In architecture, a gargoyle is a carved stone grotesque, usually made of granite, with a spout designed to convey water from a roof and away from the side of a building thereby preventing rainwater from running down masonry walls and eroding the mortar between. Architects often used multiple gargoyles on buildings to divide the flow of rainwater off the roof to minimize the potential damage from a rainstorm. Gargoyles are usually an elongated fantastic animal because the length of the gargoyle determines how far water is thrown from the wall. [Source]
A grotesque is a sculpture that does not work as a waterspout and serves only an ornamental or artistic function. Both gargoyles and grotesques are said to frighten off and protect those it guards from any evil or harmful spirits.
As an architectural sculpture I find gargoyles and grotesques fascinating. Whether ornamental or functional, their symbolism and ability to stir the emotions of those that gaze upon them is intriguing. Below you will find a collection of gargoyles and grotesques around the world. You can find many more examples on Flickr and Wikimedia Commons.
1. Oakland Cemetery – Atlanta, Georgia
2. San Juan de los Reyes Monastery – Toledo, Spain
3. Natural History Museum – London, England
4. Notre Dame Cathedral – Paris, France
5. Cologne Cathedral – Cologne, Germany
6. Cathedral of Quito – Quito, Ecuador
7. Palau de la Generalitat de Catalunya – Barcelona, Spain
8. Forbidden City – Beijing, China
9. Mont Saint-Michel – Normandy, France
10. Washington National Cathedral – Washington D.C., USA
11. St. Nicholas Church – Lüneburg, Germany
12. Peace Tower on Parliament Hill – Ottawa, Canada
13. Marble Church, Bodelwyddan – Clwyd, Wales
14. Cologne Cathedral – Cologne, Germany
15. Notre Dame Cathedral – Paris, France
16. Reims Cathedral – Reims, France
17. University of Washington – Seattle, Washington
18. University of Sydney – Sydney, Australia
19. Château d’Amboise – Amboise, France
20. Alcobaça Monastery – Alcobaça, Portugal
21. Washington National Cathedral – Washington D.C., USA
22. Princeton University – New Jersey, USA
23. Winchester Cathedral – Winchester, England
24. Biltmore Estate – North Carolina, USA
25. Nidaros Cathedral – Trondheim, Norway
26. Cathedral of Santa Eulalia – Barcelona, Spain
27. Palma Cathedral – Palam, Mallorca, Spain
28. Magdalen College – Oxford, England
29. Zagreb Cathedral – Zagreb, Croatia
30. Washington National Cathedral – Washington D.C., USA
31. Hospital de Sant Pau – Barcelona, Spain
32. Westminster Abbey – London, England
33. Château d’Amboise – Amboise, France
34. Palau de la Generalitat de Catalunya – Barcelona, Spain
35. St Mary’s Cathedral – Edinburgh, Scotland
36. Notre Dame Cathedral – Paris, France
37. Notre Dame de l’Épine – Marne, France
38. Plummer Building – Rochester, Minnesota
39. Cheshire, England
40. Notre Dame Cathedral – Paris, France
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