Lychgate
A
lychgate or
lichgate is a covered open structure found at the entrance to a churchyard.
The first part of the name derives from the
Saxon word
lych "corpse". In the
Middle Ages most people were buried in just
shrouds rather than
coffins, the dead were carried to the lychgate and placed on a
bier, where the priest conducted the first part of the funeral service under its temporary shelter.
Most were built from around the mid
15th century although some date from earlier, including the
13th century lychgate of St George's churchyard in
Beckenham,
south London, claimed to be the oldest in
England[Brewer's Britain and Ireland, compiled by John Ayto and Ian Crofton, Weidenfeld & Nicolson, 2005, ISBN 0-304-35385-X]. They usually consist of four or six upright wooden posts in a rectangular shape. On top of this are a number of beams to hold a pitched roof covered in
thatch or wooden or clay tiles. They can have decorative carvings and in later times were erected as memorials.
