Cemetery

WYMONDHAM TOWN COUNCIL

                                                          CEMETERY : CEMETERY LANE WYMONDHAM

A residential reduction will apply to all fees, payments and sums set out where the deceased person is an inhabitant of the CIVIL PARISH of Wymondham, or in the case of still – born children where the parents (or one of them) are such inhabitants.

For the purpose of determining fees, an inhabitant of Wymondham is a person who is listed on the current Register of Electors. Former inhabitants who, at time of death, were residents in a retirement home located outside Wymondham will be treated as inhabitants if they are listed on the current or previous four years Register of Electors

RULES AND REGULATIONS for the management of the Cemetery, Cemetery Lane, Wymondham.

1.                INTERMENTS

                   (i)         Notice of Interment shall be given on the Council's prescribed form at the office of the Town Clerk, 14 Middleton Street, Wymondham at least 4 clear working days preceding the proposed interment (exclusive of Saturday, Sunday, Christmas Day, Good Friday and Statutory Bank Holidays).  The Council reserves the right to modify this regulation where circumstances render such a course desirable, upon payment of an additional fee.

                   (ii)        No funeral shall take place on a Sunday, Christmas Day, Good Friday and Statutory Bank Holidays.  (Saturday funerals are to be allowed only in exceptional circumstances between the hours of 10am and 12noon, and agreed by the Town Clerk ).

                   (iii)  No notice of interment shall be accepted by telephone except in special circumstances.

                   (v)        All charges and fees shall be paid on due date.

(vi)    Funeral arrangements and the appointing of the Officiating Minister, shall be the sole responsibility of the relatives of the deceased in association with the Funeral Director. Digging of the grave shall only be undertaken by the official grave digger appointed by the Town Council which must then be arranged by the Funeral Director. The digging for Cremated remains in normal circumstances shall be carried out by the Cemetery Caretaker.

                   (vii)      The certification for the disposal of a body, or in the case of an inquest, the Coroners order for burial, must be produced before or immediately after interment and delivered to the Town Clerk. For the burial of a still – born child an appropriate certificate issued by the Registrar of Births and Deaths or the Coroner will be required.

                   (viii)     Interments can take place in either a grave where the exclusive right of burial has been purchased or in a grave where no such exclusive right is bought.  The main differences between these two types of graves are as follows:

                                                             Graves where exclusive right of burial is purchased

The charge for a exclusive right of burial is payable in addition to ordinary interment and other fees, and entitles the person to whom the grant is made to the exclusive right of burial in the grave mentioned.  This means that the person to whom the grant is made possesses the exclusive right of burial in that grave for the period of 100 years. The Council will also permit a headstone or other suitable memorial to be placed over a grave in which the exclusive right of burial has been granted.  BEFORE any such headstone or memorial is erected it is necessary to obtain the Council's permission to its erection and  for the proper fees to be paid. The fees for an exclusive right of burial must be paid upon the first interment.

                                                      Graves where no exclusive right of burial has been granted

Upon payment of the usual interment and other fees, the Council permit burials in graves where no exclusive right of burial has been purchased.  In these circumstances the Council reserves the right to make further burials in the same grave at a later date.  Because there will normally be more than one burial in a grave where an exclusive right of burial has not been purchased, it is not possible to permit the erection of kerbstones, headstones or other memorials over these graves. 

               (ix) The cemetery is in a rural location and as such wildlife is not controlled. There are rabbits and deer in the cemetery and as a consequence fresh cut flowers and plants are often eaten, destroyed or moved by the wildlife. The Town Council takes no responsibility for any such loss or damage.

HOURS

Interments will only be allowed on week-days between the hours of 9.00 a.m. and 3.30 p.m. excepting in cases of extreme emergency.

BURIALS

2.                PURCHASE OF BURIAL RIGHTS

A.         The exclusive right of burial in any grave space, for a period of one hundred years, may be purchased by an inhabitant or non-inhabitant subject to the payment of the fees for the time being prescribed by the Council. 

B.         No assignment of the exclusive right of burial in a grave will be allowed without the approval of the Town Clerk and no transfer will be valid unless the Burial Grant has been properly endorsed by the Town Clerk for which a fee shall be charged.

3.                DEPTH

                   The first interment in each grave shall be at a depth of six feet for a double burial and 4 feet for a single burial.

4.                SPACE BETWEEN COFFINS

(a)    A layer of earth at least six inches (0.15m) in thickness shall be left between each coffin in the same earthen grave.

(b)        Burials will be permitted in wooden coffins only.

(c)     The maximum size for a grave shall not normally exceed 7' x 3' (2.13 x 0.91m) but if a grave  of greater         length than 7' (2.13m) is necessary, the burial shall take place out of rotation, in the grave space                     determined by the Town Clerk

CREMATED REMAINS

5.                PURCHASE OF BURIAL RIGHTS

A.          At the time of interment the exclusive right of burial in the Cremated Remains Plot, for a period of one hundred years, may be purchased by an inhabitant or non-inhabitant subject to the payment of the fees for the time being prescribed by the Council.

B.          No assignment of the exclusive right of burial in a grave will be allowed without the approval of the Town Clerk and no transfer will be valid unless the Burial Grant has been properly endorsed by the Town Clerk for which a fee shall be charged. 

C.                The purchase of plots for memorial purposes is only allowed in exceptional cases and then only with the express            agreement of the Council.

6.                BURIAL OF CREMATED REMAINS

A.         Cremated remains shall be interred in plots two feet x two feet in an area set aside for such burials.

Two burials to be permitted in each plot, the first at a minimum depth of three feet (0.91m) and the second immediately on top.

All caskets shall be of wood.

7.                MONUMENTAL WORKS AND ERECTIONS 

A.               The following monumental work only will be allowed:-

                   (i)         a headstone not exceeding 4 feet 6 inches in height; or

(ii)            a  tablet        or                                                                                              

(iii)           a vase (not exceeding 12”).

(iv)    inscriptions on headstones and tablets are subject to the approval of the Town Clerk and the name of a living person will only be permitted if there is a reference to the relationship of the deceased;

(v)        all headstones must be perpendicular.

NO NEW SURROUNDS , KERBSTONES or PLASTIC FENCING WILL BE ALLOWED

B.         Drawings of every proposed erection and inscription must be submitted for the approval of the Town Clerk before work is commenced.

C.         Glass shades containing artificial flowers, jam jars, milk bottles or similar jars or bottles or receptacles, shall not be allowed upon graves and the Council reserves the right to remove such shades, jars, bottles or other receptacles from graves, together with any dead vegetation etc.

D.         No grave shall have a headstone / tablet / vase erected thereon unless the exclusive right of burial therein has been purchased.

E.         All headstones/ tablets/ vases shall be soundly constructed of suitable natural material and shall be kept in good repair and in default thereof the Council reserves the right to remove any such  memorial or to require the owners to remove them and if any such memorial is removed by the Council it shall forthwith become the property of  the Council for disposal by them as they think fit.

F.          All headstones / tablets / vases shall remain at the sole risk of the owners thereof and the Council shall not be responsible for any damage or breakage which may occur to same.

G.               (i)         The removing and refixing of headstones / tablets / vases shall be executed by any person lawfully appointed by the owner of the grave and a qualified stonemason.

                   (ii)        Every headstone/ tablet / vase removed in the process of opening a grave shall be removed at the risk of the person requiring the grave to be opened, and shall be temporarily removed entirely from the cemetery and must be refixed within a reasonable time and the decision of the Town Clerk as to what is a reasonable time shall be final and conclusive.

                   (iii)       All headstones / tablets / vases removed either for the purpose of allowing an interment to take place or for any other purpose whatever shall be re-erected in accordance with the Regulations in force at the time.

(iv)       The Council reserves to itself the right of passage over all graves and, where such a course is necessary, temporarily to cover or remove without notice, the headstone / tablet / vase upon any grave in order to permit the  re-opening of another grave in the vicinity, or for any other purpose.

(v)        The Council also reserves to itself the right to remove, refix, move, line-up or alter the position of any headstones / tablets / vases as it may require.

(vi)           The name only of the masons may be cut on the headstone in letters not exceeding half an inch in height, providing the consent of the owner is obtained

(vii)      All foundations of monuments, the removal of or refixing of same, and any other work connected therein must be done under the superintendence of the Town Clerk or Cemetery Caretaker. Any person undertaking such work must use such means as the Council officials direct for the protection of the grass and the walks during the progress of the works. Upon completion all unused material and any other rubbish shall be removed from the cemetery.

8.                MAINTENANCE OF GRAVE SPACE

A.               Whenever an interment has taken place the grave shall forthwith be filled with earth and, after a lapse of three months for natural subsidence of the earth with which the grave has been filled, the surface of such grave shall be covered with turf and surplus soil shall be moved to the place provided.

B.                       All graves shall be kept flat and level with adjoining ground and mounds or raised gardens on grave spaces shall not be permitted.

C.                       Allocation of rights to graves and burials will be on application to the Town Clerk in accordance with the plans kept by the Council. Exclusive right of burial to a grave conveys no ownership rights.

D.                       No shrubs, plants or flowers may be planted within the Cemetery or on any grave therein nor may any shrubs, plants or flowers be cut or carried away without consent. The Council reserves the right to prune, cut down or dig up and remove any shrub, plant or flower planted without authorisation or which in their opinion become unsightly or overgrown.

9.                MAINTENANCE OF GOOD ORDER

A.          The Cemetery will be open to the public for admission on all days as indicated by the displayed notices

B.          No children under the age of 13 will be allowed admission unless accompanied by a responsible adult and all visitors shall keep to the walks and drives as far as practicable, refrain from touching shrubs and flowers and shall observe due decorum  in all respects.

C.         Visitors must not cycle in the Cemetery, and smoking is prohibited therein. Persons bringing dogs into the Cemetery must keep them on a lead and under proper control at all times.

D.         Photographers must not take photographs within the precincts of the Cemetery during funerals except upon the express desire of the relatives concerned.

E.               Every person who shall wilfully destroy or injure any building, wall or fence belonging to the Cemetery or destroy or  injure any tree, plant or shrub therein or who shall daub or disfigure any wall thereon or climb over the walls or gates or put up any placard therein or on any wall thereof or wilfully destroy, injure or deface any monument, tablet,  headstone or inscription or do any other wilful damage or who shall play at any game or unlawfully disturb any persons  assembled for the purpose of burying any body or who shall commit any nuisance within the Cemetery, will be liable to prosecution.

F.               Motor vehicles are prohibited from entering the Cemetery other than for the purposes of funerals and in connection with the erection and maintenance of monuments, otherwise than with the permission of the Cemetery, Caretaker or  Town Clerk (This rule will not apply to any approved means of invalid conveyance or vehicle  displaying a disabled persons pass)

G.                  The consumption of alcohol within the Cemetery is strictly prohibited.

10             ADMINISTRATION

A.               All notices or applications required by these Regulations are to be sent to the Town Clerk.  

B.          Registers of burials are kept by the Town Clerk at whose offices searches of such Registers may be made.

C.         The fees payable shall be in terms of the attached schedule.

D.         The Council reserves the right to alter or vary the foregoing regulations or to deviate from them in any particular instances if it shall appear desirable to do so.