Organising a funeral

Once you have registered a death, you can begin to arrange the funeral. We appreciate that during this difficult time you will have to make important decisions about the type of service you want for the funeral.

Normally a funeral director (undertaker) would help make the arrangements, although some people may want to make their own arrangements.

Burials

If you have appointed a funeral director, they will contact us directly to book an interment and complete the required paperwork on your behalf.

If you have chosen to arrange the funeral yourself, you should contact us first to discuss the arrangements. You will then need to submit an application form, along with the appropriate fee, no later than 48 hours prior to the internment.

If you already own a lair, you will also need to provide us with the legal deeds showing proof of ownership.

Following the burial, it is common for the ground to settle within the first fortnight. This process is caused by soil conditions and it is perfectly natural. We understand that it can be visually upsetting and can cause distress to family members visiting the grave. For this reason, we do try to be as vigilant as possible in inspecting all recent lairs for settlement.

Memorial flowers, wreaths and tributes will be uplifted 2 to 3 weeks after interment. Should you wish to keep any of these items, you should remove them 14 days after the date of interment.

Downloads

Burial application form

DOCX file, 130.5 KB

Downloads

Cremated remains interment

DOCX file, 39.5 KB

Downloads

Transfer of burial rights

DOCX file, 51.2 KB

Lairs (Graves)

Please note that due to limited burial ground capacity, you can no longer pre-purchase a lair. Both full and half lairs can be purchased when they are needed for coffin or cremated remains interments. Half lairs are for cremation caskets only. The right to bury lasts for 100 years from the date of purchase.

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Cremations

If you have appointed a funeral director, they will contact us directly to book a cremation and complete the required paperwork on your behalf.

If you have chosen to arrange the cremation yourself, you should contact us first to discuss the arrangements. You will then need to submit an application form, along with the appropriate fee, no later than 48 hours prior to the cremation.

From 04 April 2019, new application forms to cremate must be used. These should be used in conjunction with the accompanying guidance note.

Application forms can be submitted either electronically or in paper format (download and print the form to complete it).

Additional particular form must be submitted with the relevant cremation application.

Types of cremation applications

If you are unsure which application form to use please see the table below:

Form	To apply for cremation of	Used by
A1	Adult or child (also body part of either)	The relative or nominated individual
A2	Stillborn baby	A parent or nominated individual Health body/ hospital/ NHS
A3	Pregnancy loss on or before 24 weeks gestation	Woman or nominated individual
A4	Pregnancy loss(es) on or before 24 weeks gestation	Health body/ hospital/ NHS
A5	Adult or child (section 87 application)	Local authority
A6	Body after anatomical examination	University anatomy school
	Body parts after anatomical examination	University anatomy school
	Body parts after hospital arranged post mortem	Hospital
A7	Body parts after anatomical examination (where the person died before the Anatomy Act 1984 came into force)	University anatomy school