Cemetery

Cemetery Regulations

Made by the Old Bolsover Town Council hereinafter called "the Council", in exercise of the powerand duties conferred upon them by the Local Government Act 1972, the Cremation Act 1902 and the Births and Deaths Registration Act 1926, and of all other powers and duties regarding the management, regulation and control of the cemetery provided by them within the Town of Bolsover.

1. The expression Clerk means the Registrar of Cemeteries for the time being of the Council, or the person who shall be acting in their absence.

2. The expression Headstone includes any associated urns and vase holders.

3. The expression 'Grantee' and or 'Owner' means the person who has Exclusive Right of Burial in a grave, or the person or persons deriving title under him or her.

4. The Clerk's office is situated at the Town Hall and will be open from 9.30am until 1.30pm Monday to Friday inclusive, for the purpose of affording information, receiving applications for grave spaces, interments and headstones. The office will not be open on Saturdays, Sundays or Public Bank Holidays or other local authority holidays.

5. Unless the content otherwise requires the expression "burial" includes the interment of cremated human remains and the expression 'cemetery' includes any place set aside for the interment of cremated human remains.

6. The cemetery will be open to the public from 8.00am to 5.00pm Monday to Friday and 9.00am to 5.00pm Saturday and Sunday during the Summer Months. During the Winter the cemetery will be open between the hours of 8.00am and 4.30pm Monday to Friday and 9.00am and 4.00pm on Saturday and Sunday.

7. No person not being an officer of servant of the Council or any other person so authorised by or on behalf of the Council shall enter or remain in the cemetery at any time when it is closed to the public. Any person who contravenes this regulation shall be liable to prosecution.

8. Plans of the cemetery showing the lay-out of the grave spaces therein are kept at the Town Hall and may be inspected free of charge by persons making application for grave space.

9. All funerals at the cemetery are under the control and direction of the Clerk and his staff and all hearses and carriages must be taken to the places directed. Carriages and hearses accompanying funerals will be admitted into the cemetery as far as the roadway allows or other such parts of the cemetery as may be sanctioned by the Clerk after application in any particular case. Other vehicles will not be admitted except by special consent.

No Bicycle, Tricycle or motor bicycle is permitted with the cemetery.

10. No extraordinary funeral procession will be allowed to enter the cemetery except by the special permission of the Clerk on notice and application for the purpose, and the Council may by their Officers, exclude from the cemetery any person or persons not being mourners or not having any duty or service in connection with such funeral or any other funeral taking place at the same time.

In every case in which a funeral is likely to be attended by bands, or at which a number of persons may be expected to assemble, the fact must be notified to the Clerk at least ONE clear day before the funeral, so that such arrangements may be made as will protect the cemetery from damage. The band must cease playing on arrival at the cemetery gates, and will not be allowed to play in the cemetery except by special consent of the Council.

11. Persons not actually attendant upon a funeral or visiting a grave are not permitted to walk upon the grass, but shall confine themselves to the walks of the cemetery and no unauthorised person shall touch or interfere with any flower, plant, tree or shrub or any monument or memorial of any nature whatsoever within the cemetery. Children apparently under the age of 12 years will not be admitted into the cemetery unless they are in the care of a responsible person.

12. No person shall sit, stand or climb upon any gravestone, headstone, palisading, gate, wall, fence or building belonging to the cemetery.

13. The Clerk may at any time exclude from the cemetery any person who conducts themselves in a noisy, disorderly, or unseemly manner or who is intoxicated or using improper language, or refuses to leave any portion of the grounds, when called upon to do so. No person shall be permitted to enter or leave the grounds except by the proper entrance gates.

14. Visitors or persons attending funerals shall not interfere with the work persons at their duties, nor employ them to plant graves or execute any private work whatsoever within the cemetery.

15. No dogs except guide or hearing dogs will be allowed in the cemetery.

16. Any shrubs, plants or flowers planted by the owner over any grave may be cut down or dug up and removed. Planting which prevents mowing and upkeep of the cemetery will be removed without notice.

The Council will contract the owner to keep in order certain grave spaces upon payment of the appropriate fee. Persons weeding must not leave upon any rubbish removed therefrom but must convey it to the bins provided for the purpose.

17. Metal or other flower holders of an ornamental character placed upon private graves, or jars, glass bottles or other unsightly articles will not be allowed and the Clerk shall be at liberty to remove from graves any moveable article which has become unsightly, and any flowers which are withered or dead.

18. All graves must be kept tidy.

19. The Council forbids any gratuity being received by any of their employees.

20. Any comments or complaints as to civility or inattention of the part of any employee should be made at the Town Hall.

21. All headstones or other memorial devices or other work shall be subject to the approval of the Council. Drawings of every headstone, other monumental work showing the form and dimensions, accompanied by a specification on a form to be supplied by the Clerk of the materials to be used for the work, and a copy of every intended inscription thereon, must be delivered to the Clerk for approval by the Council.

After approval a permit will be issued by the Clerk and no headstone or inscription shall be allowed to be erected or placed within the cemetery until a notice of permission is issued.

22. All graves, with their headstones shall be kept in repair by their owners. Notice will be sent to the Owner, or his or her representative, if known, in case of such repairs being required, and if not arranged for within 28 days after such notice, the Council at its discretion may carry out the repairs at the expense of the owner. The cost of the work shall be repaid to the Council and no grave will be re-opened upon which such cost remains unpaid. Special attention shall be paid to concerns under the Health and Safety at Work Act 1974 and all subsequent legislations. Dangerous headstones will be laid flat to the ground in the event of any concern or danger becoming apparent.

If any headstone or other memorial seat becomes unsafe, the Council Special attention shall be paid to concerns under the Health and Safety at Work Act 1974 and all subsequent legislations. Dangerous headstones will be laid flat to the ground in the event of any concern or danger becoming apparent.

If any headstone or other memorial seat becomes unsafe, the Council may remove it at the owner's expense.

23. No burial will take place, no cremated human remains shall be scattered and no headstone or other remains shall be placed in the cemetery without the Clerk's permission.

24. No headstone or memorial seat shall be altered or interfered with after it has been erected in the cemetery according to the design submitted to and approved by the Council nor shall any additional inscription be cut thereon without the approval of the Clerk. A copy of every such additional inscription, arranged exactly as intended to be executed, must be submitted to the Clerk and the fees or charges paid and official permit obtained before the work is commenced.

It is an offence to wilfully interfere with a headstone or other memorial, or to cut additional inscriptions on a memorial without the Council's authority. Any person doing so is liable to a charge not exceeding £20.00 and in the case of a continuing offence, to further charges not exceeding £5.00 for each day it continues.

25. All memorials (including headstones, seats, trees or plaques) of whatever description admitted into the cemetery or permitted to be erected therein shall be so erected and remain at the sole risk of the owner therefore, and the Council shall not be held responsible for any damage or breakage, which may occur to the same.

26. No headstone of any kind that exceeds 4ft (1200mm) in height will be allowed over any grave. No wooden monuments of any kind will be allowed over any grave.

27. No kerbs, stones or flat stones of any kind will be allowed to be placed on or around any grave space.

28. All headstones and memorials shall be placed on the foundation provided. The grave space shall be turfed.

29. Every headstone shall have clearly indicated thereon by a line across the front or back therefore the depth to which it is proposed to place the memorial below the surface of the ground and every such memorial shall, when erected, be placed below the surface of the ground up to such line, the measurements of each memorial shall be taken from such line upwards, such line to be clearly shown on the drawing submitted.

30. All headstones and memorial seats must be completely worked before they are admitted to the grounds, and no work of any kind thereon beyond that of fixing shall be allowed within the cemetery except the cutting of an inscription which cannot be made prior to the erection of such memorial with the cemetery. The Council reserves the right to exclude any memorial not executed in a workmanlike manner or that would in any way disfigure the cemetery.

31. All materials for memorials shall be conveyed into the cemetery by hand, or in such manner, as the Clerk shall from time to time direct. Mats, planks, boards, canvas or other such materials as the Clerk may require to preserve the grass or roads from injury in the conveyance or erection of such memorials, shall be provided by the parties erecting such memorials.

32. Masons employed in fixing memorials will be required to remove all spare soil or other materials and to leave the ground to the satisfaction of the Clerk. They will be held responsible for any damage done by them or their workmen either to the ground or to memorials. Masons must provide their own tools, planks, etc required for fixing stones.

33. Memorials may only be erected upon graves in which the Exclusive Right of Burial has been purchased. The charge for interment in a public grave shall not include any right or privilege other than a Right of Burial in a grave selected by the Council. No memorial of any kind will be allowed upon public graves, and nothing shall be placed upon such graves without the consent of the Council. Coffins of wood only shall be used in public graves.

34. Every memorial shall have cut upon it the number of the grave over which it is erected.

The work of fixing must cease each day with the ordinary working hours of the cemetery and no work will be allowed on Saturday or Sunday, and Public Bank Holidays, except by special permission of the Council.

Work of every description must be carried on continuously and completed with due dispatch.

35. Any measures or works not covered by or included in the foregoing regulations shall be subject to special agreement.

36. No mason or other person shall, within the cemetery be permitted to solicit orders, exhibit designs, distribute business cards, ask of or attempt to obtain from any employee, either directly or indirectly, information as to grave owners.

37. The permit and receipt authorising work to be done in the cemetery shall be produced to the Clerk or his staff whenever demanded during the progress of any such work.

38. The Council may prohibit any person offending against the foregoing regulations from entering or working in the cemetery for such periods as it thinks fit.

39. No person shall:-

(a) wilfully create any disturbance in the cemetery

(b) commit any nuisance in the cemetery

(d) wilfully interfere with any grave, or other memorials or any flowers or plants on any such matter

(e) play any game of sport in the cemetery.

Any person contravening this regulation may be liable to prosecution.

40. All notices of interment and applications for grave spaces and the erection and placing of memorials and inscriptions shall be given or made in writing to the Town Hall during the hours aforesaid and shall be accompanied by payment of all fees and charges in respect thereof.

41. All notices of interment shall be given on the printed forms supplied by the Council.

When it is desired that the interment be in a common or public grave, the notice shall be accompanied by a form of consent signed by a near relative of the deceased or a person acting on behalf of the relatives of the deceased, authorising the interment in a public or common grave, using the Transfer of Ownership document as might be necessary or appropriate.

When it is desired to purchase the Exclusive Right of Burial in a grave, the full name and address of the person to be registered as owner thereof shall be supplied. A Deed of Grant will be executed by the Council.

42. Not less than 48 hours notice, excluding Saturdays and Sundays and Public Bank Holidays, must be given for any interment.

43. Orders accompanied by remittances will be accepted if sent by post, but the Council will not accept any responsibility for any loss or delay which may occur if orders do not reach the office in time.

Any order or instruction given by telephone will be received at the sole risk of the person given such order or instruction unless immediately confirmed in writing in the manner provided by these se regulations.

44. The Certificate of the Registrar of Deaths of the registry of death, or in cases where a Coroners Inquest is to be or has been held, the Coroners Order for Burial must be produced to the Registrar at the cemetery as required by section 1 of the Births and Deaths Registration Act 1926. For the burial of the body of a still-born child the Certificate of the Registrar of Births and Deaths, or an Order of the Coroner as required by Section 5 of the Births and Deaths Registration Act 1926 must be produced.

45. No body will be accepted for interment unless enclosed in a coffin of traditional design. Details of any special type of coffin or container proposed must be referred to and approved by the Clerk at the time when initial reservation of services is made.

46. No interment will be allowed in any private grave without the production of the receipt for the fee for, or the grant of, the right of burial therein, which receipt or grant shall be produced when the notice of interment is given, together with such other evidence as the Clerk may require to show that the person giving the notice of interment is the owner of the grave or vault, or acting with the authority of such owner, in the event of a grant of right of burial being lost or destroyed the clerk will issue a certified copy thereof on proof of the applicant's title to the grant and payment of the appropriate fee.

47. An owner shall not transfer a right of burial referred to above, to any person other than a relation without the content of the Council, except where that transfer is evidenced by Will.

Necessary enforcement on the Deed of Grant will be made after the completion of a transfer on production of the Deed of Grant and appropriate evidence of Right to Title by the new owner to the Clerk.

48. Persons making interments in the cemetery may appoint their own minister or clergyman, but notice of the appointment must be given to the Clerk when the application for interment is made.

Interment are not allowed on Saturdays, Sundays or Public Bank Holidays.

An extra fee will be charged to the person having the conduct of any funeral which arrives after the appointed time.

49. If any alteration be made in the day or hour previously fixed for an interment to take place, notice thereof shall be given to the Clerk no later than 9.00am on the day of the interment.

50. The body of any person dying of an infectious disease must be taken straight to the grave.

51. Purchasers of graves may select the sites thereof subject to the approval of the Council and consistent with the general plan. The sites of unpurchased will be determined by the Clerk.

52. No grave shall be dug or excavated except by persons appointed by the Council. All grave spaces are 9ft x 4ft (2700mm x 1200mm) and the maximum interment in a grave will be at a depth of 7ft (2100mm) for which there will be an extra charge.

53. No burials (including those of cremated Human remains) will be allowed or no encroachment will be allowed for burial purposes on any ground allotted to paths or buildings or in the walks, shrubberies or gardens within the cemetery.

54. A Register of Burial is kept by the Clerk at his office where searches may be made during office hours and certified extracts obtained on payment of the prescribed fee.

55. All stone work in graves, as well as foundations for, and removals and refixing of memorials, shall be executed by the Council at the expense of the owner.

56. Walled graves at the time of the first interment shall be constructed to within on foot (300mm) from the level of the ground, with walls of not less than 9 inches (225mm) in thickness, (using breeze block construction).

All walled graves shall be opened from the top.

Within 24 hours of any burial in a walled grave, the coffin shall be embedded in the ground and covered with soil.

57. No synthetic stone will be allowed in the cemeteries.

58. Where two members of the same family, forming part of the same household, are buried at the same time, in the same grave, the fee to be paid shall be the same as in the case of a single interment.

59. The Council, as proper Burial Authority, reserves the right to make alterations in the foregoing regulations at any time without the need for prior notice or warning. Such amendments will subsequently form part of any new regulation document.

David Kee

Town Clerk

Old Bolsover Town Council

Burial Authority