A gable scroll is a curved side piece or wing piece, usually set in pairs on either side of the neck of a gable or a dormer. The Dutch name is klauwstuk. It bridges the step between the narrow upper part (the neck) and the wider gable below it, turning that step into a flowing S-curve instead of a bare shoulder.
Gable scrolls belong above all to the neck gable, which appeared in seventeenth-century Amsterdam and other Dutch cities. They are made in sandstone or timber and are often richly worked: volutes, shell motifs, festoons or fruit garlands.
In stair joinery the same Dutch word is used for the scrolled newel post at the foot of a staircase.
Where it is used
- Neck gables — the classic position: two mirrored scrolls beside the rising neck
- Dormers — on a raised dormer with a gabled front, doing the same job of bridging the step
- Restoration and reconstruction — missing scrolls are remade from old photographs and traces in the brickwork
- Stair foot — the scrolled newel at the bottom of a flight
Points to watch
- Sandstone weathering — exposed stonework weathers fastest on top; rainwater standing on horizontal surfaces is the main culprit
- Lead flashing — the top face should be covered watertight; badly fitting lead is a common cause of damage underneath
- Fixings — in restoration the cramps and dowels must be non-corroding; rusting iron dowels split and spall natural stone
- Listed status — on a protected building, repair or replacement usually needs consent; agree the work in advance
Related terms
- Neck gable
- Bell gable
- Dormer
- Volute
- Gable stone
- Sandstone
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