Wednesday 09 December
The book I’m reading at the moment, yes another ghost story, makes mention of the lychgate at the local church in the story.
I have really never paid much attention to lychgates before now. I have never noticed them before, I’m not a church goer and even then, the focus tends to be on the church itself.
Before reading the book I certainly never knew that they were erected in the past to shelter the corpses before they could be buried. Later they became more elaborate with slated rooves seats for the pallbearers.
The word ‘lych’ derives from Saxon word for corpse. It can be found in street names such as Lyke Way, Bier (burial) Road and so on. Even Corpse Roads exist. These were the routes that burial processions would take on their way to the cemetery.
Folklore suggests that the gates would hold the spirit of the last corpse to have ‘waited’ there and wouldnt be released until the next body arrived.
The Bald Birder 