Cemetery
Please contact the Parish Clerk with a request for burial in the Cemetery.
email: theclerk@foresthillwithshotover-pc.org.uk
The burial charge is £350 for parish residents, single or double depth plots.
The interment of ashes charge is £175 for parish residents, single or double depth plots.
There are no fees for the burial of a child up to the age of 18 years, of *resident families of the parish.
*A resident is a person or family, in the case of a child, currently living in the parish or having resided in the parish in the past for longer than 12 months.
If neither of the above applies to the applicant the council will review the application on a case by case basis.
Cemetery Rules
The Cemetery is a public space which means it is available for all to visit. It is a place of remembrance, peace, and quiet reflection.
The following rules and conditions have been agreed by Forest Hill with Shotover Parish Council.
- Within the areas of the Cemetery in current use, there is no choice of position. The Council will allocate the next available plot. Unless reserved or bought in advance, previous to April 2017, then only adjacent to the burial plot of a loved one already buried.
- A memorial headstone or plaque can be erected only when EXCLUSIVE RIGHT OF BURIAL has been purchased. This is the legal way by which a family acquires 'ownership' of a grave or ashes plot.
- No headstones or memorial plaques are to be erected or placed without prior notification to the Parish Council from the Funeral Directors. All headstones and memorial plaques must be supplied by a qualified Stone Mason with their own insurance and must be BRAMM registered. They must comply with current Health and Safety Regulations and be provided with adequate footings to avoid settlement and possible collapse.
- The size of a burial headstone must not exceed: Headstone - height 27" x width 23" x depth 3". Base - width 24" x depth 12" x height 3". Foundation base - width 30" or 36" x depth 18" x height 3".
- When cremated remains are buried in a plot, a standing headstone is not to be laid. A flat stone, with a maximum measurement of 18" x 15", or a wedge tablet, with a maximum measurement of 18" x 15" x 5", can be laid.
- Inscriptions on headstones and memorial plaques are to face east.
- A flower vase may be incorporated into the memorial. This must not be made of glass or any other breakable material.
- Tributes and additional objects left on a grave at the time of the interment will be permitted to remain for six months from the date of the interment. After this time the Parish Council reserves the right to remove them, after consultation with the family. All dead flowers and wreaths will be removed if left on a grave for an unduly long time.
- No kerbs or edging of any description to be placed on or around the grave space.
- The Parish Council reserves the right to remove any vases, receptacles, or edging which do not conform to the cemetery regulations.
- All headstones, memorial plaques, and vases must be maintained, cared for, or kept in a state of tidiness or good repair by the person erecting or placing the same.
- Families are encouraged to look after the graves and memorials. The Cemetery is an open public space, therefore the Council cannot be held responsible for any damage or theft from graves, memorials, or tributes.
- All grass cuttings and dead flowers must be put into the far corner of the Cemetery adjacent to the field and wall.
- The Parish Council is responsible for the gates, shed, grass mowing on unused grave areas, and hedge adjacent to the top field.
- Permission to place a memorial bench in the Cemetery must be obtained from the Parish Council and placed in an agreed place only.
- Permission to plant a memorial tree in the Cemetery must be obtained from the Parish Council and planted in an agreed area only.
- Dogs are permitted to visit if kept on a lead and under control. All fouling to be cleaned up.