Entry to St Andrew's Churchyard is through this very attractive late Victorian Lych-gate (1898) with its oak frame and Welsh slate roof. The front tie beam has a raised inscription in Latin - MORS AD VITAM VIA (Death is the way to life) and is surmounted by a cross. The Lych-gate is part of the Grade 2 listed Churchyard boundary (see below). The details of the listing can be found here.
The Churchyard wall is listed because, although it was likely to have been built in the eighteenth century, some of the stonework (and probably the capstones) is believed to be of medieval origin. Because the Churchyard is at a higher level than the surrounding roads the wall is under severe soil pressure; this combined with encroaching tree roots is causing bulges in places.
The Churchyard is well populated with interesting graves, some more than two hundred years old and consequently well weathered and tricky to read. Here's one of the clearer inscriptions recording the deaths of George Douglas and his family. George died in March 1806 at a good age of 67 and his wife Jane outlived him by a further 9 years dying aged 76 in February 1816. There are lots more to explore if graveyards are your thing!
This is one of the more interesting graves in the church yard. Elizabeth Adamson was the infant schoolmistress for 30 years, but survived for only a fortnight after her retirement. At her request her grave, decorated with this beautifully carved lily, faces west (unlike the majority of the graves which face east); she wanted to be able to see the school.
Miss Adamson in her will made a significant donation towards the construction of the church porch.