Compound pier

{{Short description|Clustered column or pier which consists of a centre mass or newel}}

File:Vittala Temple, Vijayanagara, Karnataka, India ei1176.jpg of the Vitthala Temple in Hampi, south India.]]

Compound pier or cluster pier is the architectural term given to a clustered column or pier which consists of a centre mass or newel, to which engaged or semi-detached shafts have been attached, in order to perform (or to suggest the performance of) certain definite structural objects, such as to carry arches of additional orders, or to support the transverse or diagonal ribs of a vault, or the tie-beam of an important roof. In these cases, though performing different functions, the drums of the pier are often cut out of one stone. There are, however, cases where the shafts are detached from the pier and coupled to it by annulets at regular heights, as in the Early English period.{{EB1911|inline=y|wstitle=Compound Pier|volume=6|page=813}}

Compound piers can often be found in Romanesque cathedrals{{sfn|Hoey|1989|p=258}} of France and Norman architecture of England, including cathedrals of Durham, Winchester, Ely, and Peterborough. The Gothic evolution of the idea is frequently called a clustered column or cluster column.{{Britannica URL|technology/compound-pier|Compound pier}}