A stile is a structure or opening that provides passage for humansrather than animals such as

livestock Livestock are the Domestication, domesticated animals that are raised in an Agriculture, agricultural setting to provide labour and produce diversified products for consumption such as meat, Egg as food, eggs, milk, fur, leather, and wool. The t ...

over or through a boundary. Common forms include steps, ladders, or narrow gaps. Stiles are often built in rural areas along

footpath A footpath (also pedestrian way, walking trail, nature trail) is a type of thoroughfare that is intended for use only by pedestrians and not other forms of traffic such as Motor vehicle, motorized vehicles, bicycles and horseback, horses. They ...

fence A fence is a structure that encloses an area, typically outdoors, and is usually constructed from posts that are connected by boards, wire, rails or net (textile), netting. A fence differs from a wall in not having a solid foundation along its ...

wall A wall is a structure and a surface that defines an area; carries a load; provides security, shelter, or soundproofing; or serves a decorative purpose. There are various types of walls, including border barriers between countries, brick wal ...

s, or hedges that enclose domestic animals.

Types

In the United Kingdom many stiles were built under legal compulsion (see Rights of way in the United Kingdom). Recent changes in UK government policy towards farming have encouraged upland landowners to make access more available to the public, and this has seen an increase in the number of stiles and an improvement in their overall condition. However stiles are deprecatedBritish Standard BS5709:2018 Gaps Gates & Stiles () and are increasingly being replaced by

gate A gate or gateway is a point of entry to or from a space enclosed by walls. The word is derived from Proto-Germanic language, Proto-Germanic ''*gatan'', meaning an opening or passageway. Synonyms include yett (which comes from the same root w ...

s or kissing gates or, where the field is arable, the stile removed. Many legacy stiles remain, however, in a variety of forms (as is also the case in the US, where there is no standard). As well as having a variety of forms, modern stiles also sometimes include a 'dog latch' or 'dog gate' to the side of them, which can be lifted to enable a dog to get through. Squeezer stile

Where footpaths cross dry stone walls in England a squeeze stile is sometimes found, a vertical gap in the wall, usually no more than wide, often formed by stone pillars on either side to protect the structure of the wall.

Gallery

File:Hanbury, Worcs, bridge stile 2.jpg, Bridge-shaped stile in

Hanbury, Worcestershire Hanbury is a rural village in Worcestershire, England near Droitwich Spa and the M5 motorway. The population of Hanbury has remained around 1,000 since the early 19th century, and apart from farming and the popular Jinney Ring Craft Centre th ...

File:Ladder stile Snowdonia.jpg, Ladder stile in

Snowdonia Snowdonia, or Eryri (), is a mountainous region and National parks of the United Kingdom, national park in North Wales. It contains all 15 mountains in Wales Welsh 3000s, over 3000 feet high, including the country's highest, Snowdon (), which i ...

File:Stile 02 Ranaghan.jpg, Ranaghan

Westmeath County Westmeath (; or simply ) is a Counties of Ireland, county in Republic of Ireland, Ireland. It is in the Provinces of Ireland, province of Leinster and is part of the Eastern and Midland Region. It formed part of the historic Kingdom of ...

Mass-path Stile File:Stile_line_drawing.jpg, Construction of Ranaghan Mass path Stile File:Stile with dog gate OS SY567846.jpg, Stile with dog gate File:WoodenStile.JPG, Low-level stile File:Step Stile - geograph.org.uk - 315602.jpg, A step stile in the

Lake District National Park The Lake District, also known as ''the Lakes'' or ''Lakeland'', is a mountainous region and National parks of the United Kingdom, national park in Cumbria, North West England. It is famous for its landscape, including its lakes, coast, and mou ...

File:RoadsideStile.jpg, Modern roadside stile in Sweden File:KentStile.jpg, A wooden stile in

Kent Kent is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in South East England. It is bordered by Essex across the Thames Estuary to the north, the Strait of Dover to the south-east, East Sussex to the south-west, Surrey to the west, and Gr ...

File:Clapper stile near Giants Hill, Rampton.jpg, Clapper stile in Rampton, Cambridgeshire

References

{{Reflist Architectural elements Types of gates Landscape

Types

Gallery

See also

References