A lychgate, also spelled lichgate, lycugate, lyke-gate or as two separate words lych gate, (from Old English lic, corpse), also wych gate, is a gateway covered with a roof found at the entrance to a traditional English or English-style churchyard. The name resurrection gate is also used. Examples exist also outside the British Isles in places such as Newfoundland, the Upland South and Texas in the United States, Australia, New Zealand, South Africa, Norway, and Sweden. Etymology The word lych survived into modern English from the Old English or Saxon word for corpse, mostly as an adjective in particular phrases or names, such as lych bell, the hand-bell rung before a corpse; lych way, the path along which a corpse was carried to burial (this in some districts was supposed to establish a right-of-way); lych owl, the screech owl, because its cry was a portent of death; and lyke-wake, a night watch over a corpse (see Lyke-Wake Dirge). It is cognate with the modern German Leiche, Dutch lijk and lichaam, West Frisian lyk and Swedish lik, all meaning "corpse". Description Lychgates consist of a roofed porch-like structure over a gate, often built of wood. 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. They sometimes have recessed seats on either side of the gate itself, for the use of pall-bearers or vigil watchers. Lychgates followed a somewhat predictable pattern, though great variations in form could be seen. Typically, they were gable or hipped roofed, often with benches where mourners could sit, or with a lych-stone, coffin-stool or trestle, upon which a coffin could be rested.The most common form of lychgate is a simple shed composed of a roof with two gabled ends, covered with tiles or thatch. At Berrynarbor, Devon, there is a lychgate in the form of a cross, while at Troutbeck, Westmorland, there are three lychgates to one churchyard. Some elaborate gates have chambers over them. In Texas and the South of the US, lychgates are simpler in construction, usually consisting of a steel or wooden span with a sign showing the name of the burial space. Dates of surviving lychgates Most were built from around the mid-15th