Novemb e r, 1915 
21 
Though severely plain, the 
head adds finish to the 
down-pipe 
Th e size and shape used depends upon the nature of the facade and the mate¬ 
rial used in the building 
The artistic purpose is to 
give life to the exterior of 
the building 
A NEGLECTED ARCHITECTURAL DETAIL 
Rain-Water Heads and Down-Pipes — Their Relation to the Facade—Color Elaboration — The 
Materials Originally Used and Their Suitability To-day 
HAROLD DONALDSON EBERLEIN 
A FTER all, it is the little things that count. 
A necktie, for instance, is a very little 
thing, but a man that does not wear one is in¬ 
stantly set down as eccentric or boorish, and he 
certainly looks the part. Likewise, a down-pipe 
on the outer wall of a house is a trifling detail 
perhaps, but its presence and character make a 
deal of matter to the appearance of the build¬ 
ing to which it is attached. It can impart dis¬ 
tinction or it can mar the whole wall. It all de¬ 
pends on whether it is good or bad, on the ma¬ 
terial it is made of and the lines on which it is 
fashioned. 
Rain-water heads or tanks at the eaves to 
gather the flow from runnels and gutters, and 
down-pipes to carry the 
roof water to the 
ground, are among the 
most neglected possibili¬ 
ties for giving decorative 
interest and life to the 
exteriors of buildings, 
and yet they are as 
purely utilitarian in their 
origin and function as 
any feature of the house. 
As a rule, the rain¬ 
water head is so insig¬ 
nificant or so carefully 
hidden away within the 
cornice that its existence 
is ignored, while the 
down - pipe is nothing 
less than an eyesore, 
only to be tolerated be¬ 
cause it performs a use¬ 
ful office in certain con¬ 
ditions of the weather. Shutting their eyes 
to their opportunity to do a really good dec¬ 
orative stroke, some architects have put the 
rain-water pipes within the structure — a 
proceeding justifiable enough, perhaps, with cer¬ 
tain architectural types, but nevertheless an eva¬ 
sion of an issue from the straightforward settle¬ 
ment of which they might come off with credit 
if they would insist on having craftsmanship re¬ 
stored to its rightful place, instead of relying 
solely upon the roofer’s ready stock. 
The Tradition of Rain-Water Heads 
It has been said that palladianism was the death 
of craftsmanship in England as far as the making 
of rain-water heads was concerned. This is, in a 
measure, true, and the exuberance of the crafts¬ 
man’s fancy was checked, but, nevertheless, during 
all the Georgian period, rain-water heads of fair 
The utilitarian 
purpose is to 
gather the 
flow from 
runnels and 
gutters 
Above is an elab¬ 
orate type show¬ 
ing the possibili¬ 
ties of ornamen¬ 
tation; below, an 
example of 
pierced work 
design continued to be made, and on this side 
of the Atlantic the tradition persisted and they 
were cast of simple pattern in iron till the early 
years of the last century. During the Tudor 
and Jacobean periods, the craftsman’s fancy 
was allowed free rein, and it is upon the build¬ 
ings of those days that we must look for heads 
and pipes of the richest invention. Georgian 
architecture did not preclude the play of 
originality in this field, but, for obvious rea¬ 
sons, its expression was more restrained. 
Now that Tudor and Jacobean houses are 
multiplying amongst us, it is surely time for 
rain-water heads and down-pipes to “enjoy 
their own again,” and since they may be em¬ 
ployed with equal 
propriety on Georgian 
houses, though in less 
fanciful vein, a plea is 
in season for consider¬ 
ation of their merits 
and confusion to the 
bondage of cast and 
galvanized iron con¬ 
ductors fastened upon 
us by the utilitarian 
roofer and tinsmith of 
the mid-Victorian and 
Centennial epoch of 
horrors. While rain¬ 
water heads and down- 
in copper, pipes do not present 
extremely features Of lines con- 
simple and structional in the strict- 
yet sufficient- r 
ly ornate est SenSe ° f the term - 
they do, nevertheless, 
afford a perfectly 
legitimate field for ornamentation and elab¬ 
oration. 
A Popular Misconception 
Two materials, lead and copper, are preemi¬ 
nently suitable for making heads and pipes. While 
copper is in high favor for exterior metal work, 
the merits of lead for the same uses receive but 
scant recognition either in America or in England, 
where formerly it was much esteemed. This pres¬ 
ent contempt of lead is apparently due partly to 
the pinchbeck spirit that is content with cheap 
and ugly galvanized or cast iron pipe and partly 
to the prejudice of roofers and smiths who regard 
a desire for lead, either as roofing or for rain¬ 
water pipes, as a sure indication of insanity. They 
eschew it for roofing because they cannot lay it 
like copper or tin. Its expansion and contraction 
are so great that if treated in the same manner as 
A classic design 
