STEWKLEY CEMETERY INFORMATION AND FORMS

RULES AND REGULATIONS FOR THE MANAGEMENT OF STEWKLEY (LAWN CEMETERY) BURIAL GROUND.

FORMULATED AND PASSED BY THE ELECTED MEMBERS FOR THE PARISH OF STEWKLEY IN THE DISTRICT OF AYLESBURY VALE IN THE COUNTY OF BUCKINGHAMSHIRE.

(Amended at a meeting of the Council on 6th February 2017)

Throughout these rules and regulations the following definitions apply: – “The Burial Ground” means that provided by the Parish Council and situated off Ivy Lane adjacent to the Recreation Ground, “The Council” means the elected members of Stewkley Parish Council, “Grave” means a burial place formed in the ground by excavation and without internal wall or other artificial lining, “Memorial” means any approved headstone or flatstone.

GENERAL REGULATIONS.

1. Part of the Burial Ground is consecrated according to the rites of the Church of England and a portion is unconsecrated (as defined on the master plan). Any duly authorised individual or recognised minister may officiate at interments.
2. The whole of the ground and burials are placed under the care and direction of the Parish Clerk, whose duty it is to ensure that order is preserved at all times, especially when interments are taking place.
3. Dogs are not allowed into the Burial Ground, except on a short lead.
4. The Burial Ground will be open daily at reasonable times. All visitors will be expected to keep to the pathways provided and to refrain from interfering with flowers and shrubs not belonging to them.
5. Children under the age of ten will not be admitted unless under the care of a responsible person.Any person who wilfully destroys, damages or defaces any building, wall, fence, memorial, tree or does any damage whatsoever within the confines of the Burial Ground will be liable to prosecution.
6. All regulations will apply in the case of cremated remains where relevant.
7. The Parish Council reserves the right to make any alteration or addition to or waiver of the rules and regulations and the table of fees, as it considers necessary.
8. A register of the burials, both in the consecrated and unconsecrated portions of the ground will be kept at the office of the Clerk of the Council, where at all reasonable times, searches may be made and a certified extract obtained on the payment of the appropriate fee.

PURCHASE OF BURIAL PLOTS

1. The exclusive right of burial in a grave space is granted by the Parish Council at the first meeting following its purchase, and the purchaser will be given a conveyance of the same.
2. No more than two grave spaces may be selected and purchased in perpetuity without the consent of the Council.
3. Owners of grave spaces shall not transfer their rights to any person without the prior agreement of the Council.
4. Any person responsible for a burial in the graveyard if no exclusive right of burial has already been granted, shall pay to the Council, as a charge for the use of the Burial Ground, a sum in accordance with the table of fees prescribed.
5. Fees for reserved plots will be the full fee for Exclusive Right of Burial including the portion for interment, such that no further fee will be payable in this respect on the exercise of right.

BURIAL

1. Applications for interments must be in the form provided by the Council and all fees and charges payable must be made at the same time. They must be made between the hours of 9.00am and 5.00pm to the Clerk of the Council (or at such other times acceptable to the Clerk). At least two days notice shall be given in every case, exclusive of Sundays.
2. One interment only shall be made in any grave 1.5M in depth. Two interments can take place in a grave originally dug 2.1M, provided a layer of earth not less than 0.3M on thickness is left between each coffin.
3. A certificate of burial, or in the case when an inquest has been held, the certificate of the Coroner must be produced. In the case of a stillbirth, a certificate from a Doctor or Midwife will be required on the prescribed form.
4. No burials can be made outside the existing approved burial plan without prior consent of the Council.
5. The Council reserves the right to inspect excavated graves.
6. Interments shall take place between the hours of 8.00am and 4.00pm. Burials are not permitted on Sundays, Good Friday or Christmas Day, except with the express permission of the Parish Council.

MEMORIALS AND INSCRIPTIONS

1. No memorial of any kind shall be erected upon a grave space in which the Exclusive Right of Burial has not been purchased.
2. All memorials and inscriptions are to be subject to the approval of the Parish Clerk who has devolved powers on behalf of the Parish Council. A copy of every inscription and a drawing, illustration or photograph showing the form and dimensions of every memorial to be erected must be received by the Parish Clerk for approval. All questions as to the fitness of any inscription on the consecrated part of the burial ground are determinable by the bishop of the Diocese.
3. Memorials must be a headstone, which should not exceed 0.84M high, 0.6M wide with a base not exceeding 0.76M in width or a flatstone not exceeding 0.61M by 0.46M. In the case of cremated remains, memorials will be limited to flatstones only, not exceeding 0.46M wide by 0.33M. Kerbs and surrounds of any kind are not permitted.
4. Memorials falling into disrepute are liable to be removed by the Parish Council.
5. No stonemasonry work or any activity that could cause damage can be carried out with the burial ground. All materials for graves etc. will be carried out in a careful manner so as not to cause damage. However should any damage be caused it must be repaired immediately at the expense of the person or persons concerned.
6. In the case of the erection of a memorial subsequent to an interment to a reserved plot, the appropriate fee current at the time will apply.

MAINTENANCE

1. Wreaths, flowers and vases may be placed on a grave but they are at the owner’s responsibility. Tins, bottles and similar containers are not permitted and will be removed.
2. If graves are not maintained, the Parish Council reserves the right to take whatever action it considers necessary to bring them up to an acceptable standard.
3. Following a burial and after the soil has subsided, the undertaker will be responsible for making up the grave with soil and covering its surface with fresh turf to the level of the surrounding ground.
4. Memorials, plantings and vases are to be within 0.61M square at the head of each grave. Plantings that exceed 0.84M in height and/or 0.61M in width (when fully grown) will not be allowed and the Parish Council reserves the right to trim or cut any shrub or plant that has grown large enough to cause a nuisance.
5. The family of the deceased are responsible for the removal of dead flowers, wreaths etc. from the grave and they must ensure that all non-biodegradable waste is taken away and properly disposed of.

TABLE OF FEES IN RESPECT OF STEWKLEY PARISH BURIAL GROUND (LAWN CEMETERY)

NB. We do not include for or make arrangements for the digging of any graves.

The following fees are applicable from 1st April 2006 and will apply until further notice.

Burials will in future be restricted to: –

• Residents of the parish.
• Immediate family of residents (at discretion of the Parish Council).
• Past residents.

FEES

INTERMENT WITH EXCLUSIVE RIGHT OF BURIAL GRANTED AUTOMATICALLY

BURIAL PLOT £60.00

CREMATION PLOT £30.00

FOR THE RIGHT TO ERECT A MEMORIAL IN RESPECT OF WHICH THE EXCLUSIVE RIGHT OF BURIAL HAS ALREADY BEEN GRANTED

BURIAL OR CREMATION PLOTS £25.00

FOR ADDITIONAL BURIAL IN AN EXISTING GRAVE

1. BURIAL PLOT £30.00

2. CREMATION PLOT £15.00

CONTACT DETAILS

Joanna Simonds
Parish Clerk
stewkleyparishclerk@gmail.com
t: 07399 673145 (office hours Monday-Friday)
c/o St. Michael’s C of E Combined School, Chapel Square