Cemetery regulations

There are areas in the cemetery for some religions. The religions are the Church of England, the Roman Catholic Church, Jewish and Muslim faiths. Sometimes we cannot do all the religious things at burials. The office can help to explain what we can do.

In sections of the Cemetery where there is a religion in place the burial should follow rules if we can.

Burials of all types will follow rules and law. These can take place between 10.15am and 2.45pm, Monday to Friday. No burials of any type can take place on Saturday, Sunday, Good Friday, Christmas Day or on Public Holidays.

The time given for a burial of any type is that time that the funeral should arrive at the cemetery entrance. The Funeral Director or person in charge of the funeral must do what the manager or cemetery staff ask.

All types of burials need an appointment. The office should have the correct paperwork at least 5 working days before the funeral. The cemetery should have the coffin size on the paperwork. The paperwork is called the Notice of Interment. The cemetery office can post or email the paperwork. Anyone can get the paperwork from the office when it is open. You can send the paperwork to the office by email, post or bring it to the office. Sometimes we need to change the owner of the grave to allow a burial to happen. If we need to change the grave owner we will need to do this before the burial. We can only make the appointment for the burial when we have finished changing the owner. Sometimes we cannot change the owners of a grave. If we cannot change owners of a grave the grave cannot be used for any burials.

The paperwork should be complete before the burial can go ahead. The office will check to make sure everything is o.k. The office can help to complete forms.

If there is an emergency the Regulations 14 and 16 might not be followed for public health.

The cemetery does not arrange for a religious person or speaker to speak or do the services. This will need to be done and paid for by the funeral director. If there is no funeral director the person arranging the funeral can do this.

You can use the cemetery church for twenty-five minutes. More time might be allowed with permission from cemetery manager. You can ask for more time in the church. You will need to be ask this at least 5 working days before the funeral. There might be an extra charge for this. Sometimes we cannot allow extra time if there are other funerals.

You can have any religious service. Other ceremonies will need permission from the cemetery manager. Burials can happen without a ceremony or service.

You should give to the cemetery office the certificate from the Registrar of Births and Deaths or the Coroners Order for burial. Or an official copy of these. You need to give these to the office at least 5 working days before the burial.

If you are trying to arrange a burial of any type without the right certificate, or order, you will need to make a written declaration on the right form. This needs to follow the rules for Section1 (1) of the Births and Deaths Registration act 1926.

You will need a certificate from the crematorium that did the cremation to bury ashes. You will need to give this to the cemetery office.

If the cremation happened at Sutton Road crematorium the office will should have the certificate.

We will need the Medical Practitioner Certificate of Delivery of a Non-Viable Foetus If there is a burial of foetuses (some types of small babies).

Every body that comes to the cemetery for a burial will need to be in a proper coffin or casket. The material of the coffin or casket needs to be able to naturally break down in the ground. The coffin needs to have a proper marker showing the correct name of the person in the coffin or casket.

The funeral director or the person arranging this needs people to carry the coffin. The coffin is carried from the hearse into the Chapel or church. The coffin is also carried or to the grave or vault. All burials need this. This needs to be done sensibly. The cemetery does not have people available to do this.

Only council cemetery workers can make a grave or vault ready for burial.

No body should be buried in a grave when any part of the coffin is less than 3'0" below the level of the ground around the grave. If we can't do this, we might allow a coffin to be buried no less than 2'0" below the level of any ground around the grave.

The lawn graves at Sutton Road are at most 4" wide. Equipment we use to make the grave ready will make the grave space for the burial smaller. Coffins or caskets that are 2' 6" wide, or bigger, will need to be checked by the cemetery manager. Sometimes we cannot fit a coffin into an older, or pre-bought grave. If this happens we will need to find a new grave space. The cemetery office needs the correct outside size of a coffin or casket. This should include handles or other things on the outside of the coffin or casket.

Sometimes headstones, gravestones or memorials on the grave will need to be moved. The cemetery staff will move these to a safe space near the grave if they can. If we cannot move the items, the funeral director or person arranging the funeral needs a memorial mason to move these things. The office will let the right person know if this needs to be done. Some stones will need to stay off the grave for at least 12 months. Only a qualified memorial mason can put this back. This will need to be arranged and paid for by the grave owner.

The cemetery will need At least 6" of space between any other coffin or casket in the grave. No body should be buried in a grave unless the coffins have enough space

When any grave is reopened no one should touch or move any human remains or ashes already in or on the grave.

Within 24 hours of any burial in a vault, the coffin will be:

• covered all over in concrete at least 6" thick, or:
• kept in a separate area of brick, slate, stone flagging, or precast concrete slabs of a 1:2:4 mix at least 2" thick. This is to be done in a way to try to stop the escape of any gas from the inside of the coffin or casket space

No body or cremated remains can be removed from a grave or vault without the correct document. Ecclesiastical faculty (church permission) and/or licence for exhumation (digging up to remove the person) required by law. The original documents will be required for this.

For public health, the manager may order a coffin to be taken straight to the grave. This means that it is not allowed in the cemetery church or other council buildings.

If the manager has good reason they can stop people from coming into the cemetery, buildings, or to funerals.