More than 500 historic places have been added to the National Heritage List for England in 2019, and this includes the Lych Gate and Coffin Rest at The Church of St Michael and All Angels, Brampton Abbotts, Herefordshire.

The lych gate and coffin rest at the Grade II* listed Church of St Michael and All Angels dates from 1931 and was designed in an Arts and Crafts gothic style by leading ecclesiastical architect WD Caroe. Built of stone and timber under a stone slate roof, it forms a picturesque and welcoming entrance to the medieval churchyard. Above the arch is an inscription which reads “I am the way.”

Lych gates are the ornamental gateways which lead to churchyards. They symbolise the threshold between the secular and sacred zones of a parish and serve a practical function of storing a coffin before burial. Their name derives from the Anglo-Saxon or German word for corpse: lich, or leiche.

Lych gates were used as a meeting point and shelter for mourners. The group would convene beneath it and would be met by the priest prior to entering the consecrated churchyard for the funeral service. Some lych gates have a slab or rest specifically to hold the coffin, and many also have benches.

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