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Old graves plots may be re-used
Tuesday 1st December 2009, 11:30AM GMT.
A church in the Black Country is planning to re-use parts of its grounds for burials because of growing demand for space, it was revealed today.
The move by Holy Trinity Church in Wolverhampton would allow unmarked graves more than 50 years old to be made available again. If given the go ahead, the plan would see burials resume in the grounds of the church in Heath Town for the first time in around 20 years. Church leaders have come up with the idea to help tackle falling burial spaces.
Leaders also say they have received a number of requests from parishioners to be laid to rest there.
Rev David Vestergaard, vicar of Holy Trinity, said today the church council and congregation had been carefully considering this option and now wanted to consult more widely with residents.
“I’m aware that quite a number of people living in this area would like the opportunity to be buried in the churchyard,” he said. “For a number of years we’ve not been able to offer this facility as the churchyard has been full.
“However the graves in the area around the church have now reached an age where many of them could be re-used. Because of the desire expressed by some to be buried here, we would like to re-use the older part of the churchyard.
“We hope to be able to serve local people in this way at a fraction of the cost of burial in the civic cemeteries.”
Church leaders say the practice is very common in older churches such as Holy Trinity which was built in 1852.
It would only affect the area known as the ‘old ground’ immediately around the church, and would not include graves that have a headstone or memorial, or which have more recent burials. No remains would be exhumed.
As over-burial is a standard practice in churchyards, the decision will be taken by the vicar in consultation with church council.
Anybody wishing to comment on the proposals should write to Rev Vestergaard, at the vicarage in Bushbury Road by Christmas Eve.
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i always thought someone always owned these graves would it not be wise to check the deeds first and find out if any relatives agree with this proposal
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I think that they should check first, I have 2 graves of great grandparent buried there from 1974, I think that the church has removed one of the head stones on the basis that it was ‘unsafe’. I would like to know what date the burials were.
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The reference to unmarked graves with a lower end of 50 years is one for great concern and made me refer to the COSLA executive group report entitled REPORT ON BURIAL LAW AND CEMETERY SAFETY.
Two sections of the report are of note ;
(1) Period of right of burial.
The allocation of rights over burial space in perpetuity is included in the 1855 Act. However, it is not defined within the Act. This leads to confusion and difficulties for cemetery managers when the lair owners cannot be contacted. It would be more practicable if rights were allocated for a set period – say, 100 years, or until no more relations were contactable.
(2) Legal transfer of burial rights.
Prior to a grave being prepared for an interment the authority of the person holding the Exclusive Right of Burial must be sought. Legal problems have been encountered by several burial authorities where the person holding this right has died, and the rights have not been legally transferred to their successor. The existing practice of the applicant completing a form of indemnity is now subject to legal challenge.
You may draw your own conclusions if such a short period is considered between interment and grave re-use.
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When you buy a grave you purchase the Exclusive Rights of Burial in that grave for a set period of time – this may be 50/75 years. You do not own the plot of land, just the particular grave space. In the final five years of this period you will be given the option of renewing the Rights for a further 25 years. It is important that you keep the Cemetery office fully informed should you change address otherwise you may not receive a notice of renewal at the appropriate time. Should you not wish to renew the lease or you cannot be contacted the Cemetery staff can lawfully remove any memorial after giving a set period of notice for you to remove the memorial yourself. If you decide to renew the lease this may be on condition that any memorial receives a full inspection and stability test and any defects found are repaired.
Ownership of the Exclusive Rights of Burial in a grave can be transferred from a deceased owner via the owner’s estate. Transfer can be very complex and you should contact the Cemetary office.
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That’s gross and disrespectful. We need more cemeteries and less pocy overcrowding. The problem will only get worse. Also, just because someone couldn’t afford a headstone why should their grave get trashed when people with headstones get to rest in peace. No wonder the councils are doing all they can to dammage and pull down the remaining headstones on their land, they’ll be copying this action.
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Can I say that it is not always that people can’t afford headstone, it’s the process that you have to go through to get permission to put one on! For instance, if I wanted to put a stone on my great grandmother’s then all of her children, siblings and grandchildren and great grandchildren would have to agree to me putting one on.
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Could I provide some clarification on a couple of teh comments that have been made. The laws governing cemeteries (local authority or privately owned) are different to the laws governing churchyards.
In a churchyard there is no exclusive right of burial and nobody buys or leases the grave plot. The fee (approved by Parliament each year) is towards the cost of the burial not a purchase of the land.
This practice goes on in older churches (Medieval and older) and has done for many centuries. The only reason that Holy Trinity Heath Town is consulting before making the decision whether or not to do this is that, like many Victorian churches, it has not needed to do so. Many Church councils of Victorian churches have taken the decision to have the churchyard formally closed to new burials rather than continue to provide a facility for the community.
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