This photograph of the lych gate of the
SK4060 : Holy Cross Church (CofE), Morton, Derbyshire was taken from the
SK4060 : Churchyard looking toward
SK4060 : Church Lane.
derbyshireuk.net:
Link
british-history.ac.uk/
Link
For another photograph of the lych gate, click here
SK4060 : Lych Gate.
To the left (northerly) of the picture Church Lane joins the B6014 where
SK4060 : Stretton Road (north-westerly) becomes
SK4060 : Main Road (Easterly).
Some 100metres to the right the lane has a junction with Higham Lane.
Close by (ahead left, just beyond the parked car) is a
SK4060 : Footpath to
SK4060 : Morton Recreation Field.
Lych gate: the word lych comes from the Saxon for ‘dead’ and, in this context, refers to a covered gate with a bench upon which a coffin could be placed until the priest arrived to conduct the burial. The service would begin at the lych gate and the priest and mourners would process to the church and then on to the place of burial. If the mourners could not afford a coffin then the deceased would be wrapped in a shroud.