Interment

Notice of Interment is to be given to the Clerk of the Council at least 5 days (exclusive of Saturday and Sunday) prior to any interment, except in special cases.

The Notice of Interment form can be requested from the Clerk. It contains details of the deceased including:-

• Full name
• Age
• Address
• Date and place of death
• The time and date of intended interment
• Details of any officiating clergyman
• Whether an interment or burial of cremated remains is required.

No interment can take place before 9 a.m. or after sunset without special permission.

Graves

• All graves are to be single ones, not less than 1.2m deep.
• Graves are to be dug by a person approved by the Council.
• Excess soil from graves is to be removed from the cemetery.
• The selection of the grave site, in all cases, is subject to the approval of the Parish Council but wishes of applicants will be met as far as may be deemed practicable.

Fees and charges

• All fees and charges due to the Council, the Notice of Interment and the Exclusive Rights of Burial Certificate are to be forwarded to the Clerk prior to the date of interment.
• Fees and charges for matters relating to the Burial Grounds are decided by the Council and reviewed annually. These are printed in a separate leaflet.

Inhabitants of Skelton

• The person to be interred must have been, immediately before death, an inhabitant of Skelton Parish. In the case of a stillborn child, at least one parent must be a resident. This regulation may only be waived under special circumstances and at the sole discretion of the Parish Council.
• In all cases where permission is granted by the Parish Council for the interment of non-parishioners Double Fees are to be charged.
• Without the consent of the Council no parishioner, being the owner of a grave purchased at parishioner's rate may use it for the burial of the body of a non-parishioner.

Headstones and Memorial Plaques

• All headstones and memorial plaques and the inscriptions are to be subject to approval of the Parish Council. An application form, including the Exclusive Right of Burial certificate as well as a drawing showing the form and dimensions of headstones and plaques and a copy of any intended inscription must be submitted to the Clerk for consideration with the appropriate fee.
• Any unusual shapes, sizes, colours or materials or headstones considered a health and safety hazard will not be permitted.
• Once approval has been given no further appendages e.g. photographs etc. may be placed thereon. Should any further inscription be required on the headstone or memorial plaque a further application must be submitted to the Clerk.
• No new memorial for a single grave shall exceed a height of 915mm and a width of 686mm with the base not exceeding 762mm wide. No new headstone for two adjoining graves shall exceed a height of 915mm and a width of 915mm and a base shall not exceed 1220mm.
• In the Memorial Garden plaques must be laid horizontally and not exceed 45Omm x 45Omm.
• Headstones must be placed at the head of the grave with the rear face in line with others. They should be centred within the plot or plots.
• Only headstones and accompanying flower vases will be permitted on grave spaces to facilitate grass cutting and maintenance.
• Vases to be on the base of or immediately abutting the headstone. No other containers or memorial objects are to be placed on the turfed area.
• Any item obstructing grass cutting will be removed.
• Photographs, candles and other appendages must not be placed on graves.
• Artificial flowers are only to be placed on any graves at the discretion of Skelton Parish Council,
• apart from of Christmas and Remembrance Day wreaths, which will be permitted to remain on graves for one calendar month and should then be removed.
• Masons must be NAMM or BRAMM registered.

Construction details

• Every memorial must withstand a minimum pull/push force of 70kg. Applied at its apex.
• For UPRIGHT MEMORIALS CONSISTING OF A PLATE SET DIRECTLY INTO THE GROUND (i.e. where they are not fixed on to a memorial base) the amount of memorial plate below ground level must be the equivalent of at least 25% of that above ground level. These memorials shall be either set securely into a concrete or hard stone shoe, or doweled direct onto a concrete or hard stone foundation slab of at least 75mm thickness. Where concrete blocks are used underground they shall conform to the relevant British Standard.
• LAWN MEMORIALS must have a foundation of either, a reinforced concrete of hydraulically pressed slab which must always be erected in conjunction with a suitable ground support system. The slab must have a plan size larger than the memorial base, be a minimum of 75mm thick and have a minimum depth back to front of 375mm or, two concrete pillars with compressed backfill in between. Each pillar must be a minimum of 400mm high, 212mm wide and 375mm deep (back to front).
• The memorial must be fixed to the foundations by solid stainless steel or fully galvanized dowels. Dowels must be of minimum 16 mm diameter and have at least 75mm in the memorial base and 75mm in the foundations.
• All component parts of a lawn memorial (base, plate etc.) must be fixed together by solid stainless steel or fully galvanized dowels. Dowels must be of minimum 16 mm diameter and have at least 75mm in each part of the memorial.

Maintenance

• Every grave and memorial must be kept in good order and repair by the owner. The Parish Council reserve the right to maintain any grave when it appears such maintenance is being neglected. If such items are not repaired after due notice they may be removed by the Council. Where remedial work is carried out by the Council the associated cost will be charged to the owner of the grave.
• Graves maintained by owners, relatives and friends must be without mounds or obstructions.
• No person, other than the owner or relatives of the owner or of the deceased person, shall be permitted to carry out the maintenance of any grave without the permission of the Parish Council.
• Mats, boards and canvas are to be used to preserve the grass.
• Any item obstructing grass cutting will be removed.
• As from 1st January 2003 all graves are maintained as lawned areas.

Memorial Plants

• No planting of flowers, trees, shrubs or bushes of any kind are permitted on the Memorial Garden plots or on any grave.
• Should any relative of a deceased person wish to plant a rose bush in the memorial garden, prior written application must be made to the Clerk of the Council.

Register of Burials

• A register of the burials and interment of cremated remains will be kept by the Council and at all reasonable times searches may be made and certified extracts obtained upon application to the Clerk and payment of the necessary fee.

Damage or injury

• The Parish Council does not hold itself responsible or liable in any way for any damage or injury, which may be caused, to or by any memorials, which may be placed or erected, in the Burial Ground.

General

In case any difficulty shall arise which is not provided for by these Regulations the same shall be referred to and settled by the Parish Council and the Parish Council reserves the right to make any alterations or amendments to the foregoing rules and regulations as they may deem necessary.

The above rules and regulations were agreed at a meeting of Skelton Parish Council on 22nd June 2023.