GUTTER (OF. gutiere, Fr. goutiere, from OF gote, Fr. goute, drop, from Lat. gutta, drop). An open channel for conveying water from buildings, roads, etc. The Greeks, who constructed their roofs with a simple span, used gutters at the eaves of their buildings, hollowed out of the stone which formed the cornice. These gutters discharged their contents on the ground at intervals through small gargoyles (q.v.), usually in the shape of lions' heads. The Romans followed this example, and also formed gutters with tiles laid in cement. In the Middle Ages the eaves seem to have been left without gutters until, owing to the castles being frequently built on dry, rocky sites, it was found desirable to collect the rain-water and preserve it in cisterns. Stone or wooden eaves, gutters, and pipes were used for this purpose. In ecclesiastical architecture, when the construc tion became complicated, it was necessary to convey the water from the roofs with great care, so as to prevent damage to the building. It was collected at the eaves of the central roof, and by means of well-projected gargoyles, thrown along channels formed in the crest of the but tresses, and so carried beyond the walls of the building, and thrown off through gargoyles in a number of small streams, which dispersed the water before it reached the ground. This acted
well in calm weather, but during storms the water was blown back all over the building, which, in case of its being of a porous stone, softened, and became liable to decay. This led to the use of lead pipes, which carried the water directly to the ground, and discharged it into open gutters. At first, the pipes were used for conveying the water from the main roof to the roof of the side-chapels. whence it was diseharged by gargoyles. Pipes conveying the water to the base of the building were first employed in Eng land, where they seem to have come into use during the fourteenth century. They were formed with great taste, and had ornamental cups or cisterns at the top to receive the water from the mouth of the gargoyle. They were then made square in form, not circular, as they usually now are.
The sides of streets nest the curbstones, or the ditches along roads, in which the surface water flows, are also called gutters.