Editing Stile

{{Use dmy dates|date=August 2021}}
{{Short description|Structure providing passage across a fence}}
{{Other uses}}
[[File:Shetland Stile.jpg|right|thumb|A wooden stile in [[Esha Ness]], [[Shetland]]]]

A '''stile''' is a structure or opening that provides passage for humans{{snd}}rather than animals such as [[livestock]]{{snd}}over or through a boundary. Common forms include [[Stairway|step]]s, [[ladder]]s, or narrow gaps.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/stile|title=Definition of STILE|website=merriam-webster.com|language=en|access-date=5 June 2019}}</ref> Stiles are often built in rural areas along [[footpath]]s, [[fence]]s, [[wall]]s, or [[Hedge (barrier)|hedges]] that enclose domestic animals.<ref>{{Cite magazine|url=https://www.countrylife.co.uk/country-life/country-crossings-stile-guide-128113|title=Country crossings: a stile guide|date=8 September 2016|magazine=Country Life|language=en-GB|access-date=5 June 2019}}</ref>

==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.{{cn|date=June 2023}} However stiles are [[deprecate]]d<ref>British Standard BS5709:2018 Gaps Gates & Stiles ({{ISBN|978 0 580 98210 1}})</ref> and are increasingly being replaced by [[gate]]s or [[kissing gate]]s 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.

[[File:Squeezer stile. - geograph.org.uk - 110502.jpg|right|thumb|A squeeze stile]]
Where footpaths cross [[dry stone wall]]s in England a '''squeeze stile''' is sometimes found, a vertical gap in the wall, usually no more than {{convert|25|cm}} wide, often formed by stone pillars on either side to protect the structure of the wall.

==Gallery==
<gallery>
File:Hanbury, Worcs, bridge stile 2.jpg|Bridge-shaped stile in [[Hanbury, Worcestershire]]
File:Ladder stile Snowdonia.jpg|Ladder stile in [[Snowdonia]]
File:Stile 02 Ranaghan.jpg|Ranaghan [[Westmeath]] 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]]
File:RoadsideStile.jpg|Modern roadside stile in Sweden
File:KentStile.jpg|A wooden stile in [[Kent]]
File:Clapper stile near Giants Hill, Rampton.jpg|Clapper stile in [[Rampton, Cambridgeshire]]
</gallery>

==See also==
{{Commons category | Stiles }}
{{Wiktionary|stile}}
* [[Cattle grid]]
* [[Kissing gate]]
* [[Mass path]]
* [[Rambler gate]]
* [[Turnstile]]

==References==
{{Reflist}}

[[Category:Architectural elements]]
[[Category:Types of gates]]
[[Category:Landscape]]