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

Railings, gates and gate piers, of about 1793.

MATERIALS: wrought-iron gates and railings with overthrows formed from forged bar iron; sandstone and cast-iron gate piers.

PLAN: railings along the south-east side of Abbey Place, the eastern side of Market Place and around the south side of the churchyard (adjoining The Crescent). Gateways 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.

DESCRIPTION: ironwork painted black, with gold urn finials. Including both fire-welded and mechanical joints, the latter being riveted or bolted. The railings are set into a low stone wall with a rounded concrete coping. Each panel is formed by diamond-set bars with spear tips, between a pair of square-section principal posts, with urn finials. The principals have curved braces to the front and rear, set into buttresses to the wall. Each gate is formed by a frame panel of spear bars and urn finials, like those of the railings, but with the addition of a mid-rail and interspersed spikes.

The west and south gateways have square ashlar gate piers raised on chamfered plinths, with incised trefoil-headed panels, twisted curved wrought-iron braces to the rear, and pyramidal tops with crocketed gablets and carved heads. Each of the gate piers of the western gateway supports an ornamental cast-iron gas lamp, converted to electricity, which has a ladder bracket that is terminated to each side by a fleur-de-lys. The north gateway has a pair of octagonal ashlar gate piers with moulded conical caps. The upper hinge of each of the gates of all of these gateways is supported by a curved bracket with an urn finial, that is attached to the stone pier.

Abbey Place has an open gateway formed between two tapered cylindrical cast-iron posts carrying raised square-section posts with tall urn finals, and an overthrow. The square posts are supported by side scroll brackets and the overthrow carries a decorative cylindrical lantern and has two curved bar braces that descend onto the adjacent railings.

Two single gates, hung from similar tapering cast-iron posts to those at Abbey Place, are situated in the length of railings to the east of the south gate, and in the extreme south-east corner.