Tag:amenity=coffin_rest

A coffin rest (also lych stone, bier rest, coffin stand, coffin sill, coffin-resting stone) is a platform on which a coffin rests on its way to or into the graveyard. They were used by the coffin bearers to either allow for a rest from carrying or to overcome a barrier such as a field boundary and to say certain prayers (like the De Profundis). In England and other countries, they can be part of a lych gate (see barrier=lych_gate and man_made=ceremonial_gate). They might be associated with stiles on either side.

In Ireland, they might be at a special tree called "Monument Tree", or the stone(s) can themselves be called "The Monuments", information which is recorded in early Ordnance Survey maps. The field adjoining that place might be called "The Monument Field".

There are related amenities for reusable coffins used by a parish which are more akin to a storage area for an empty parish coffin. Please don't use this tag for them.

How to map

Depending on the size, set a node (preferably on the field boundary/ barrier) or draw the area for the coffin rest with the tag

• amenity=coffin_rest. If it is considered historic, maybe because it has gone out of use, but is a protected structure, add
• historic=coffin_rest.

You might want to add

• material=* - not necessarily stone

and/ or dimensions using

• width=* and length=* in meters.

In certain countries (such as Ireland), they are protected and may be recorded in a heritage database for which you can use the appropriate ref such as

• ref:IE:smr=* (in the Republic of Ireland) - see monument class "coffin-resting stone" (9), but some (also 9 as of 2025-11-08) are only mentioned in the description of the graveyard.

You may also use imagery related tags such as

• image=*
• wikimedia_commons=*
• panoramax=*
• mapillary=* and alternatives

Some might also have their own Wikidata entry which you can add using

• wikidata=*

If you find a photogrammetry scan on Sketchfab, you may use

• url:sketchfab=*

As part of a heritage trail or mass path (historic=mass_path), a coffin rest might also be part of a route or site relation.

Gallery

• 
  Coffin or bier rest, Atherington
  Derek Harper / Coffin or bier rest, Atherington
• 
  Roadside coffin rest in Jeffreyston, Pembrokeshire
  welshbabe, CC BY-SA 2.0, via Wikimedia Commons
• 
  Coffin rest with double stile in a field boundary in County Kilkenny, Ireland
  A.-K. D., CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons
• 
  Lych gate with wooden coffin rest in England
  Trish Steel, CC BY-SA 2.0, via Wikimedia Commons
• 
  Coffin-shaped coffin rest with granite cattle grid (barrier=cattle_grid) on either side
  Sarah Charlesworth / Granite cattlegrid at the entrance to St Levan churchyard (Cornwall)

Could be confused with

• man_made=milk_churn_stand Especially on the roadside, the shape and height of the plinth can be similar. Coffin rests are ideally accessible from either side, however, and milk churn stand sometimes have steps which coffin rests don't. Ask a local or use your own digression.
• mounting block for mounting horses. They are also plinths, but they tend to be lower and probably more likely near a manor house or other meeting place for the hunt. That is not to say that they were never used interchangeably, possibly.

Other weblinks

• Wikimedia category for coffin rests
• Wikidata entry for coffin rest
• Wikidata query for instance of=coffin rest