GUTTER, in architecture, a horizontal channel or trough contrived to carry away the water from a flat or sloping roof to its discharge down a vertical pipe or through a spout or gargoyle; more specifically, but loosely, the similar channel at the side of a street. In Greek and Roman temples the cymatium of the cornice was the gutter, and the water was discharged through the mouths of carved lions' heads. In mediaeval work the gutter rested on the top of the wall or on a corbel table, and the water was discharged through gargoyles. Sometimes, however, a parapet or pierced balustrade was carried outside the gutter. In many build ings the parapet is only a continuation of the wall below, and the gutter is set back and carried in a trough resting on the lower end of the roof timbers. The most practical form is an eaves gutter which projects more or less in front of the wall and is secured to and carried by the rafters of the roof. In French Renaissance work the gutter is frequently concealed behind a rich cresting in stone, lead or copper at the edge of the main cornice. (See also