Stile, Lychgate And Former Mortuary Adjoining Lychgate At South About 20 Metres South East Of The Church Of St Morwenna

SS 21 NW MORWENSTOW MORWENSTOW

1/107 Stile, lychgate and former - mortuary adjoining lychgate at south about 20m south-east of the Church of St Morwenna GV II

Stile, lychgate and small stone building, formerly used as mortuary. Early C19 stile, probably designed by the Rev. R S Hawker. Lychgate C17 origins, rebuilt C18, former mortuary C19. Stile freestone ashlar and slate, lychgate timber with slate roof, former mortuary stone rubble with slate roof with gabled ends. Stile of single slate raised on edge on 3 stone steps between low freestone walls. South wall of stile adjoins lych gate. Slate roof of lych gate has gabled ends and is carried on timber posts. Rough horizontal planking in gables, probably late C17 curved timber struts to inner side of gables. Central timber post under lych gate; C19 timber pedestrian gates on either side of the post have scissor bracing between upper and lower rails. Simple timber verticals project above the upper rail as finials. Pitched stone paving between posts of lychgate. Former mortuary, now used as store, adjoins the lych gate at the south. Mortuary has east and west gabled ends, east gable end chimney and entrance at east. Small 6-pane timber window on north side. Lych gate was first erected in 1641 and extensively repaired in 1738. In the time of the Reverend R S Hawker (q.v. church and vicarage), poet, antiquary and vicar of Morwenstow from 1835-1874, the mortuary was used for laying out the corpses of drowned sailors, E W F Tomlin, The Church of St Morwenna and John the Baptist, Morwenstow, Cornwall (Bude), 1982. p.6.

Listing NGR: SS2055515266