Lych-gate (A.S. lic or lice, 'a body,' 'corpse'), or CORPSE-GATE, a churchyard gate covered with a roof. It is very common in many parts of England and Wales. The bodies of persons brought for burial are set down under the shelter of the roof while the opening words of the service are read.
Lych-gates are very rare in Scotland; the illustration represents one at Blackford Church, in Perthshire.