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Buying a grave

Purchasing right of burial in a grave space

Rights of burial in a grave space are available to pre-purchase in two of the cemeteries run by Telford & Wrekin Council; these are Castle Green and Wombridge. Due to a lack of capacity, rights of burial are not available to pre-purchase in Wellington Cemetery.

When buying a grave you will not purchase any land and no ownership of land is transferred to you. You are buying the exclusive rights of burial for a grave.

You can pre-purchase rights of burial at Castle Green or Wombridge cemeteries for a period of 75 years, renewable at the end of the lease. After the term has expired, as long as the line of ownership is continued, the right of burial can be re-leased for a term of ten years. This would be at a cost of 10% of the current lease cost of a similar grave. If the owner at that time does not wish to retain these rights, lease for the grave will revert back to Telford & Wrekin Council.

The owner must give written consent for the grave to be opened for burials, or to apply for a memorial to be erected.

There will be an additional internment fee for each of any internments that take place. The internment fee will be the current one applicable and payable at the time of each interment and depend on the depth required. There will also be additional fees payable if the deceased was not a resident of the Telford & Wrekin Council area at the time of their death.


Fees

View our funeral fees to find out the cost of the grave type you wish to purchase

Please note: Where the pre-purchaser for a reserved grave, or the deceased, are non-residents of Telford and Wrekin, the fees will be doubled.


Choices of grave

Traditional grave

These graves are offered for those who want greater choice over the design of the memorial, or do not want people to walk over the grave. The entire grave can be surrounded by kerbs, edging or mounded full-length, with a memorial stone placed at the head of the grave. Trees and plants are not permitted. Placement and maintenance of the memorial and grave space is the responsibility of the grave owner.

Lawn grave

These graves are offered for those who want to place a memorial headstone only on a grave space. No kerbs, fences or surrounds are permitted on the grave and any placed will be removed without notice. No trees or plants may be planted on the grave. Placement and maintenance of the memorial is the responsibility of the grave owner but cemetery groundskeepers will maintain the lawn area.

Garden of remembrance for cremated remains

These plots are smaller than full-sized graves and are for the interment of cremated remains only. A small headstone can be positioned to mark the burial place. Placement and maintenance of the memorial is the responsibility of the grave owner.


Religion

There are lots of different religions and cultures in Telford & Wrekin. Our cemeteries have areas for specific religions. These include:

  • An area for the Muslim community at Wellington Cemetery
  • Areas for the Catholic churches at Wellington, Castle Green and Wombridge
  • Catholic lawn graves are available to pre-purchase at Castle Green and Wombridge cemeteries.

Capacity of a grave

Purchased graves can be dug to allow for two burials. A grave may occasionally be dug for three adult burials. However, no guarantees can be made as ground conditions may vary. We will do our utmost to dig the graves at maximum depth if requested. The number of burials should be specified at the time of the first burial as we cannot deepen the grave subsequently.

Up to three caskets of cremated remains can be interred in a garden of remembrance plot.


Application

If you would like to pre-purchase a grave, you will first need to decide on the type of burial plot. Grave spaces are sold on a next-in-line basis and unfortunately individual locations cannot be chosen.

Complete our online form to pre-purchase a cemetery grave space

After the application has been received, it will be processed within six weeks and you will then receive an email asking you to complete payment for the grave type.

Following payment, you will receive your Grave Deed by post.

The grave deed will display:

  • the grant number
  • the grave number
  • the name(s) of the owner(s)
  • the length of the ownership (including the start date)
  • the amount paid for the plot.

The grave deed must be kept safe and will need to be presented when arranging any interments of memorials. There is a charge for providing a copy in the event a grave deed is lost.

Last updated: 26/07/2022 18:00