Stepped gable

Crow-stepped gable on a house in Lüneburg, Germany
Buildings in Bruges, Belgium, with crow-stepped gables

A stepped gable, crow-stepped gable, or corbie step[1] is a stairstep type of design at the top of the triangular gable-end of a building.[1][2] The top of the parapet wall projects above the roofline and the top of the brick or stone wall is stacked in a step pattern above the roof as a decoration and as a convenient way to finish the brick courses. A stepped parapet may appear on building facades with or without gable ends, and even upon a false front.

  1. ^ a b Chisholm, Hugh, ed. (1911). "Corbie" . Encyclopædia Britannica. Vol. 7 (11th ed.). Cambridge University Press. p. 136.
  2. ^ "Oxford Road Architecture" (PDF). Reading Museum.