MEMORIALS IN CHURCHYARDS
There is no legal right to place a memorial in a churchyard. Permission must be obtained from the Chancellor of the Diocese, acting on behalf of the Bishop. The normal method of applying for permission for a memorial would be to apply for a Faculty (see Faculty Applications). However, this is rarely necessary, because in most cases the Chancellor has given authority to local clergy, through some Diocesan Churchyard Regulations, to allow memorials which fall within the guidelines set out in the Regulations. For cases falling outside the Regulations, there is a simplified procedure for applying to the Chancellor for permission to introduce a memorial into a churchyard.
The members of the National Association of Memorial Masons work to accredited standards, and the Association will provide contact information for memorial masons working within the Diocese.
Bespoke Memorials
Dioceses are normally keen to encourage good quality interesting and imaginative memorials within their churchyards, and those considering memorials are recommended to visit the website of the charity Memorials By Artists for ideas and suggestions about appropriate memorials, and names of individual craftsmen working in stone and other materials.
Those seeking ideas might consider Headstones: Advice and Inspiration
This gives help and information anyone considering commissioning a special and individual headstone might need for ideas and making decisions.
The memorials and other work in stone produced by individual Letter-cutters and Stone Carvers can be very impressive, often witty or moving, and sometimes really extraordinary. They are practising skills which have been handed down over many hundreds of years, and produce some outstanding work. Commissioning work from them will help to keep these skills alive and enable them to be handed on to succeeding generations.
Diocesan Churchyard Regulations
Copies of current Churchyard Regulations will normally be available on the Diocesan website, or from the Diocesan Registry. Often a copy is displayed on the noticeboard of each parish church.
Anyone wishing to place a memorial in a churchyard should consult the Minister of the church before placing an order with a stonemason. The Churchyard Regulations set out the types of memorial which the Chancellor of the Diocese has authorized the clergy to permit. Where the Regulations are silent, for example on the subject of pictures or etchings on memorials, there is no delegated authority to approve, and a Faculty should be sought.
For full details of the fees payable please refer to the current version of the Parochial Fees Order, updated in January each year, currently the Table of Parochial Fees from 1st January 2024
Testing of Churchyard Memorials
PCCs should note that they have a responsibility for ensuring the safety of their churchyards, including any memorials, and should undertake a regular check to identify any potential problems. If a memorial has been identified as presenting a risk to health or safety, advice should be sought from the Diocesan Registrar as to how this should be dealt with.
Guidance on the safety of memorials is available at Managing the Safety of Burial Ground Memorials
Memorials inside Churches
As a general rule, the erection of new memorials inside churches is not normally permitted. Anyone wishing to erect a memorial inside a church must apply for a Faculty, and must satisfy the Chancellor that a departure from the normal rule is justifiable, for example, because the person to be commemorated was a major benefactor of the church, or made some major contribution to the church or parish, or was an important local or national figure, etc. Once a memorial has been installed inside a church, it forms part of the fabric of the building but the default position is that ownership remains with the person who erected the memorial or, after that person’s death, with the heirs at law of the deceased by virtue of s66 of the Ecclesiastical Jurisdiction and Care of Churches Measure 2018. It is recommended that as a condition of any faculty granted for such memorials, ownership should transfer to the Incumbent as part of the church title.