Railings around the north, west and south sides of Selby Abbey Churchyard

Railings, gates, and gate piers dating to about 1793 enclose the north, west, and south sides of Selby Abbey Churchyard. The railings and gates are constructed from wrought iron, with decorative elements formed from forged bar. The gate piers incorporate sandstone and cast iron.

The railings run along the south-east side of Abbey Place, the eastern side of Market Place, and around the south side of the churchyard, which adjoins The Crescent. Gateways are located at the north-west corner (Abbey Place), northern, western, and southern entrances to the churchyard, in the south-east quadrant, and in the south-east corner. The ironwork is painted black with gold urn finials, and incorporates both fire-welded and mechanical joints, with the latter riveted or bolted. The railings are set into a low stone wall with a rounded concrete coping. Each panel of railing is formed by diamond-set bars with spear tips, positioned between square-section principal posts featuring urn finials. The principal posts have curved braces to the front and rear, set into buttresses of the wall. The gates consist of a frame of spear bars and urn finials, similar to the railings, but with the addition of a mid-rail and interspersed spikes.

The west and south gateways have square gate piers of ashlar stone, raised on chamfered plinths and featuring incised trefoil-headed panels. These piers have twisted, curved wrought-iron braces to the rear, and pyramidal tops with crocketed gablets and carved heads. Gas lamps, converted to electricity, are mounted on the piers of the western gateway, each accompanied by a ladder bracket terminating in a fleur-de-lys. The north gateway has a pair of octagonal ashlar gate piers with moulded conical caps. A curved bracket with an urn finial, attached to the stone piers, supports the upper hinge of each gate.

At Abbey Place, an open gateway is formed between two tapered cylindrical cast-iron posts, carrying raised square-section posts with tall urn finials and an overthrow. The posts are supported by scroll brackets, and the overthrow is topped with a decorative cylindrical lantern and two curved bar braces that descend onto the adjacent railings. Two single gates, hung from tapering cast-iron posts similar to those at Abbey Place, are also present in the length of railings to the east of the south gate, and in the extreme south-east corner.