I am jumping ahead in the alphabet (I should be focusing on architectural terms beginning with the letter “F” right now), but if any word deserves its time in the spotlight, it is jerkinhead. Also known as a clipped gable or a docked gable, a jerkinhead gable is one in which the end of a gable roof is hipped and truncated, forming a small slope back to the ridgeline. It’s rather like a marriage between a gable roof and a hipped roof in which neither side can make up their mind…and it produces a wonderful architectural feature!
This delightfully exuberant late-19th century house would be breathtaking even without its jerkinhead gables – but they add to its charm. Millersburg, Kentucky.
An astute reader on the Gardens to Gables Facebook page inquired the other day as to the origins of the word. I checked my architectural guidebooks, but none offered up any explanation as to why that sort of gable treatement is called a jerkinhead gable.
A very dominant jerkinhead gable tops this eye-catching house in Frankfort, Kentucky.
Unfazed, I turned to a more likely source: the Oxford English Dictionary, the most reliable word when it comes to etymology (pun intended).
Disappointment reigned, as the OED informed me that jerkinhead is “of uncertain origin: perhaps for jerking- as if the slope were jerkily interrupted.” An earlier (and even more obscure) reference is kirkin-head (dating from 1703), which may suggest that jerkinhead is a corruption of that earlier term.
A 2.5 story brick jerkinhead beauty in Irvine, Estill County, Kentucky.
In 1703, in the first edition of The city and countrey purchaser, and builder’s dictionary; or, The compleat builder’s guide, by Richard Neve, kirkin-head is encountered as part of a discussion on a bargecourse (a portion of the roof of a house carried slightly beyond the wall at the gable end, and plastered underneath with mortar to keep out the rain).
A jerkinhead shotgun in Trenton, North Carolina.
That early 18th century entry concludes with “bargecourse… a part of the Tyling, which projects over without the Principal Rafters, in all Buildings, where there is either a Gable or a Kirkin-Head.” (If you browse the OED often, you end up burrowing down many a rabbit hole after the meaning and evolution of all manner of words!)
A Tudor Revival with accent jerkinhead gables, Louisville, Kentucky.
Another interesting idea to consider is that “kirkin-head” contains “kirk” – which, if you happen to have any interest in Scottish history, is instantly recognizable as the colloquial Scots term for church. My Scots-Irish heritage thrills at the notion that this favorite word of mine may trace its lineage back to Scottish church architecture…I love a complex backstory.
A captivating stucco bungalow with a jerkinhead gable and flared eaves. Stanford, Lincoln County, Kentucky.
The jerkinhead gable starts showing up (as far as I know) in the late-19th century in America, and was quite popular during the Revival styles of the early 20th century. Bungalows and Tudor Revival-style houses all make good use of this “clipped” feature.
A jerkinhead gable porch (with faux half-timbering) really makes this bungalow stand out. Castlewood Park, Lexinton, Kentucky.
Let me know if you spot any good jerkinheads in your neighborhood!
I knew jerkin was oft’ used in Shakespeare. Down came the OED. It is a close, short-fitting jacket worn by men in the 15th & 16th century oft made of leather. So the gable is not clipped, it is covered! I continued to read & along came Jerkin Head, Archaic, origin uncertain. “The end of a roof not hipped.” The example is “As if the slope were interrupted.” I boldly propose that if, in the 14th century, you had a straw or thatched roof that was slumping too far over the end of the gable, you might secure it with straps of leather, not unlike your jerkin.
I think that is highly possible – after my husband read the post, he suggested that the roofline looked like a jerkin!
Thank you for such a delightful excursion “down the rabbit hole” with stops at the OED, Scottish churches, and beyond…..absolutely fascinating!!
Thank you for inspiring me to get it written!
If you want to see jerkinhead roofs in another state, Preservation in Mississippi did a similar post several years ago, illustrated with examples from the Magnolia State: “MissPres Architectural Word of the Week: Jerkinhead Gable” – https://misspreservation.com/2012/05/18/misspres-architectural-word-of-the-week-jerkinhead-gable/
Here is a link to other architectural terms we covered at Preservation in Mississippi, from abacus and bracket to y-tracery and zigzag molding: https://misspreservation.com/misspres-architectural-word-of-the-week/