The Cemetery is divided into two parts – consecrated and unconsecrated, and a plan of the same may be inspected free of charge by persons making applications for graves.
Funeral Booking and Site Arrangements
No burial shall take place, no tombstone or another memorial shall be placed in a cemetery, and no additional inscription shall be made on a headstone or other memorial without the permission of the Clerk, acting as the officer appointed by the Council for that purpose. All funerals at the cemetery are under the control and direction of the Clerk. No grave may be selected, excavated, or re-opened unless by his / her direction.
Notice of Interment must be given to the Clerk or the Sexton, on the forms provided, two days at least before interment. All charges are to be paid either at the time of making the application or at the latest at the time of interment. A table of fees and charges is available.
When a notice of interment has been accepted, no alteration will be permitted except regarding the time of the burial. In this case, written notice must be provided no later than one working day (24 hours) before the interment is due to take place.
Any orders or instructions given by telephone will be received at the sole risk of the person giving such orders or instructions, and the Council will not be responsible for any delays which may occur or misunderstandings which may arise concerning orders or instructions given by telephone. Any requests, which have been made on the telephone, must be immediately confirmed in writing.
A certificate of registration of death or a coroner’s order must be submitted to the Council representative before the interment can take place. Notice of the proposed burial of a still-born child shall be accompanied either by a certificate given by the Registrar or, if there has been an inquest, an Order of the Coroner, as required by section 5 of the Births and Deaths Registration Act, 1926, and the burial shall be recorded in the Register of Burials. Failure to submit such certification may result in the interment being postponed until such certification is received. The Authority will accept no responsibility for loss or damage from the postponement of any interment on such grounds.
The Council does not permit the selection of grave spaces. Grave spaces are allocated at the discretion of the Council.
Exclusive Rights of Burial
The Council will provide a document titled “Exclusive Right of Burial” upon receipt of the purchase of a new grave. This document gives exclusive rights of burial in a grave for a period of 100 years, with a maximum of three full interments per grave.
Upon the death of the registered owner of the grave, the person claiming the title to the Exclusive Right of Burial must produce satisfactory evidence of title and complete any relevant documentation as requested by the Clerk before any grave is opened. The purchaser of the Exclusive Right of Burial will be furnished with a Deed of the same. These Deeds are transferrable, but notice must be given to the Council, through the Clerk, for the purpose of registration.
The Council reserves the right to remove any memorial, border stone, or footstone from an adjoining grave when such removal is deemed necessary for carrying out the work of interment in any grave. The Council replacing any memorial, border stone, or footstone so removed, shall make good any damage which may be done in such removal, and will advise the owner(s) where this is possible.
Funeral Services/Interments
All funerals/interments are to take place between the hours of 10 am and 4.30 pm on weekdays from the 1st April to the 30th September, and between the hours of 10 am and 3 pm from the 1st October to the 31st March. On Saturdays, funerals/interments are to take place between 10 am and 1 pm. Funerals are not allowed on Sundays or Public Holidays, except in cases of an emergency. In such cases, a medical certificate that immediate burial is necessary on the grounds of public health must be produced.
The time fixed for a funeral is that at which the procession is due at the cemetery and such times must be strictly observed. In the event of a funeral arriving late, the funeral must wait as and where directed by a Council representative until it is convenient for it to proceed.
Only one funeral will be allowed in the cemetery at any one time, except with the consent of the parties concerned. A minimum of 2 hours is to be allowed between each funeral to allow for late arrival by funeral parties and the backfilling of the grave.
Cremated Remains
The Council may permit the interment of cremated remains in a purchased grave in the cemetery, or a cremation area, but the remains must be buried and shall not be scattered.
In the case of an interment of cremated remains, a certificate for burial purposes, issued by the Cremation Authority, will be required.
Areas set aside by the Council for the interment of cremated remains shall be maintained in a lawned condition by the Council.
The names of the individuals whose cremated remains have been interred, and other relevant details shall be entered in the Register of Burials indicating that they are cremated remains.
Cemetery Records
As soon as is reasonably practicable all details relating to a burial are recorded within registers provided by the Council.
Private burial registers are available for public perusal, and any person who wishes to inspect the register or cemetery plans must first make an appointment to do so. A fee may be payable.
Removal of memorials
No memorial shall be removed from the cemetery without the permission of the grave owner or their representative and without the Council being informed as to the whereabouts of the memorial.
The Council reserves the right to:
- Remove a memorial headstone from a grave to allow for adjacent graves to be excavated. As soon as the funeral has taken place, the headstone will be fully reinstated by the Council
- Lay flat or make safe any memorial headstone that has been identified as unsafe at the time of checking adjacent headstones prior to excavation operations
- Remove any unauthorised memorial from a grave
The Council accepts no responsibility for any damage caused to any memorial unless caused by the act or default of its employees or contractors working on its behalf.
Headstone and Memorial Specifications and Memorial Works
Memorials are only allowed on privately purchased graves.
All memorial work undertaken must be in accordance with the National Association of Memorial Masons (NAMM) Code of Working Practice and undertaken in accordance with British Standard 8415.
Details of all proposed gravestones, memorials and monuments, including full details on how the memorial is to be installed, including the method of fixing (ground anchored), dimension sizes, the type of material and of intended inscriptions, must be given at least fourteen days prior to erection. All memorial applications will incur a memorial fee.
All costs incurred in connection with an application to erect a monument or gravestone, or to make, alter or add to an inscription, shall be borne by the applicant.
The number of the grave corresponding with the number in the Burial Register shall be inscribed on the rear base of all monuments, headstones and memorials.
Headstone memorials shall be placed at the head of the grave, so set in the ground that it deters easy removal, and in line with adjacent memorials or in accordance with the directions of the Clerk, and consists of either
- An appropriate headstone no more than 4’ (1219mm) high; or
- An appropriate cross no more than 4’ (1219mm) high.
The materials used in the construction of memorials must be of durable natural stone, marble, granite or other similar materials and may bear one or more or all of the following:
- A simple cross;
- A simple and appropriate inscription;
- An appropriate motif.
The memorial mason will be responsible for leaving the grave area in a clean and tidy condition once work is completed (including levelling the grave) and is responsible for any damage that may be caused to any surrounding ground or memorial as a direct result of the installation.
If any memorial or other work to be erected or made is in violation of these rules, the memorial or work may be removed at any time by the Council, without notice, at the cost or expense of the person responsible and suitable enforcement action taken by the Council against those in breach of these rules.
Maintenance of memorials and grave spaces
All memorials are the sole responsibility of the grave owner.
Grave owners must ensure that the memorial is kept in good repair. The Council will periodically inspect the cemetery to determine the condition of memorials. Any memorial classified as unsafe will be reported to the grave owner in order for them to arrange the immediate repair. If this request is not complied with within three months, the Council will lay flat the memorial to remove the danger of instability.
The Council has the power to remove any memorial which they deem objectionable or of unauthorised type or size which may have fallen into decay or is classified unsafe.
The Council will not be responsible for any damage/theft or vandalism or any other circumstances beyond the control of the Council.
The Council reserves the right to dig up and remove any plants or flowers, at any time, when, in their opinion, the same has become unsightly or overgrown, or when necessary for the purpose of re-opening any grave.
The Council reserves the right to remove and dispose of Christmas Wreaths, from all areas (excluding those fixed to Headstones) by the end of February annually.
The placing of floral tributes, flower vases and other containers shall be restricted to the shelf of the headstone or the concrete base where this exists, other than during a period of one month immediately following interment. No glass vases will be permitted.
The planting of flowers or other vegetation is not permitted. No area of grave space will be permitted to be enclosed or covered by kerbstones, plinth stones, palisades, rails, chains or in any other manner. The laying of stone chippings or similar material on the grave space is not permitted.
The Council reserves the right to carry out such works as turfing, sowing, cutting or planting on any grave space as is deemed necessary.
The following items are not permitted on graves and may be removed and disposed of, without notice – fragile items (e.g. glass, ceramic or plaster statues, vases, picture frames), trinkets, wind chimes, and solar lights.
The Council also reserves the right to remove from grave spaces items not permitted by these Rules and Regulations and which have not been removed by the owner at the formal request of the Council.
Behaviour in cemeteries
All persons shall conduct themselves in a quiet, orderly and respectful manner and no person shall:
- wilfully create any disturbance in the cemetery,
- commit any nuisance within the cemetery,
- wilfully interfere with any burial taking place in the cemetery,
- wilfully interfere with any grave, any tombstone or other memorial or any flowers or plants or any such matter, or
- play any game or sport in the cemetery
All visitors to the Cemetery are requested to keep to the pathways as far as possible.
Children visiting the Cemetery should normally be accompanied by a responsible adult.
The taking of commercial photographs and filming is not permitted in the cemetery except with the prior approval of the Council for which a fee may be charged.
No person other than an officer or servant of the burial authority or a person so authorised by or on behalf of the burial authority shall enter or remain in a cemetery at any hour when it is closed to the public.
The Council accepts no responsibility for the health and safety of unauthorised persons, vehicles or other belongings in the cemeteries during the hours of closure.
Visitors to the Cemetery are requested not to leave litter and to deposit all dead flowers in the containers provided.
The carrying of alcoholic drink and its consumption in the Cemetery is expressly forbidden.
A person shall not allow any dog belonging to them or in their charge to enter the cemetery unless it is on a lead.
Persons visiting the cemetery with dogs must ensure that the dog is kept under strict control at all times. Dog faeces must be removed and deposited in an appropriate and responsible manner by the dog owner.
Any person found disobeying these regulations will be asked to remove themselves from the Cemetery grounds.
Vehicles
All vehicles, other than the funeral cortege and vehicles displaying a current “Blue Badge”, must park in the designated car park area. Cycling is not permitted within the Cemetery grounds.
Fees and Charges
A table of fees is available upon request. The Council reserves the right to revise these fees and charges
Alterations to these Regulations
The Council reserves the right from time to time to make any alterations, additions, or amendments to the Cemetery rules.
No officer or member of the Council shall grant any concession that waives any of the cemetery rules.
All Cemetery Regulations and Rules made by the Council prior to the adoption of these Rules are hereby revoked