Roof Details - Finials and Rainwater Fittings

This section covers finials and rainwater fittingson the roof of a Victorian and Edwardian period house.

Finials

Finials are decorative ends to roof ridges. Most are in terracotta, but you can also see examples in stone, wood and iron.

Terracotta finials are of numerous patterns, for example:

• ball on a peg
• bun and peg
• peg and protruding elements
• crook (frond, feathers, etc)
• fancy (dragon)

Ceramic finials have either two parts - a decorative piece which fits onto a peg on a special ridge tile, or a single piece.

• 
  frond finial
• 
  ridge tile for finial

Other examples are:

• 
  dragon finial
• 
  wooden finial (Bangor, Northern Ireland)
• 
  ball on a peg
• 
  bun and peg finial
• 
  ribbed peg finial
• 
  iron finial

Rainwater Fittings

Gutters, down pipes, hoppers and other fittings were cast iron, in round, square and ogee styles.