Graves

A parishioner has a right to be buried in the churchyard of the parish in which he or she resides or where they are on the church electoral roll, provided that it has not been closed for burials by Order in Council, and provided that there is still room for burial. However, a parishioner does not have a right to be buried in a particular place, which is a matter for the Minister to decide at their sole discretion. Anyone wishing to be buried in a particular place in a churchyard can only acquire a right to be buried there by obtaining a Faculty to authorise the reservation of an exclusive right of burial in a particular grave.

There is a special form of Faculty Petition which should be used in connection with an application to reserve a gravespace.

An applicant should complete Part A of the Faculty Petition and ask the Minister (or, if there is no Minister, a Churchwarden) to complete Part B. In Part B, the grave to be reserved should be referred to by row and number on a churchyard plan. If there is no churchyard plan kept at the church, a sketch plan should be attached to the Faculty Petition showing the position of the grave to be reserved, with sufficient measurements from fixed points to enable the grave to be accurately identified. The completed form should then be sent to the Registrar, together with a resolution of the parochial church council in support.

A fee is payable on lodging the Petition, which is the normal Faculty fee, as specified under Fees. The fee will be requested on receipt of the Petition by the Registrar.

The Petition will be sent to the Chancellor of the Diocese, who will normally direct that Public Notices are published at the church, to give notice of the application to parishioners and an opportunity for objections. Such notices have to be published for 28 days. If no notices of objection are received by the Registrar, the Chancellor will normally direct the granting of a Faculty.

Where, for example, husband and wife desire to be buried together, they may either (a) make one application for the right for both to be buried in the same grave, in which case only one set of fees is payable, or (b) make separate applications for the reservation of two adjoining gravespaces, in which case the above fees are payable in respect of each separate application.