothic creation at Strawberry Hill in London

String Course

A horizontal band of projecting stonework on the surface of a wall

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T

Tester

Also called a sounding board. Structure over a pulpit to direct sound forward

Thames Barge

A type of flat-bottomed commercial sailing boat common on the River Thames in London in the 19th century.

Tide Mill

A mill powered by by trapping the rising tide in a reservoir and letting the water out through the mill on the falling tide.

Tilling Group

One of two conglomerates that controlled almost all of the major bus operators in the United Kingdom between World Wars I and II until nationalisation in 1948.

Tithe Barn

Large barn used by mediaeval church officials to collect the tithe (one tenth of everything produced).

Topiary

The art of trimming hedge plants into the shape of animals or other objects.

Tower Mill

A type of windmill where, to face the sails into the wind, only the top most part, the cap, of the mill rotates. The tower is usually brick-built.

Town Gas

Domestic and industrial heating and lighting gas made by distilling coal.

Township

In Britain, a local division or district of a large parish.

Tracery

Ornamental stone ribs in the upper parts of windows and in circular windows

Transept

A transverse section of a building which lies across the main body. In cruciform churches, the transepts form the arms of the cross.

Traversing carriage

Gun carriage which enables the gun to be turned laterally as well as to be elevated and depressed

Trig Point

Triangulation Point used by the Ordnance Survey surveyors up until the advent of satellite mapping. Usually marked by a 1.2m tall tapering square column with a brass instrument emplacement in the top.

Trompe-l'œil

An art technique that uses realistic imagery to create the optical illusion that objects exist in three dimensions

Tudor

The period from 1485-1603 when the English throne was occupied by Kings and Queens of the Tudor dynasty

Tuyere

Opening in the base of a blast furnace, through which air was blown to create the blast.

Twitchers

In this sense: A birdwatcher whose main aim is to collect sightings of rare birds.

Tympanum

Space between the lintel and arch of a doorway or opening

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V

Vault

Stone ceiling formed like arches

Verderer

Verderers are the guardians of the Commoners and their Rights. The Court of Verderers was set up in 1877 and consists of 10 Verderers of whom 5 are elected and 5 appointed.

Vestry

More commonly used term for a Sacristy. A room in the church or attached thereto, where the vestments, church furnishings, sacred vessels, and other treasures are kept, and where church members meet for various functions.

Victorian

The period when Queen Victoria was on the throne (1837-1901).

Viking

A seafaring Scandinavian people who raided, traded, explored, and settled in wide areas of Europe, Asia, and the North Atlantic islands from the late 8th to the mid-11th centuries

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W

Wall Walk

Walkway along the top of a defensive wall, protected by battlements

Wall-eyed

Having exotropia (divergent strabismus) in which the eyes turn outward away from the nose.

Water Meadows

A system of banks, ditches and water channels used to keep meadow grass covered with flowing water and thus frost free. Allowed a substantial increase in the numbers of animals over wintered.

Weltanschauung

A person\'s or a group\'s conception, philosophy or view of the world; a world view.

Whim

A simple crane consisting of a tripod arrangement of one upright and two sloping beams with a simple jib hinged from the base of the upright.

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