The Porch of Beckenham Church-yard.
The Porch of Beckenham Church-yard.
Beyond the Lich-gate stand ten ancient yews—
Branching so high they seem like giant mutes,
With plumes, awaiting rich men’s funerals
And poor men’s bury’ngs:—stretching, over all,
An arch of triumph for Death’s victories.
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Over the wickets to many of the church-yards in Kent is a shed, or covered way, of ancient structure, used as a resting-place for funerals, and for the shelter of the corpse until the minister arrives to commence the service for the dead. This at Beckenham is one of the most perfect in the county: the footway beyond, to the great entrance-door of the church, is canopied by a grove of trees, “sad sociate to graves.” These old church-yard buildings, now only seen in villages, were formerly called lich-gates, and the paths to them were called lich-lanes, or lich-ways.
The word lich signified a corpse. Hence the death-owl was anciently called the lich-owl.
The shrieking Litch-owl, that doth never cry
But boding death, and quick herself inters
In darksome graves, and hollow sepulchres.
Drayton.