Churchyard Wall And Railings To Church Of St Andrew, Lych Gates And Grave Covers

The churchyard wall and railings surrounding the Church of St Andrew in Bishop Auckland feature lych gates at the north and southeast, gates at the south, and medieval grave covers at the south. The wall is constructed from a mix of materials, incorporating medieval fabric and 17th-century brick coping. The northern part of the wall has been rebuilt, and railings were added in the late 19th century. The northern lych gate, dating from around 1893, was built for W G Selwyn, a priest, while the southeast lych gate dates from about 1888 and was created for H J Trotter. The wall is primarily made of rubble, with the northern lych gate having a synthetic tile roof and the southern lych gate featuring a stone slate roof. The gate piers are made of ashlar stone. The railings are crafted from cast and wrought iron, with the layout forming a long triangle that has a rounded southern end, where the wall acts as a retaining wall. The northern section has spear-headed railings, many of which are damaged. The northern lych gate is of very high quality, featuring substantial pegged construction and long inscriptions carved into the beams, with a similar design at the southeast gate. The southern gate piers are square and made of ashlar, topped with low pyramidal coping. The wall ramps up to the gate piers, and on this ramped section, medieval coped grave covers have been placed as coping flanking the piers. There is also a medieval relieving arch to the left of the gate, located halfway up the wall below the ground level of the churchyard.