Stockade

Stockade

A stockade is an enclosure of palisades and tall walls made of logs placed side by side vertically with the tops sharpened to provide security.

Stockade as a security fence

Stockade fortifications were simple forms of defense of military camps or settlements, used since ancient Roman times and earlier. The troops or settlers would build a stockade by clearing a space of woodland and using the trees whole or chopped in half, with one end sharpened on each. They would dig a narrow trench around the area, and stand the sharpened logs side-by-side inside it, encircling the perimeter. Sometimes they would add additional defense by placing sharpened sticks in a shallow secondary trench outside the stockade. In colder regions, sometimes the stockade received a coating of clay or mud that would make the crude wall wind-proof.

Builders could also place stones or thick mud layers at the foot of the stockade, improving the resistance of the wall. From that the defenders could, if they had the materials, raise a stone or brick wall inside the stockade, creating a more permanent defense while working protected.

Stockade as a military prison

The word stockade also refers to a jail in an army camp, and in some cases, even a crude prison camp or a slave camp. In these cases, the stockade keeps people inside, rather than out. Stockades can also be used to put insane people in.

Decorative stockades

Nowadays, stockade walls are often used as garden fencing, made of finished planks more useful for privacy and decoration than security.

See also

* Security fence
* Eureka Stockade


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Look at other dictionaries:

  • Stockade — Stock*ade , n. [F. estacade stockade, boom (confused in French with estocade; see 1st {Stoccado}); fr. It. steccata a palisade (influenced by OF. estach, estaque, a stake, post), or from Sp. estacada a palisade; both of German origin, and akin to …   The Collaborative International Dictionary of English

  • Stockade — Stock*ade , v. t. [imp. & p. p. {Stockaded}; p. pr. & vb. n. {Stockading}.] To surround, fortify, or protect with a stockade. [1913 Webster] …   The Collaborative International Dictionary of English

  • stockade — ► NOUN 1) a barrier or enclosure formed from upright wooden posts. 2) chiefly N. Amer. a military prison. ► VERB ▪ enclose with a stockade. ORIGIN obsolete French estocade, related to STAKE(Cf. ↑stake) …   English terms dictionary

  • stockade — [stä kād′] n. [Fr estacade (also estocade, by assoc. with OFr estoc, trunk, log < Frank * stock, akin to Ger stock: see STOCK) < Prov estacado < estaca, post, stake < Gmc base akin to STAKE] 1. a barrier of stakes driven into the… …   English World dictionary

  • stockade — index bulwark, jail Burton s Legal Thesaurus. William C. Burton. 2006 …   Law dictionary

  • stockade — 1610s, a barrier of stakes, from Sp. estacada, from estaca stake, from a Germanic source (Cf. O.E. staca, see STAKE (Cf. stake) (1)). Meaning prison, especially on a military post first recorded 1865 …   Etymology dictionary

  • stockade — [n] enclosure; jail barrier, cage, camp, can*, cell, clink*, cooler*, coop, corral, detention camp, dungeon, fence, jailhouse, joint*, pen, penal institution, penitentiary, pound, prison, protection, slammer*, sty; concepts 439,448,449,513,516 …   New thesaurus

  • stockade — [[t]stɒke͟ɪd[/t]] stockades N COUNT A stockade is a wall of large wooden posts built around an area to keep out enemies or wild animals. Entry into this inner stockade was by a single, permanently manned gateway …   English dictionary

  • stockade — stock·ade || stÉ‘ keɪd /stÉ’ n. fence comprised of tall stakes placed upright in the ground; wall, enclosure, defense barrier v. surround with a stockade, protect by means of a stockade …   English contemporary dictionary

  • stockade — UK [stɒˈkeɪd] / US [stɑˈkeɪd] noun [countable] Word forms stockade : singular stockade plural stockades a wall made of large wooden posts …   English dictionary

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