I was reading my book last night (see "What I'm Reading Now" in the right hand column), and one of the characters was sitting on a "stile". That made me wonder, "What is a stile?". According to Wikipedia, "A stile is a structure which provides people a passage through or over a fence or boundary via steps, ladders, or narrow gaps. Stiles are often built in rural areas or along footpaths to allow access to an adjacent field or area separated by a fence, wall or hedge."
These first two stiles are crossing Hadrians Wall in England. There are many different styles of stiles.
This last one has a dog gate that you can lift up to let your dog through the fence.
And that is what a stile is. Since my grandmothers maiden name was Stiles, I can't help but wonder if there is a connection somehow.
2 comments:
I think Stiles was an English family name. There are a lot of cross country walking paths in that part of the world where stiles would be quite helpful.
very interesting! Perhaps we come from plumbers and stile builders!
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