In the pre-electricity era, torches were used to illuminate basements or corridors and rooms in stone buildings such as western-style castles or churches, by inserting them into a holder (sconce) which is fixed with a projecting bracket on the upper part of the wall.
西洋の城や教会など石造りの建物や地下室では、電気のない時代、廊下や部屋に明かりを投げかけるために、壁の高いところに腕木で突き出させた燭台（sconce、突出し燭台）にたいまつを挿すこともあった。