Ashlar

Ashlar, or ASHLER, building-stone squared and hewn, as distinguished from rubble or rough stones which are used as they come from the quarry without being dressed. Ashlar is laid in regular courses in building, and is of various kinds, according to the style of working that side of the stone which is to form the facing of the wall. Thus there are tooled ashlar—the marks of the tooling being either random or in grooves; polished ashlar, in which the face of the stone is rubbed smooth; and rustic ashlar, in which only the joints are accurately hewn, the face of the stone being left projecting irregularly. Quarriers apply the term ashlar to squared stones before being hewn. The word is derived through the old Fr. uiseler, from Lat. axillaris, which is from axilla, a diminutive of axis, 'axle,' 'plank.' In old documents, the term appears under a variety of forms, such as achlere, ashelar, aslure, and estlar.