For the wealthy members of medieval English village society a burial inside the village church, close to the altar was, they believed, the passport to total immortality. To the poor on the other hand it meant nothing but total anonymity. An unmarked grave.

From 1549, the lych-gate became a common feature of the English village church. Although they may now be regarded as merely quaint, they were once an integral part of English church history.

Church doors, many of which date back to Saxon times, are a good indicator to the age and history of an English parish church.