Burial

You may have a burial in a Cemetery or a Churchyard.

Churchyards:

  • You have an automatic right to be buried in your own Parish Churchyard provided there is still space for burials.
  • All Church of England churches have set fees for funerals but other fees such as organists, provision of vergers, heating etc. will vary from Church to Church.
  • The Funeral Director will organise a grave-digger to excavate the grave.
  • You never own a grave in a churchyard. The land always belongs to the church and they have their own regulations and fees.
  • There are restrictions on the type of memorial you may have after a Churchyard burial. Only certain types of memorial are allowed – either a headstone for a full burial (No kerb-surrounds are allowed) or a stone tablet laid flat to the ground for cremated remains burials. There are size restrictions on these and you have to choose from a strict list of permitted stones. N.B. Polished Granite or marble is not allowed; only pale grey honed granite, certain limestones, sandstones and slate are permitted currently.
  • Churchyard burials usually work out considerably less expensive than burials in Cemeteries.

Cemeteries:

  • If the burial is to be in a new grave there will be a purchase fee as well as an interment fee. These fees may be at least doubled if the person who has died did not live in the district containing the Cemetery. You do, however, have a much wider choice for memorials.
  • Different areas within Cemeteries allow different types of memorial. Make sure you have the grave in a section where the type of memorial you want will be allowed.
  • Private Parish cemeteries may have their own sets of rules different to Council Cemeteries. The Funeral Director will advise you accordingly.
  • Most Cemeteries have small chapels for holding a funeral service if there is not to be a service held away from the cemetery.
  • If you choose to have a grave-side service be prepared for bad weather.
  • Cemetery graves must have designated grave ‘owners’. Make sure you have family consensus before the funeral as to who this will be; bearing in mind that everything that happens to that grave after the funeral must have the permission of the grave-owner.
  • Local cemeteries do not allow the burial of ‘American style’ metal caskets.
  • Most cemeteries insist on ashes being properly buried in a grave not scattered over it.