An undercroft is traditionally a cellar or storage room,
History
While some were used as simple storerooms, others were rented out as shops. For example, the undercroft rooms at
Myres Castle in
Fife,
Scotland, of were used as the medieval kitchen and a range of stores. Many of these early medieval undercrofts were vaulted or
Groin-vault, such as the vaulted chamber at
Beverston Castle in
Gloucestershire or the groined stores at Myres Castle. The term is sometimes used to describe a
crypt beneath a church, used for burial purposes. For example, there is a 14th-century undercroft or crypt extant at
Muchalls Castle in
Aberdeenshire in
Scotland, even though the original chapel above it was destroyed in an act of war in 1746.
Undercrofts were commonly built in England and Scotland throughout the thirteenth and early fourteenth centuries. They occur in cities such as London, Chester, Coventry and Southampton. The undercroft beneath the Houses of Parliament in London was rented to the conspirators behind the Gunpowder Plot.
Modern usage
In modern buildings, the term undercroft is often used to describe a ground-level parking area that occupies the footprint of the building (and sometimes extends to other service or garden areas around the structure). This type of parking is, however, discouraged by some
urban design guidelines, as it prevents the ground floor from having activities (shops, restaurants or similar) that provide for a lively streetscape.
[ The Edinburgh Standards for Urban Design, Section 3.4 (from the City of Edinburgh Council website. Retrieved 2008-10-11.)]
See also
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The Undercroft, Guildford
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The Undercroft, Southbank Centre – skateboarding and graffiti centre in London
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Void deck
