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Monument Types

• LYCH GATE (MEDIEVAL - 1066 AD to 1539 AD (between))
• LYCH GATE (POST MEDIEVAL - 1540 AD to 1900 AD (between))

Associated Events

• Cathedral roundabout (Ref: WCM101135)

Full description

Medieval ecclesiastical precinct gatehouse.

This gate offered pedestrian access through the Lich Street frontage to the cathedral via the Lay Cemetery (WCM 96385). A timber-framed structure, it was an integral part of the housing on Lich Street, and in the 19th century it was part of the Punch Bowl Inn. Noake thought it was of early 16th-century date {1}.

The Lich Gate survived until the clearance of the south side of Lich Street in the 1950s. Illustrations show the north elevation of the Lich Gate in detail. The passageway was open to the full height of the ground and first floors of the buildings either side, and a timber frame supported a chamber jettied out over it at second-floor level on plain curved brackets. Substantial curved braces rose to support the principal posts on the east side of the passage and suggest that the frame was probably medieval {2}.

Cross-reference to: 96352, The College Gates

need to add references to illustrations
consider potential for survival of remains

Cross-reference to: 96385, The Lay Cemetery

Sources and further reading

Related records

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