Corpse Paths.

Corpse paths were ancient routes that people used to transport the dead from remote villages to churches or cemeteries that had the right to bury them. These paths often followed a straight line, regardless of the terrain, and sometimes passed through houses or fields. They were believed to be haunted by the spirits of the deceased, who could not rest until they reached the sacred ground.

Corpse paths have different names in different regions of Britain, such as bier road, burial road, coffin line, coffin road, corpse way, funeral road, lych way, lyke way or procession way. The word Lych comes from the Old English word for corpse, and a lych gate is a covered entrance to a churchyard where the coffin would be placed before the burial service.

Corpse paths were created because many new churches that were built in remote areas did not have permission to bury their own parishioners. The mother churches or minsters that had the burial rights wanted to keep their authority and revenue, so they forced people to carry their dead for long distances, sometimes across mountains, valleys and marshes. Only wealthy individuals could afford to have their corpses transported by horse and carriage.

Some of the corpse paths still exist today as footpaths and trails, and some have markers such as crosses or coffin stones along the way. Coffin stones were flat stones where the bearers could rest the coffin and take a break from their exhausting journey. Some of these stones have grooves or holes that were said to be made by the dripping of corpse fluids or the rubbing of ropes.

Some examples of corpse paths in Britain are as follows:

The Black Mountain corpse road in Carmarthenshire, Wales, where miners who died in the mines around Brynamman were carried over the mountain to their home in Llandduesant for burial. The path passes by a Bronze Age burial cairn and offers stunning views of the landscape.

The Lych Way in Devon, England, where farmers from isolated settlements on Dartmoor had to walk 12 miles to reach St Petroc’s Church in Lydford. The path crosses the heart of the moor and passes by ancient stone rows, hut circles and a mysterious oak forest called Wistman’s Wood.

The Buttermere Corpse Road in Cumbria, England, where people from Buttermere, Loweswater and Lorton had to carry their dead to St Bees Priory or St Micheal’s Church in Lamplugh. The path runs along the lakes of Loweswater and Crummock Water and through a tunnel under the Honister Pass.