A turret is a small tower projecting from the wall or corner of a larger building, often rising above the roofline and sometimes supported on corbels rather than reaching the ground. Turrets may contain staircases or small rooms, serve as lookout points, or simply add ornament and a picturesque silhouette.
In medieval castles turrets provided defensive positions and housed spiral stairs leading to the wall walks. With the decline of fortification they became decorative features, and Tudor gatehouses, Scottish tower houses and French chateaux made striking use of round and polygonal turrets crowned with conical roofs or battlements. The Gothic Revival and Scottish Baronial styles of the nineteenth century brought the turret back into fashion, and it appears on Victorian country houses, schools, railway stations and suburban villas. The word is also used for the small tower holding a bell or a turret clock, a large mechanical clock built to drive external dials on churches, stables and public buildings. Architectural salvage dealers sometimes handle turret clock movements, weather vanes, finials and lead or copper roof elements from turrets, which are valued for their age, scale and craftsmanship.
