Burials
Before a burial may take place in a churchyard, the incumbent or minister conducting the service must be satisfied that a ‘certificate of disposal’ of the body (“the green form”) has been issued by the registrar of births and deaths, or a corresponding order made by the coroner (see section 1 of the Births and Deaths Registration Act 1926). The certificate (or coroner’s order) should be produced to the incumbent before the burial. Clergy should ensure that their Churchwardens are also aware of the need for the green form to be produced before the burial, so that the requirement is not overlooked if the regular parish clergy are unavailable for any reason.
Clergy and others (such as readers) taking a burial service are recommended to have in place a requirement that the green form should be produced to them at least 48 hours before a burial is scheduled to take place, to avoid any last minute misunderstandings.
If the incumbent is satisfied by a written declaration that the certificate or order has been issued, but has been left behind or mislaid, the burial may proceed. However, the incumbent must obtain an undertaking that the missing certificate or order will be produced as soon as possible.
Before a burial is arranged, the bereaved family should consider the Chancellor’s guidance notes on Churchyard matters
Chancellor’s general guidance on churchyards – february 2016
Chancellor’s guidance for families on churchyard matters – February 2016
Memorials in Churchyards
There is no legal right to place a memorial in a churchyard. Permission must be obtained from the Chancellor of the Diocese, acting on behalf of the Bishop. The normal method of applying for permission for a memorial would be to apply for a Faculty, however, this is rarely necessary, because the Chancellor has given authority to the Incumbent or Priest In Charge of a parish, through the Churchyard Regulations 2016 (updated Nov 2020), to permit memorials which fall within the guidelines set out in the Regulations.
Where there is no Incumbent or Priest In Charge in a parish, applications should be forwarded to the Diocesan Registrar.
Please use the current application form: Memorial-Application-Form-July2021
The members of the National Association of Memorial Masons work to accredited standards, and the Association can provide contact information for local memorial masons working within the Diocese.
For applications which do not meet the Churchyard Regulations, the applicant would need to make a Faculty application to the Chancellor for permission to introduce a memorial into a churchyard.
Guidance notes for Memorial Applications (January 2024)
Bespoke memorials
The Diocese is keen to encourage good quality memorials within its churchyards, and those considering memorials are recommended to visit the website of the charity Memorials By Artists for ideas and suggestions about appropriate memorials, and names of individual craftsmen working in stone and other materials.
Those seeking ideas might consider Headstones: Advice and Inspiration
This was reviewed by Mary Carter-Campbell, of the Lettering Arts Trust/Memorials by Artists: “Headstones – Advice and Inspiration is full of the help and information anyone considering commissioning a special and individual headstone would need for ideas and making decisions. It also gives an understanding of the hand designing and hand carving process which achieves a unique headstone clearly explained in an encouraging and uplifting way, with lovely images.”
Individual Lettercutters and Stone Carvers producing unique, bespoke memorials and other artwork in stone include
- Russell Purdham, who works in Norwich and can be contacted at russellpurdham@icloud.com , telephone 01603 617 312 or 07594 549 368
- Teucer Wilson, who has a studio at Burgh-next-Aylsham in the Bure valley in Norfolk
- The Cardozo Kindersley Workshop at Victoria Road in Cambridge.
The memorials and other work in stone produced by these craftsmen can be very impressive, often witty or moving, and sometimes really extraordinary. They are practising skills which have been handed down over many hundreds of years, and produce some outstanding work. Commissioning work from them will help to keep these skills alive and enable them to be handed on to succeeding generations.
Fees
The Fees relating to installing memorials in a churchyard are set out in the Parochial Fees Table 2024
Testing of Churchyard Memorials
PCC’s should note that they have a responsibility for ensuring the safety of their churchyards, including any memorials, and should undertake a regular check to identify any potential problems. If a memorial has been identified as presenting a risk to health or safety, advice should be sought from the Diocesan Registrar as to how this should be dealt with.
Guidance on the safety of memorials is available at Managing the Safety of Burial Ground Memorials
Memorials inside Churches
As a general rule, the erection of memorials inside churches is not normally permitted. Anyone wishing to erect a memorial inside a church must apply for a Faculty, and must satisfy the Chancellor that a departure from the normal rule is justifiable, for example, because the person to be commemorated was a major benefactor of the church, or made some major contribution to the church or parish, or was an important local or national figure, etc. Once a memorial has been installed inside a church, it forms part of the fabric of the building and therefore ownership transfers to the Incumbent as part of the church title.
