ame. What's the Difference?A gargoyle is a carving on a building, usually of stone or wood, and is part of the guttering system that helps to prevent water from running down the walls. It expels water by means of a pipe, usually found in the mouth of the carved figure--which can make quite a bit of noise. (The one above is known as the Upside-down Gargoyle because it was carved to show people on the ground the "topside" of a gargoyle.)A grotesque serves the same function as a gargoyle, but there is no pipe in a grotesque. Instead, rain water flows off the head, nose or other protruding part, and stays off the wall.Gargoyles and grotesques are often, but not always, carved in the form of fantastic or imaginary animals or people. A number of our Cathedral carvings memorialize or honor real people, often in a funny way. Our sculptors were always very careful that the carvings were funny, but never mean. Care also has been taken to make sure that no political statements have been made in our carvings. Some carvings depict real animals instead of imaginary ones.Did You Know? Washington National Cathedral has 107 carved stone gargoyles. No one has ever tried to count all of the grotesques - there are just too many ! There are no gargoyles on the east end of Washington National Cathedral - the architect thought they interfered with the design of the building. The modern word "gargle" comes from "gargoyle," and "gargoyle" comes from the French verb "gargoullier" which means "to gurgle." The correct technical name for a grotesque is "buttress gablet termination stone carving." Most of our gargoyles were carved on the ground and installed later, when the construction reached the proper height. However, a few were actually carved in place, or "in situ." Many of our grotesques are actually beautiful angels. There are two hundred and eighty-eight (288) on the west tower pinnacles alone. Four o...
