Information and Advice for Grave Owners

 

Bereavement Services

 

Please keep this information with your grave papers in a safe place

 

Lawn Cemetery

All new graves within our cemeteries have been designated lawn graves, therefore, after each interment and when final settlement of the ground is complete the grave area will be levelled, soiled and seeded and then maintained as a lawn by the cemetery staff.

This means that no surrounds such as kerbs, tiles, fencing or edgings will be permitted on the grave.

Please note: The registrar shall, without notice, remove any such items.

Memorials

The cemetery has regulations governing the size and construction of memorials, which will be explained to you by your Monumental Mason. An admission fee has to be paid to the council for all memorials admitted into the cemetery and additionally, foundations must be paid for if the grave requires one. Your Monumental Mason will have to pay these fees, so check whether these charges have been included in the price quoted. If you decide to employ a Mason from outside the Tameside area and he is not familiar with the regulations, you would be well advised to check with the cemetery office that the memorial in which you are interested would be accepted. In such a case, you should tell the Mason that he must apply to the cemetery for permission to erect the memorial and should do no work on it until the approval note is in his hands.

Memorials and flower holders remain on graves entirely at the owner's sole risk and the Council cannot accept responsibility for damage however caused. Owners of memorials are responsible for keeping them in repair and good order.

The Council reserve the right to remove unauthorised memorials, those memorials which; in their opinion have become unsafe, and to prune or dig up shrubs or plants, which have become overgrown or unsightly.

Visiting The Cemetery

Friends or relatives who wish to visit the grave may not be able to find it without the grave number, which is shown on your grave deed. Make a note of the grave number to take with you when you visit the cemetery. Cemetery staff will then be able to help you should you have any difficulties.

Under no circumstances should give money to someone who approaches you in the cemetery with an offer to supply a memorial or do work on your grave. No reputable Mason would canvass for work in such a manner and all other work should be paid for at the cemetery office where you will be issued with an official receipt.

When you purchase a private grave you are issued with a deed granting you the exclusive right of burial for 100 years (subject to conditions then in force).

This grave deed must be produced whenever the grave is required to be re-opened for an interment. The loss of a deed could cause you delay and inconvenience at this time, so keep it safe with other important documents.

When the grave has to be re-opened for an interment, give the grave deed to your funeral director, who will make all the arrangements for you. Make sure that the grave deed is returned to you after the funeral.

Grave Ownership

The person whose name appears on the deed as the purchaser of the exclusive right (registered grave owner), is the only person who authorise such things as the erection of a memorial, the cutting of an inscription and also any future interments. When the registered owner dies, the deed passes to the executors, or the next of kin.

The registered owner can transfer the title of the grave to another person. Such transfers are not valid unless registered with the cemetery office, where you may obtain advice on the procedure and the necessary forms.

The popular belief is that the land itself is purchased. This is incorrect. The purchaser acquires only a right of burial in the grave, the ownership of the land and responsibility for its management remains with the council.

Capacity of Grave

Unless specified, a private grave will normally hold four adult interments but no guarantee can be given. The reason being, conditions vary from time to time and from place to place in a cemetery and there are other variable factors that can affect the capacity of a grave. The capacity is not affected by the burial of small caskets containing cremated remains.

Please note that when a grave is re-opened for another interment to take place, the soil from this grave will placed on the adjacent graves. The inconvenience to people visiting these graves is unavoidable but temporary. Staff will place boards on the nearby graves to protect them and to protect memorials.

Graves Purchased without Interment

With regard to any grave purchased without interment being opened for the first time, should any unforeseen circumstances arise, the council has the right to issue an alternative grave, of the same denomination, in lieu of the original.