|
|
bath & wells: diocesan information
Churchyards: Guidance for Parochial Church Councils
It is the duty of the PCC to make proper arrangements for the care and maintenance of the churchyard
To relatives/executors
- Following a churchyard burial you may want to order a suitable memorial stone.
- Before seeing a memorial mason please read these notes. Remember that no stone should be placed over a grave less than 6 months after a burial and that memorials for those who have been cremated and whose ashes are interred in a churchyard are either not permitted or the type is restricted.
- Care taken at this stage will avoid confusion and distress later.
- Churchyard Rules are designed to protect public places of special sensitivity. Some Churchyards are of outstanding quality and many are Conservation Areas.
- You should check regularly the safety/stability of your memorial stone.
To obtain permission for a memorial stone please consult:
- The Incumbent/Priest in Charge who has limited powers to approve types of memorials described in the box below, or
- The Archdeacon, who has power to agree an individually designed monument, or
- The Chancellor of the Diocese who has further powers to allow certain tombstones or monuments.
Forms with instructions and statutory fees may be obtained from the Incumbent/Priest in Charge or from the Diocesan Registrar at 14 Market Place, Wells, Somerset BA5 2RE (01749 674747).
Headstones shall be no more than 4 feet (1200mm) high above ground, 3 feet (900mm) wide and 6 inches (150mm) thick and no less than 2 feet 6 inches (750mm) high above ground, 1 foot 8 inches (500mm) wide and 3 inches (75mm) thick.
Horizontal ledgers (over burials) shall be just below the level of the turf and shall measure no more than 7 feet (2100mm) by 3 feet (900mm) and no less than 4 feet (1200mm) by 2 feet (600mm).
Memorial plaques (over cremated remains) shall be just below the level of the turf and shall measure no more than 18 inches (450mm) by 16 inches (400mm).
Vases shall be separate from headstones, ledgers and memorial plaques.
Materials - natural local stone or similar is preferred.
Polished or reflective granite or marble of any colour is not permitted.
Inscriptions shall be simple and reverent.
|
|
|
|
|
