The examples I have found are nothing like as fancy or attractive as those Nicoll doodads, but the function is the same.

http://store.dunnlum.com/builderwire20/common/store/itemdeta...

Photo 3 shows the foundation vent well at the right of the rear door that is allowing water to enter the crawlspace due to no seal between the vent well and the brick veneer wall.
www.dddinspection.com/3D sample report.pdf


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Note added at 1 hr (2008-03-08 14:50:19 GMT)
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Could the person who posted "window well" reinstate it please? I found it interesting, and I think it is a valuable contribution to the discussion here, and might point someone in the right direction for a similar expression one day.

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Note added at 1 hr (2008-03-08 14:52:43 GMT)
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It was Cherry Pie and I still had it in my RAM (or somewhere) so here it is:

window well (small)

Examples here: http://www.coverwell.com/html/testimonials.html

(These photos should resemble the pictures you've already seen.)

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Note added at 47 mins (2008-03-08 14:18:04 GMT)
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I know from personal experience that a "cour anglaise" is a window well, so I reasoned that a "courette anglaise" would be a small one.

Here are some pictures I found of "courettes anglaises": http://images.google.com/images?client=safari&rls=en&q="co.....

"Cour anglaise" is down in the GDT as "window well" as well (http://w3.granddictionnaire.com/btml/fra/r_motclef/index800_...

While it's true that the "ette" suffix doesn't necessarily mean this is a small version of a "cour anglaise," the (few) pictures do seem to confirm.

Also found this: "Sur nicoll.fr, consultez notre gamme Courette anglaise équipée de grille d'aération pour la ventilation des vides sanitaires, caves et sous-sols..."