Mendip bereavement Services

We are committed to providing as much assistance as possible to guide you through this difficult time.

The three cemeteries that are maintained in Mendip are:

• Street (Cemetery Lane)
• Shepton Mallet (Waterloo Road)
• Frome (Warminster Road)

Glastonbury cemetery is owned by Glastonbury Town Council and Wells cemetery is owned by Wells City Council

Most funerals are provided through a funeral director who can provide a professional service. Some people may prefer not to use a funeral director, which is legal.

The former Mendip Hospital cemetery is looked after by the Friends of Mendip Hospital Cemetery.

Cemetery and memorial fees in the Mendip

Interment and Exclusive Right fees for residents who live in the Mendip area but not in the parish of the cemetery are increased by 50%.

Non-Mendip residents can be buried in one of the council’s cemeteries – fees for interment and Exclusive Right are doubled in this instance.

Purchasing a grave

When choosing a grave there are a number of options to consider, please see the information below.

What are my options?

If you are arranging a burial or cremation, you may:

• use a purchased grave (a grave already owned by your family)
• purchase a new grave
• use an unpurchased grave
• transfer a grave space

Please note that the land remains the property of the council; the owner simply purchases the exclusive right to use that piece of land as a burial space.

Purchased graves

Purchased graves are those that are purchased by a nominated person (usually the next of kin of the deceased), effectively forming a private grave and giving the family control of any future burials in that grave for the next 50 years. The grave owner must give written permission before any burial or memorial work can take place in the grave.

How to purchase a new burial or cremation grave

Burial or cremation spaces can be purchased in advance of any burials being required. Please complete this application to purchase or transfer deed form and send to us with the relevant pre-cemetery and memorial fees. A burial or cremation grave will be allocated by us.

You can purchase a burial or cremation grave at the same time as the funeral. An application form and fee is still required.

You will receive a deed of exclusive right certificate as proof of purchase. Please keep this somewhere safe.

Unpurchased graves

The council retains control of the burials in these graves. They are used for the burial of people who do not already own a purchased grave, and whose family do not wish to buy a grave at the time of making the funeral arrangements. Memorials will not be permitted on these graves.

Transfer of graves

If a grave space was purchased by a family member who has now passed away a transfer of ownership can be arranged. To do this you will need to complete a statutory declaration form [78KB] and Application to purchase or transfer deed of exclusive right [84KB] and send to us with the transfer fee.

Green and woodland burials

Green or woodland Burials are all about choice. They are not going to suit everyone, but they do provide a choice for those who are interested in this type of environmentally friendly interment. Any religion can be catered for as there is not any particular religious affiliation.

A woodland or green burial site is similar in operation to a traditional cemetery in that it has a number of plots, a grave plan and a register of plot owners. Visually however it is different. There are no individual stone memorials or marked graves, but an overall planting scheme of trees and shrubs. Over time the site develops into a woodland attracting a wide variety of wildlife. The natural process of decomposition is encouraged by the use of biodegradable coffins and shallower graves than in a more traditional cemetery.

Most Woodland Burial companies form a Trust to safeguard use, administer and maintain the land once the site is full.

We do not have a green burial site in Mendip at present.

Glastonbury and Sharpham Burial Board which manages Glastonbury cemetery does have a green burial section. Find out more on the Glastonbury Town Council website.

Exhumations

Exhumations are generally rare and tend to be traumatic for the family involved. They can take a long time to arrange and are usually expensive. For these reasons, it is always best to consult with all the relatives before proceeding.

It is an offence to exhume any human remains without first obtaining the necessary lawful permissions.

We do not carry out the exhumation of graves in our cemeteries but will give advice on obtaining the necessary permission.

Requirements for Exhumation

• Due to the nature of such a request, an exhumation is only granted for a very important reason
• Only the owner of the Exclusive Right can request an exhumation
• A licence must be obtained from the Home Office
• Exhumation licences will contain certain conditions
• If the person is buried in consecrated grounds, permission from the Church authority must also be obtained
• An Environmental Health Officer must be notified of the details of the exhumation and may supervise the event to ensure that respect for the deceased person is maintained and that public health is protected

Memorials

If you are planning to have a memorial placed on a grave, there are a number of things that you need to know.

Important points

• We recommend that you wait at least one year after the burial before installing a memorial so that the ground has time to settle.
• Your memorial is your responsibility please insure it.
• Please read the burial guidelines [114.21KB] and contact us for the rules and regulations for our cemeteries.
• Memorials may have to be removed for subsequent burials. This will incur additional costs to those funerals. This is particularly the case with kerb surrounds, and so it may be advisable to wait until all the burials in the grave have occurred before installing them.
• Memorials can be unstable and it is recommended that at all times you and your family members, particularly children, should avoid coming into contact with other memorials while in the cemetery.

Using a stonemason

Most people use the services of a monumental stonemason when installing a memorial. They can give you advice on which type of memorial to choose, as restrictions apply in certain sections of the cemeteries.

Before a memorial can be placed on a grave it must first be approved by the council. The stonemason will obtain permission on your behalf by submitting an application form to the council and paying the appropriate cemetery fee. They will recoup the fee from you.

The council runs a registration scheme for all the monumental stonemasons who work within its cemeteries. This is to ensure that they all work to agreed standards.

Application for Memorial

PDF, 87KB

Family history search

You can request a search of all burial registers maintained and kept by the council to help with carrying out a family history search.

Tracing your ancestry

Decide which line of your family tree you wish to trace. It is so easy to be side tracked by coming across records of other branches of the family, or unrelated families of the same name, and so waste time and effort.

It is always advisable to talk to older members of your family in the first instance and note down what they can remember. Look through family documents and memorabilia and search out any certificates that you already have, and any other relevant papers and photographs.

Please note before completing any forms the following information:

• Shepton Mallet Cemetery – records date back to 1853
• Frome cemetery – records date back to 1959
• Street cemetery – records date back to 1902

For information about other churchyards in Mendip, please contact the burial records office in Taunton on 01823 278805.

A standard search fee is £35, which will be invoiced once we receive the request.

You will need to complete our contact form providing as much details as possible, such as:

• Cemetery location, Shepton Mallet, Frome or Street
• Full name of deceased
• Approximate date of death