Sheet 12 · Elevation
Parts of a shopfront, named
The names of the parts of a shopfront — fascia, cornice, console, pilaster, stallriser, transom and the rest — as a conservation officer or a council design guide uses them, with a labelled elevation.
- Cornice
- The projecting moulding along the top of the shopfront. It throws rain clear of the fascia and gives the front a finished top edge. Often the first thing lost when a deep modern fascia is fixed over an old one.
- Fascia
- The horizontal board carrying the shop’s name. Its depth is the single most common point of argument with a council: guides usually want it no deeper than the original, and below the first-floor windows.
- Console (corbel)
- The decorative bracket at each end of the fascia, sitting on top of the pilaster. It frames the sign and marks where one shop ends and the next begins.
- Pilaster
- The flat column on each side of the shopfront, framing it vertically. Shutter guides and alarm cables bolted over pilasters are a frequent reason for refusal.
- Stallriser
- The solid panel under the display window. It protects the glass from feet, trolleys and kicks, and gives the front a base. Many councils now treat a reinforced stallriser as part of the security answer.
- Cill (sill)
- The ledge at the bottom of the window, shedding water off the stallriser.
- Transom
- A horizontal bar across the glazing, often at door-head height, dividing the display window from the toplights above.
- Toplight / fanlight
- The glazing above the transom. Over a door, often called a fanlight.
- Mullion
- A vertical bar dividing one area of glass from the next.
- Glazing bar
- A slim bar dividing a window into smaller panes. Lining these up with the windows above is what makes a new front sit in an old terrace.
- Recessed entrance
- A doorway set back from the shopfront line. It shelters the door and increases window area, but can be misused after hours — some councils accept a gate across it.
- Shutter box
- The housing for a rolled-up shutter. Councils almost always want it hidden behind the fascia rather than fixed to the face of the building.