Gate Piers, Gates, And Boundary Wall To Churchyard St Michael

The gate piers, gates, and boundary wall to the churchyard of St Michael date from the 18th century, although some of the walling may be older. The structure features three piers with a pair of gates and railings, two wooden gates, and boundary walling. The piers are made of limestone ashlar, while the surrounding wall is constructed from squared rubble. The gates are either cast-iron or wooden.

The wall encloses the churchyard and varies in height and form. To the east, it runs north from the Charnel House to the 18th-century piers, consisting of rubble approximately 2.5 meters high with a brick coping. This is followed by an ashlar pier and a wooden pedestrian gate that returns westward to connect with a pair of 18th-century ashlar rusticated piers. These piers have offset chamfered plinths and moulded cappings that support decorative urns on square bases. The pair of iron gates features plain vertical bars and dog bars with a dropped head and segmental strutting.

To the north of the churchyard, the wall is made of squared and coursed stone with saddle-back coping, standing about 5 meters above the pavement. This section leads to a small wooden gate in the northwest corner, with a similar section running south that has chamfer-edge coping with a flat top. The height of this section varies with the slope of the road, leading to a wooden gate on three stone steps. Beyond this, the wall connects to a high wall belonging to The Chantry at the southwest corner. The south wall includes a higher section adjacent to The Chantry, followed by a lower part with saddle-back coping and an iron gate with an overthrow, located opposite the north doorway to The Chantry. The final section of the enclosure is formed by the north wall of Dean's Orchard. While modest, this structure is important to the overall ensemble of the church and its surroundings.