Garret

A garret is a habitable attic or small and often dismal or cramped living space at the top of a house. In the days before lifts (elevators) this was the least prestigious position in a building, and often had sloping ceilings.






History

In the later 1800s, garrets became one of the defining features of Second Empire architecture in Paris, France, where large buildings were stratified socially between different floors, as the number of stairs to climb increased. Garrets were very often internal elements of the mansard roof, often with skylights or dormer windows.[citation needed]

A 'bow garret' is a two-storey 'outhouse' situated at the back of a typical terraced house often used in Lancashire for the hat industry in pre-mechanised days. 'Bowing' was the name given to the technique of cleaning up animal (e.g. rabbit) fur in the early stages of preparation for turning it into hats. What is now believed to be the last bow garret in existence has now been listed in order to preserve this historical relic.