Pendant
Pendant
(Lat. pendens, hanging) is a term common in architecture to designate
(1) a hanging ornament which was much used in the Gothic style, particularly in late perpendicular work, on ceilings, roofs, etc. On stone vaulting they are frequently made very large, and are generally enriched with moldings and carvings. Good specimens are to be seen in Henry VII's Chapel, Westminster; the Divinity School, Oxford; St. Lawrence, Evesham, etc. In open timber roofs pendants are frequently placed under the ends of the hammer-beams, and in other parts where the construction will allow of them. About the period of the expiration of Gothic architecture, and for some time afterwards, pendants were often used on plaster ceilings, occasionally of considerable size, though usually small.
(2) This name was also formerly used for the spandrels very frequently found in Gothic roofs under the ends of the tie-beams, which are sustained at the bottom by corbels or other supports projecting from the walls. In this position it is usually called a Pendannt-post.
