Mudford Cemetery

All ground within the Cemetery is consecrated. The Cemetery includes a chapel available for burial services for a nominal fee. To arrange a burial or install a memorial, permission must be obtained from the Parish Clerk. Necessary forms for burials and memorial applications are provided by the Council (please see below), and fees apply for certain services. For more details or to request the required forms, please contact the Parish Clerk at clerk@mudford-pc.gov.uk.

MUDFORD CEMETERY REGULATIONS

Burial Authority referred to in these Regulations is Mudford Parish Council.

1. General
1.1. Mudford Parish Council does not have an office, please contact the Parish Clerk at clerk@mudford-pc.gov.uk.
1.2. The Cemetery is open to the public 24/7.
1.3. The Council reserves the right to close the Cemetery or to limit the entry of persons thereto at any time without notice.
1.4. All ground in the Cemetery is consecrated.

2. Authority for Activity in the Cemetery
2.1. No burial will take place, no cremated human remains will be scattered, no tombstone or other memorial will be placed in the Cemetery and no additional inscription will be made on a tombstone or other memorial without the permission of the Parish Clerk.
2.2. A chapel, located in the cemetery, can be provided for a nominal charge for burial services and is for use by any denomination or religious body. Use of this facility is by prior arrangement with the Parish Clerk and will attract an additional fee.

3. Notices
3.1. All notices must be given to the Parish Clerk on forms provided by the Council stating:
a. The name and age of the deceased,
b. Normal residence of the deceased during the three months prior to death,
c. The date, cause and place of death,
d. Purchased/unpurchased grave,
e. Name and contact details of the holder of the exclusive right of burial,
f. The length, width and depth of the coffin*,
g. Whether private or public funeral,
h. The day and hour of the funeral,
i. Particulars of the minister who is to officiate, and
j. The name and address of the funeral director.
*Accurate information about the length, width and depth of the coffin is of the utmost importance for the efficient working of the Cemetery. An additional charge will be made for any work that may be involved by reason of such information being incorrect.
3.2. Any order or instruction given by telephone will be received at the sole risk of the person giving such orders or instructions. The Council will not be responsible for any delays which may occur, or misunderstandings which may arise with regard to orders or instructions given by telephone – unless immediately confirmed in writing in the manner provided by these Regulations.
3.3. At least three clear days notice (exclusive of Saturdays, Sundays and public holidays) must be given in respect of any internment.
This rule may be relaxed in the case of death certified to be due to an epidemic disease.
3.4. A Certificate of Registration of Death or Coroner’s Order must be produced before burial takes place.

4. Fees
4.1. All fees and charges relating to interments and payable to the Council will be paid at the time when notices are submitted upon receiving an invoice from the Parish Clerk; the Council will issue a receipt to the payee.
4.2. A table of fees will be kept and exhibited at the Cemetery and on the Parish Council’s website.
4.3. The fees charged by the Council include everything connected with the specified items and no employee or member of the Council is allowed to receive any gratuity.
4.4. Non-residents of the parish will be charged quadruple the fee for any new purchase of the exclusive right of burial unless specified otherwise.
4.5. A person is considered to be a resident of the parish if he/she lived in the parish immediately prior to their death or lived in the parish for over ten years and moved out of the parish less than ten years before their death or moved out to be cared for.
4.6. If the person to be buried qualifies as resident of the parish, then the purchaser of the exclusive right qualifies too.

5. Title and Rights
5.1. The exclusive right of burial with interment is granted for a period of 99 years.
5.2. The exclusive right of burial can be issued to maximum of two people.
5.3. The lessee of the exclusive right of burial will be furnished with a Certificate of the same. Everyone named on the Certificate has the right to be interred into a grave (if there is sufficient space available).
5.4. The lessee will not have the power of transferring the right of burial in any grave without the consent of the Council except by will. Any person succeeding to a lease under a will or intestacy must notify the Council in writing of the change of lessee.
5.5. No grave for which a Certificate of Exclusive Right of Burial applies can be opened without written permission of the lessee unless the burial is to be that of the lessee. If two lessees exist, permission must be sought from both lessees.
5.6. The Council has the right to demand to see the Certificate of Exclusive Right of Burial before a grave is opened. If the lessee loses the Certificate, the Council has the right to demand a statutory declaration before the burial can take place.
5.7. Subject to compliance with the other requirements of these Regulations, no authority is required for the burial in any grave or plot of the registered lessee.
5.8. Upon the death of the registered lessee of the grave or plot, the person claiming the title to the right of burial must produce satisfactory evidence of title (Will, Letter of Probate or Statutory Declaration) before any grave or plot is opened otherwise than in accordance with Regulation 5.2.
5.9. A lessee of the exclusive right of burial who wished to assign his/her right may do so by means of a written assignment in a form to be approved by the Council. Until such assignment has been produced, and registered by the Council, the assignee will not be entitled to exercise any rights under the Grant.
5.10. In circumstances where the current lessee of the exclusive right of burial has died without a valid will specifically gifting the exclusive right to a named beneficiary, the Council may register a transfer of that right via a statutory declaration to another family member. In circumstances where other family members have competing claims to the transfer, the Council will first require those other family members to have formally renounced their competing claims.
5.11. The charge for interments in a public grave does not include the right or privilege other than a right of burial in a grave to be selected by the Council.
5.12. Unpurchased graves remain the property of the council and there is no right to place any form of memorial on any grave for which a Grant of Exclusive Right of Burial has not been issued. The council reserves the right to conduct more than one interment in any grave for which a Grant of Exclusive Right of Burial has not been purchased.
5.13. Pre-purchase of Graves: It is possible to pre-purchase a Grant of Exclusive Right of Burial prior to death. Spaces will be allocated in the Cemetery and a Grant of Exclusive Right will be issued for plots/graves purchased in this way and will be valid for a maximum of 50 years from the date of issue.
5.14. The council may, at the discretion of the Parish Clerk, buy back plots/graves that have previously been sold but are unwanted. Payment will be made at the original purchase price of the plot/grave less an administration charge of 10% and will only be made when the holder of the Grant of Right of Exclusive Burial surrenders the Grant of Right document to the council.
5.15. On the expiry of any grant of exclusive rights any unused plot/grave space within the area of that former exclusive right in which no interment has actually taken place shall by reclaimed by the Council and may be re-sold.

6. Funeral Arrangements
6.1. The funerals must take place between the hours of 9 am and 4 pm, Monday to Saturday. No burials or interment of ashes will be allowed on a Sunday or a public holiday.
6.2. Funeral Directors are responsible for ensuring that their employees and sub-contractors carry out their duties in compliance with current Health & Safety regulations.
6.3. Only one funeral will be allowed in the Cemetery at any one time except with the consent of the parties concerned.
6.4. The time fixed for a funeral is that at which the process is due at the Cemetery and such times must be strictly observed. In the event of a funeral arriving late, it must wait until it is convenient for it to proceed.
6.5. When a Notice of Interment has been given, any alteration of arrangements will only be permitted at the discretion of the Council in respect of any work that may have already been executed and any expenses that may have been incurred.
6.6. Persons in charge of a military or other large funeral must make prior arrangements with the Council.

7. Plots and Graves
7.1. The selection of any plot or grave space will be subject to the approval of the Council and consistent with its general plan.
7.2. Nobody will be buried in a grave in such a manner that any part of the coffin is less than three feet below the level of any ground adjoining the grave. Provided that the burial authority may, where it considers the soil to be of suitable character, permit a coffin made of perishable materials to be placed not less than two feet below the level of any ground adjoining the grave and the Council reserves the right to make such investigations as it thinks fit.
7.3. Nobody will be buried in a grave unless the coffin is effectively separate from any coffin interred in the grave on a previous occasion by means of a layer of earth not less than six inches thick.
7.4. When any grave is re-opened for the purpose of making another burial therein, no person will disturb any human remains interred therein or remove therefrom any soil, which is offensive.
7.5. The Council reserves the right to prune, cut down or remove any shrubs, plants or flowers whenever, in its opinion, they have become unsightly, overgrown or dangerous. Mounding up of graves or removal of turf will not be allowed in any part of the Cemetery.
7.6. For a new grave, in respect of which an exclusive right of burial is to be granted, care must be taken to see that the name of the proposed registered lessee is correct.
7.7. No underground or stonework will be allowed in any grave space the exclusive right of burial in which has not been leased and any memorial erected over such grave space may be removed by direction of the Council.

8. Memorials
8.1. Memorial Stones are not to be installed until at least 6 months has elapsed since the interment in that grave.
8.2. All memorials must be fixed in accordance with the NAMM code of working practice and BS8415/2018 and the memorials installed with registered fixers of NAMM RQMF or BRAMM. Proof with copies of certificates is required.
8.3. All memorials must conform to the general designs approved by the Council and must not cover an area at the head of the grave more than three feet long x fourteen inches wide.
8.4. Headstones must be fixed securely and erected in line with adjacent headstone memorials or in accordance with the directions of the Council.
8.5. Memorials will be placed back-to-back in line with adjacent memorials or in accordance with the directions of the Council.
8.6. Grave Memorials must be:
a. Not more than three feet in height above ground level (91cm),
b. Not more than three feet in width (91cm), and
c. Not more than one foot three inches in depth (38cm).
8.7. Row T Ashes Memorials must be:
a. Not more than twenty-four inches in height (61cm),
b. Not more than seventeen inches in width (43cm),
c. Not more than one foot three inches in depth (38cm).
8.8. All other Ashes Plot Memorials must be:
a. Tablet style memorials only,
b. A flat square of eighteen by twelve inches (46cm by 30cm).
8.9. The person erecting a memorial will arrange for the relevant section and grave number to be engraved in no less than three-quarter inch lettering on the right-hand side face of such memorial, and two inches above ground level.
8.10. Border stones, chippings or plastic railings are not permitted.
8.11. Bell-glasses, shells, chippings or other moveable or fragile embellishments will not be allowed in the Cemetery.
8.12. The materials used in the construction of memorials must be of durable natural stone, marble, granite or other similar materials.
8.13. Wooden memorials will only be permitted in special circumstances on written application to the Council.
8.14. Details and drawings of any proposed memorial and inscription thereon must be submitted to the Council for prior approval. This information must be given on the prescribed form and must be signed by the registered lessee of the right of burial in a grave. No memorial will be permitted without the consent of such lessee.
8.15. When, in the opinion of the Council, memorials are no longer maintained in good repair and proper condition, they may be removed by order of the Council.
8.16. If any monument or other work be erected or made in violation of these Regulations, the Council may remove the monument or work at any time, without notice, at the expense of the person responsible therefor.
8.17. All memorials must be conveyed into the Cemetery, erected and removed at the expense of the lessee of the right of burial.
8.18. No hewing of stones will be permitted within the Cemetery or approaches thereto, and all materials for monuments and memorials will be conveyed on to the Cemetery in such a manner under the direction of the Council as will avoid the cutting up of the road, walks or verges.
8.19. The fixing of memorials is not allowed on Saturdays or Sundays. Erectors or masons are requested to note that work incidental thereto will be permitted after normal working in the Cemetery. Work of every description must proceed continuously and be completed without unnecessary delay. This applies, in particular, to memorials awaiting re-erection. The reinstatement of a grave after such work is the responsibility of the monumental mason concerned.
8.20. No memorial, of whatever description, will be admitted into the Cemetery or permitted to be erected except on condition that such memorials be so erected, and remain, at the lessees’ sole risk, and that the Council will not be held responsible for any damage or breakage, which may occur thereto.
8.21. The Council reserves the right to remove any memorial or any part of thereof from an adjoining grave or graves when such removal is deemed necessary for carrying out the work of interment in any grave. The Council will replace any such memorial or part of thereof so removed, and make good any damage, which may be done in such removal.
8.22. If for Health and Safety reasons a headstone has to be laid down the owner will be informed by notice/post.
8.23. The lessees must keep all plots and memorials in good repair. Notice will be sent to the registered lessee in case of any repair being required and after one month in default, the Council will proceed to repair at the expense of the lessee.

9. Lawn Section
9.1. As soon as convenient after an interment, turf will be laid over the whole grave.
9.2. Mudford Parish Council will correct graves that have sunk in the first two years. After that, the Council will contact the relatives of the deceased to arrange correction.
9.3. Nothing whatsoever will be placed or erected upon or about the grassed area, such area being maintained by the Council in perpetuity.
9.4. One vase only will be permitted on each grave and it must not exceed twelve inches in height (30cm) and be placed immediately in front of the memorials in the soil border. Approved vases, however, may be incorporated in the stonework of memorials. If no memorial has been erected, vases must be properly marked with section and grave numbers. No glass vases are permitted.
9.5. Where a small moveable vase is placed on the graves, it is the responsibility of those placing it to keep the grass cut around and between them, where machines cannot run.
9.6. For Cremated Remains Companion Plots, one vase only will be permitted alongside each tablet.
9.7. In all respects, the Regulations relating to other sections of the Cemetery will be applicable to the Cemetery Lawn Section.

10. General
10.1. No person will canvas or solicit orders within the Cemetery.
10.2. Visitors to the Cemetery are requested to keep on the roads and walks, and not to walk across the graves or to damage the shrubs or flowers. Dogs will not be allowed within the Cemetery, other than guide dogs. Children must be in the care of a responsible adult.
10.3. No person will:
a. Wilfully create any disturbance in a Cemetery,
b. Commit any nuisance in a Cemetery,
c. Wilfully interfere with any burial taking place in a Cemetery,
d. Wilfully interfere with any grave, walled grave or plot, tombstone or other memorial or any flowers, plants or any such matter, or
e. Play at any game or sport in a Cemetery.
10.4. The Council reserves the right to make, from time-to-time, alterations, additions or amendments to the foregoing Regulations consistent with the Burial Acts.

11. Disclaimer
11.1. Mudford Parish Council accept no responsibility for any loss or damage incurred to any vehicle parked in front of the Cemetery.
11.2. Persons entering the Cemetery do so at their own risk.
11.3. Mudford Parish Council reserves the right to alter, add or amend these regulations.
11.4. Any disputes concerning interpretations of a cemetery rule in this document are to be referred to the Parish Clerk.

These regulations have been adopted by Mudford Parish Council at a meeting held on
28th November 2024, minute reference 24/198.