Cemetery

Graves can be purchased at the time a funeral is arranged and cannot be purchased in advance.

If you need help choosing a grave you can speak to our Cemetery team or your Funeral Director.

We can advise on the types and availability of graves, and any conditions that apply to them, such as their suitability for memorials/headstones.

There are multiple different types of grave spaces, which are dug to accommodate different needs:

• Burial Sections - up to two coffins and six ash caskets
• Cremation Plots - up to six ash caskets
• Cremation Vaults – up to two ash caskets
• Children's Sections - one coffin.

After a burial has taken place, the grave is filled in and allowed to settle for 9 to 12 months.

Exclusive Right of Burial

After a grave is purchased, the purchaser receives a Exclusive Right of Burial (known as 'the deed').

The Exclusive Right of Burial is a legal document which should be stored safely.

This legal document allows the deed holder to:

• be interred into the grave space (including ashes)
• authorise further interments into the grave
• place a memorial onto the grave or add inscription(s) onto an existing memorial.

Transferring an Exclusive Right of Burial 

There is a variety of reasons why it may be necessary to transfer the exclusive rights of burial. For example, the death of the Exclusive Right of Burial holder or the holder wishes to renounce their rights.

The way in which the transfer is dealt with can vary considerably depending upon the circumstances.

If you need to transfer the Exclusive Right of Burial please speak to a member of the Cemetery Team by emailing cemetery@melton.gov.uk. 

Interments, including cremated remains and scatterings can only take place by prior appointment between Monday to Friday, 9am to 3pm.

We have a chapel at Thorpe Road Cemetery that may be booked for services or ceremonies.

This is a traditional non-denominational chapel which can seat up to 50 people

To book a service or ceremony please contact the Cemetery team by emailing cemetery@melton.gov.uk. 

Scattering of Ashes

The scattering of ashes is permitted within the Garden of Remembrance. In all instances, prior permission must be sought from the Council. 

Cemetery Records

All records relating to interments including cremated remains, scatterings and grave plots are held by the Council.

Searches will be carried out on request, within the confines of the General Data Protection Regulations. If a lot of information is requested, then a charge may apply in line with our schedule of fees and charges.

Following the internment, the Exclusive Right of Burial deed holder may apply to install a memorial (sometimes known as a headstone) onto the grave.

To apply for a memorial please speak to your Funeral Director or a stonemason. They can support you with the purchasing of a memorial and help you with the application process to install this at our Cemetery. 

Before installations can take place you will need written permission from the council and you will need to have paid the relevant fees.

Each application to install a memorial at Thorpe Road Cemetery must include a detailed drawing showing all dimension sizes, the type of material to be used and full inscription details.

A temporary wooden cross or similar temporary marker may be placed on a grave following an interment. Once a memorial is erected the cross / wooden marker will be removed.  

All headstones need to be centrally located at the head of the plot to keep in line with other headstones.

Once erected, Memorial Stones become the responsibility of the owner and the Council accepts no liability for any damage caused.  

If you would like to place a memorial bench into our cemetery you will need to make an application.

To apply please email cemetery@melton.gov.uk with the details of the bench, including:

• the size of the bench
• your preferred location
• Any inscriptions or plaques you wish to have on the bench. 

The placement of benches is restricted to certain locations within the cemetery, so you may be offered an alternative placement.

All inscriptions to memorial plaques placed on benches need to be approved by the council before being installed.

If you application is approved, we will arrange for the bench to be installed. 

Maintaining a memorial bench

After installation, the maintenance and/or repairs of the bench are the applicant's responsibility. 

No vases or ornaments are permitted to be attached or deposited near the bench at any time.

We must carry out routine safety inspections on all memorials, including benches. 

Should the bench become unsafe, we reserve the right to remove the bench. Please see "memorial safety inspection" below for full details on our inspections.

We must carry out routine safety inspections on all memorials, including benches, within our Cemetery. This ensures the safety of anyone visiting or working in the Cemetery.

If a memorial is dangerous or unsafe, we may:

• leave it flat on the grave space
• cordon the grave off
• erect a warning sign

Memorabilia 

Additional vases and other memorabilia, for example, figurines, pot plants, lights and candles may be permitted if they are contained within the grave space.

Additional memorabilia to the grave space, will be sympathetically managed. These items may prevent our officers or contractors from being able to effectively maintain the cemetery to an acceptable standard. 

Seasonal memorabilia can be placed at the head end of the grave plot or secured to the headstone. The owner of the Exclusive Right of Burial is responsible for removing any memorabilia.

Our officers will remove Christmas wreathes throughout February/March as part of our routine maintenance works and safety inspections.