What's up with this archaic usage of “leads”?












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I'm reading Bleak House by Charles Dickens right now, and I came upon this bit, describing Mr. Tulkinghorn walking out on a parapet or balcony from his turret room in an old manor house: "...he opens the French window and steps out upon the leads. There he again walks slowly up and down..."



And later: "The stars are shining as they shone above the turret-leads at Chesney Wold."



Has anyone heard this usage of "leads" before? I can't seem to find this sense anywhere else, and the OED doesn't have anything either. One guess I have is that it's shorthand for lead roof tiles. My other is that it's somehow related to "ledge," but I'm not sure that makes much sense.










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  • 2





    I would understand it to refer to the leaded part of a roof that you would find just under a French window, or that would catch the starlight. If you google victorian lead flashing you should be able to find some images.

    – Minty
    yesterday













  • Thanks for the question. OLD defines 'lead': "2.1 (leads) British Sheets or strips of lead covering a roof." As does OED.

    – JEL
    yesterday













  • @Minty Many old buildings, particularly large houses, churches and castles, have rooves completely covered in lead. In particular turrets often have lead rooves even if the main roof is slated or tiled. This is different from flashing which is the lead used to seal a tiled or slated roof to walls, gullies and so on.

    – BoldBen
    yesterday
















0















This is my first Stack Exchange post, so please let me know if there'd be a better place to ask this question!



I'm reading Bleak House by Charles Dickens right now, and I came upon this bit, describing Mr. Tulkinghorn walking out on a parapet or balcony from his turret room in an old manor house: "...he opens the French window and steps out upon the leads. There he again walks slowly up and down..."



And later: "The stars are shining as they shone above the turret-leads at Chesney Wold."



Has anyone heard this usage of "leads" before? I can't seem to find this sense anywhere else, and the OED doesn't have anything either. One guess I have is that it's shorthand for lead roof tiles. My other is that it's somehow related to "ledge," but I'm not sure that makes much sense.










share|improve this question







New contributor




Jarndyce is a new contributor to this site. Take care in asking for clarification, commenting, and answering.
Check out our Code of Conduct.
















  • 2





    I would understand it to refer to the leaded part of a roof that you would find just under a French window, or that would catch the starlight. If you google victorian lead flashing you should be able to find some images.

    – Minty
    yesterday













  • Thanks for the question. OLD defines 'lead': "2.1 (leads) British Sheets or strips of lead covering a roof." As does OED.

    – JEL
    yesterday













  • @Minty Many old buildings, particularly large houses, churches and castles, have rooves completely covered in lead. In particular turrets often have lead rooves even if the main roof is slated or tiled. This is different from flashing which is the lead used to seal a tiled or slated roof to walls, gullies and so on.

    – BoldBen
    yesterday














0












0








0








This is my first Stack Exchange post, so please let me know if there'd be a better place to ask this question!



I'm reading Bleak House by Charles Dickens right now, and I came upon this bit, describing Mr. Tulkinghorn walking out on a parapet or balcony from his turret room in an old manor house: "...he opens the French window and steps out upon the leads. There he again walks slowly up and down..."



And later: "The stars are shining as they shone above the turret-leads at Chesney Wold."



Has anyone heard this usage of "leads" before? I can't seem to find this sense anywhere else, and the OED doesn't have anything either. One guess I have is that it's shorthand for lead roof tiles. My other is that it's somehow related to "ledge," but I'm not sure that makes much sense.










share|improve this question







New contributor




Jarndyce is a new contributor to this site. Take care in asking for clarification, commenting, and answering.
Check out our Code of Conduct.












This is my first Stack Exchange post, so please let me know if there'd be a better place to ask this question!



I'm reading Bleak House by Charles Dickens right now, and I came upon this bit, describing Mr. Tulkinghorn walking out on a parapet or balcony from his turret room in an old manor house: "...he opens the French window and steps out upon the leads. There he again walks slowly up and down..."



And later: "The stars are shining as they shone above the turret-leads at Chesney Wold."



Has anyone heard this usage of "leads" before? I can't seem to find this sense anywhere else, and the OED doesn't have anything either. One guess I have is that it's shorthand for lead roof tiles. My other is that it's somehow related to "ledge," but I'm not sure that makes much sense.







meaning etymology terminology architecture






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Jarndyce is a new contributor to this site. Take care in asking for clarification, commenting, and answering.
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Check out our Code of Conduct.









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  • 2





    I would understand it to refer to the leaded part of a roof that you would find just under a French window, or that would catch the starlight. If you google victorian lead flashing you should be able to find some images.

    – Minty
    yesterday













  • Thanks for the question. OLD defines 'lead': "2.1 (leads) British Sheets or strips of lead covering a roof." As does OED.

    – JEL
    yesterday













  • @Minty Many old buildings, particularly large houses, churches and castles, have rooves completely covered in lead. In particular turrets often have lead rooves even if the main roof is slated or tiled. This is different from flashing which is the lead used to seal a tiled or slated roof to walls, gullies and so on.

    – BoldBen
    yesterday














  • 2





    I would understand it to refer to the leaded part of a roof that you would find just under a French window, or that would catch the starlight. If you google victorian lead flashing you should be able to find some images.

    – Minty
    yesterday













  • Thanks for the question. OLD defines 'lead': "2.1 (leads) British Sheets or strips of lead covering a roof." As does OED.

    – JEL
    yesterday













  • @Minty Many old buildings, particularly large houses, churches and castles, have rooves completely covered in lead. In particular turrets often have lead rooves even if the main roof is slated or tiled. This is different from flashing which is the lead used to seal a tiled or slated roof to walls, gullies and so on.

    – BoldBen
    yesterday








2




2





I would understand it to refer to the leaded part of a roof that you would find just under a French window, or that would catch the starlight. If you google victorian lead flashing you should be able to find some images.

– Minty
yesterday







I would understand it to refer to the leaded part of a roof that you would find just under a French window, or that would catch the starlight. If you google victorian lead flashing you should be able to find some images.

– Minty
yesterday















Thanks for the question. OLD defines 'lead': "2.1 (leads) British Sheets or strips of lead covering a roof." As does OED.

– JEL
yesterday







Thanks for the question. OLD defines 'lead': "2.1 (leads) British Sheets or strips of lead covering a roof." As does OED.

– JEL
yesterday















@Minty Many old buildings, particularly large houses, churches and castles, have rooves completely covered in lead. In particular turrets often have lead rooves even if the main roof is slated or tiled. This is different from flashing which is the lead used to seal a tiled or slated roof to walls, gullies and so on.

– BoldBen
yesterday





@Minty Many old buildings, particularly large houses, churches and castles, have rooves completely covered in lead. In particular turrets often have lead rooves even if the main roof is slated or tiled. This is different from flashing which is the lead used to seal a tiled or slated roof to walls, gullies and so on.

– BoldBen
yesterday










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