When a person has been cremated there is the option to have their ashes buried in the churchyard. Ashes must be buried and not scattered or strewn. At Barton-in-Fabis, Gotham, Ratcliffe-on-Soar, and Thrumpton we have an area set aside to bury cremated remains. At Kingston they are buried within the churchyard.
Please be aware, that at Gotham, individual memorials in the ground are not permitted, instead we have a plaque on the wall which records the names and dates of all the ashes that are buried in the Garden of Remembrance there.
At all five of our churches, you do have the option of having the ashes buried in an existing grave. Please talk about this with the person who visits to discuss the funeral service.
The introduction or the alteration of a memorial in a churchyard is a privilege and not a right, and permission in writing must always be obtained before any work is carried out.
Memorials conforming with the following regulations may be introduced into a churchyard or cemetery with the written permission of the Rector who is acting as the Chancellor’s deputy in these matters.
The existence of a memorial which does not conform to these regulations is not of itself a reason for giving permission; each application will be decided on its individual merits. The Rector has no authority to approve any memorial that does not comply with these regulations. For any request for a memorial that is outside these regulations, the family may request that the matter is referred to the Chancellor to consider giving permission; please be aware that there will be an additional cost involved.
- Plaques shall be of a uniform size of 305mm by 305mm, and 51mm thick.
- A hole should not be cut into the plaque in order to take a flower receptacle.
- Receptacles for flowers as a sole memorial instead of a plaque shall be between 200mm and 300mm cubed.
- The stone should be carefully chosen to harmonise with the church building and any other local features. The stone or slate used should have a non-reflective finish, and whilst the surface to be inscribed may have a “fine rubbed” finish, no part of the memorial may be polished.
- Inscriptions must be simple and reverent and must be appropriate in the context of a Christian burial ground. All inscriptions shall be incised or in relief, and may be in black, white or grey. Any other coloured lettering is not permitted. Over-familiar terms are not permitted.
- No symbols are allowed.
- Highlighting or colour-shading of scenes is not permitted, neither are “QR” codes, porcelain portraits, photographs and “photo-blast etching”.
- Any addition to, or amendment of, an inscription must be the subject of a separate permission and must conform to the above rules as well as being consistent with the original inscription.
- No advertisement or trademark may be inscribed upon the memorial.
- The location for the burial of ashes and that of the memorial in the churchyard or cemetery shall be decided by the Rector.
- Plaques will be set slightly below the level of the ground so that a mower can pass over them.
- The cremated area will be cleared regularly, dead flowers removed and holly wreaths cleared within two months.
- If cremated remains are interred in an existing grave, a separate gravestone or memorial is not permitted, though an inscription may be added to an existing gravestone.
Please use this as a guide to what will be allowed in the churchyard, but be aware that you will need to obtain the Rector’s written permission. This is usually dealt with by the Stonemason, who should obtain this permission before commencing any work on the memorial.
These regulations can be downloaded as a PDF file (41 Kb).
Also available to download is the Application form to introduce a memorial (31 Kb); this is also the form to be used for adding an inscription to an existing memorial.
This page was last updated: 8th October 2023
The information given is for general guidance only and is not intended to be a definitive statement of the law or the Church’s practice.
Material used has been adapted from articles on the website of the Church of England.