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The lychgate to St Luke's church in Duston on the outskirts of Northampton. The word "lychgate" comes from the Middle English "lych" which itself derives from the Anglo Saxon "lic" meaning corpse; this is because in mediaeval times the corpse awaiting burial - often simply covered with a shroud - would be rested on a bier beneath this gateway until the priest arrived to conduct the service, the roofed gateway keeping the "lych" dry.