Slip gate

Slip Gates, also known as Stang Stoops,Yatsteads or Stang Pole Gateways are a form of simple gate that once commonly controlled access to fields, lanes, etc. without the use of a wooden or metal frame built gate with cross-bars and without metal or other forms of hinges. The usually wood spars or stangs were slotted into grooves cut into the stone piers and held firmly in place at one end with wedges and on the other end by being placed in a deep square or circular socket.

The 'Slip Gate' etc. is a refinement of the 'Slap' gate that simply used spars that were slotted into hedgerow trees or dry stone dykes without purpose made piers and as these were still in use in the mid 20th century it is difficult to date when 'Slip Gates' were first used, however all field enclosures required gates and therefore they could date back as far as the Iron Age, however many might be only medieval, whilst others could date from the 19th century Enclosure Acts. The name 'Slip Gate' probably derives from the spars being 'slipped' into place.

Quite apart from the farmers own needs for movement of stock, machines and people between fields and access from roads, lanes etc it was also a requirement for those using rights of way that gates and stiles whilst being stock proof do not "..present troublesome hindrances to passage." The width of the opening was usually enough to allow a pedestrian, a packhorse or a horse and cart through.

The stone used for the piers or stoups ranges from heavy granite, slate or limestone through to lighter more easily worked red sandstone with varying degrees of dressing or finish and decorative embellishment. A typical pier or stoop might be seven foot long in total, sometimes tapering to the top and the grooved side may have a wider face than the sides. The gate pier shape may also be a square sided column.

These piers have to be solidly constructed and set into the ground by at least 2ft 6in. as well as sometimes being packed with stones.

Slip gate piers at the National Museum of Rural Life's Wester Kittochside Farm were two sided with 'L' shaped grooves on one side and square sockets on the other.

The rebated grooves where the wedge was inserted were either 'L' shaped, rarely like a 'Y' with one branch missing or even 'U' shaped. Usually the grooves faced the same direction although some examples (see photograph) have the centre groove facing the other direction that were used between fields so that the centre spar would resist being dislodged from the other side. The grooves were cut quite deeply to reduce the chance of the spar becoming dislodged. The grooves were sometimes neatly cut with the skill of a stonemason or rather roughly formed by farm workers, etc.

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Wikipedia