BEREAVEMENT GUIDE
INTRODUCTION Contents The Crematorium Chapel Funeral Services and Music Cremated remains & Crematorium grounds Memorials, Book of Remembrance, Kerb Plaques, Vase Block with Plaque, Tree with Plaque, Seat with Plaque, Columbarium The Cemeteries Stonefall, Fewston, Goldsborough, Harlow Hill, Kirkby Malzeard, Kirkby Overblow, Knaresborough, Pateley Bridge, Ripon, Grove Road Burial Services Graves & Memorials Deed of Transfer, Genealogy & Guiding Principles Charter for the Bereaved Advertorials
Harrogate Borough Council’s Bereavement Services team provide a caring, sensitive and high quality service for people at a difficult time in their lives. Losing a loved one presents many challenges and the Bereavement Services staff can give helpful advice and guidance about all aspects of funerals and memorials. The team responsible for ensuring the high standards of service and appreciated by visitors to the cemeteries and crematorium are based at Stonefall Cemetery, Harrogate. The office is situated at the main gate on Wetherby Road. Each member of the team takes pride in the fact that all funeral services conducted within the cemeteries are done with the utmost respect and reverence for both the deceased and bereaved. We offer a flexible approach in order to incorporate as many of the bereaved’s wishes as possible, while still upholding the ethical and legal requirements as laid down in the Local Authorities Cemeteries Order 1977, the Code of Cremation Practice and the Charter for the Bereaved. The following pages give information about the services we provide and we would be pleased to receive any suggestions for their improvement. If you are interested in becoming involved with any of our development groups, please do not hesitate to contact us. Philip Andrew Bereavement Services Manager
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This brochure introduces the crematorium and cemeteries of the Harrogate district and provides details of where to seek further information and advice.
Access to Facilities & Services Offered Stonefall Cemetery
Contacting us
Open 24 hours for pedestrian access, but vehicle access is only available: Monday to Friday 8.30am - 4.30pm Saturday, Sunday and Bank Holidays 10.00am - 4.00pm All other cemeteries closed at dusk.
Any queries regarding the service or facilities provided, can be dealt with by any member of staff, who will then direct the customer to the most appropriate person or organisation.
Book of Remembrance
Contact us;
The room is open Monday to Friday 9.00am - 4.00pm Saturday, Sunday and Bank Holidays 10.00am - 4.00pm
Bereavement Services, Stonefall Cemetery, Wetherby Road, Harrogate, North Yorkshire, HG3 1DE Tel: 01423 883523 Fax: 01423 884151
The book is opened on the appropriate date each morning. However, if you are unable to attend on that day, we can open the book to the required date, with prior notice if the book is available.
Cremation Services
Appointment intervals are offered Mon - Fri (please check availability).
Burials
The office is open between the hours of 8.30am - 4.30pm Monday to Friday (except Bank Holidays) with answer phone facilities outside those hours.
With service in chapel at (Stonefall and Ripon) 9.40am - 3.00pm (Mon - Thurs) Fridays last appointment at 2.20pm. Straight to grave burials are available 9.30am - 3.00pm (Mon - Thurs) Fridays last appointment at 2.30pm. (Please enquire for winter burial times)
Email: bereavement@harrogate.gov.uk
Web: www.harrogate.gov.uk/bereavement
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There is also an option for a memorial service, separate to the funeral.
THE CREMATORIUM CHAPEL Cremation Services The Harrogate crematorium is a beautiful building set within the tranquil grounds of Stonefall cemetery. The crematorium has easy access off Wetherby Road, A661, Harrogate. Parking is available close to the original Garden of Remembrance. The crematorium area features the chapel, a public waiting area with a drinks machine, toilets, and a memorial room where the book of Remembrance is displayed. A floral island is located in front of the crematorium chapel for the display of flowers following the funeral. All facilities are fully accessible and comply with the requirements of the Disability Discrimination Act. The whole complex is maintained to provide an air of calm and peace, and to make the difficult occasion of attending a funeral or visiting a memorial as consoling as possible. The crematorium is situated centrally within the Stonefall grounds. The use of the chapel is included within the cremation fee and can be used for either a full service or committal service.
Adjacent to the chapel entrance, is a waiting room for mourners to view the approach of the funeral cortege.
Toilet facilities are situated opposite the chapel entrance (including a disabled toilet). Within the same complex is the Book of Remembrance room. Entrance to the Book of Remembrance room, chapel and waiting room are wheelchair compatible. A loop system is in place, in the chapel, for hearing aid users. The chapel, with two large stained glass windows, provides seating for up to 80 people, with removable ornaments to respect the different beliefs of the deceased and bereaved. Music is provided, with any special requests and family CDs welcomed. There is also an organ and organist available by prior arrangement. Once the coffin is placed on the catafalque (the raised platform) at the front of the chapel, it will remain there until all the mourners have left the chapel. Following the service, any floral tributes will be displayed beside the chapel exit, available to be collected, otherwise they will be transferred to the flower island, remaining there for a period of one week. The type of funeral service and the manner in which it is to be conducted are entirely a matter of personal choice.
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FUNERAL SERVICES AND MUSIC Your Funeral Director will advise and guide you on the format of the service, and will inform the crematorium of any specific requirements in advance. If you are not using a Funeral Director, it is best to speak to the Bereavement Services staff as early as possible so that we can assist you with any necessary procedures. The appointment interval at the crematorium includes a 20 minute service time, although extra time can be made available with a charge for the extended use of the chapel. The whole of the funeral service may take place at the crematorium, or a service can be held at a church or other venue followed by a committal only at the crematorium. On arrival at the chapel it is usual for the coffin to be transferred from the funeral vehicle to the catafalque, on which it rests during the service.
Music
Music can be a very important part of a funeral service, and can provide a fitting background for private thoughts about the deceased. The chapel is equipped with an organ and a resident organist who can play a wide variety of hymns, classical and modern music. The chapel also has a music system with a library of many different types of music. If a required piece of music is not already available, families may provide their own CDs. It is common for music to be played on entry to and exit from the chapel, with either hymns being sung or songs being played during the actual service. You may choose entirely popular music, classical music, hymns, or a combination of these types.
Mourners will follow the coffin in to the chapel and take their seats for the start of the service. At the end of the service, mourners leave the chapel by the exit door, which leads to a floral display area where any floral tributes will have been placed. All cremations are then carried out to comply with the most recent Environmental legislation.
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CREMATED REMAINS AND GROUNDS
Cremated Remains
Collection of Remains
Garden of Remembrance
Following the funeral service the coffin is transferred to the crematory, which houses modern cremators in which the cremation will take place. For the cremated remains, which are commonly known as ashes, there are various options for their final resting place, such as strewing, burial in a grave, placing in the columbarium or taking home. Bereavement Services staff or your Funeral Director will be able to advise you of your options, and it is recommended that you give careful consideration to your choice.
Arrangements can be made for the Funeral Director, or other agreed representative, to collect the remains to take them elsewhere or, to keep them until a decision can be made. Cremated remains are available for collection the day after the cremation. Please ensure that on collection there is a Disposal Certificate accompanying them; this is required if the remains are to be taken to another agreed Authority.
The old Garden of Remembrance at Stonefall cemetery was opened in 1937 and provides a quiet, tranquil area landscaped with trees and shrubs where ashes were strewn, until the opening of the Memorial Garden. Remains can still be strewn in this area, if specifically requested, although memorial plaque availability is limited. Only fresh cut flowers or a small wreath are permitted to be laid on the ground areas.
After the Cremation Following the cremation, there are a number of options available for you to consider.
Burial or Strewing
Remains can be interred within a dedicated cremated remains plot or, in a full grave with other relatives. Please note that the service requires the written permission of the grave owner before any burials or strewings can take place. Strewings can also take place in other locations within the cemetery as explained below.
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The Memorial Garden Opened in 2000, the Garden, which is accessed via a footbridge over a flowing stream and pond, is constantly developing through the careful planting of trees, shrubs and flowers. The unique design of the garden incorporates sculptures, a stream with a
pond and bridge plus an informal wild flower area. The Waterdrop sculpture, surrounded by a furrowed grassed landscape simulating rippling water is a focal point of the gardens. These features, along with the high standard of maintenance by our gardens team, provides a tranquil and comforting area to visit and sit. The Memorial Garden has been developed as the predominant strewing area for cremated remains and for displaying memorial plaques to the deceased. In order to allow the grounds and grass to be maintained, no personal articles, vases or plants are permitted and flowers must be placed only in official containers. Fresh cut flowers or a small wreath may be laid by a plaque or any grassed area.
Sculptures
There are also other sculptures placed within the cemetery grounds. There is a Flame of Life sculpture in front of the Columbarium with a slate clock at its base. Another sculpture entitled Five Inspire is located in the Memorial Garden.
Please note
To maintain the service's high standards of maintenance within the cemeteries, only officially recognised memorials are allowed. Any impromptu memorials will, regretfully, be removed and attempts made to contact the applicant of the deceased person to whom the memorial refers so that they can be collected. No other articles should be left on grassed areas to impair grass cutting maintenance at any time.
SANDS Memorial The SANDS (Stillborn and Neonatal Death Society) memorial is dedicated to the memory of babies and children. Kerb plaques are available for purchase in front of the memorial on the kerb side and where it is possible, cremated remains may be scattered in the vicinity of the sculpture.
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MEMORIALS Whether or not to dedicate a memorial in
wedding anniversary, especially if
memory of a loved one is entirely a matter
commemorating more than one person.
of personal choice. For those that find they
The page is displayed and opened at the
may gain comfort from having a memorial
corresponding day so that entries may be viewed.
at the crematorium, the following
If you are unable to view the book on a specific
options are available.
date, the staff can open it to the appropriate date with prior notice, if the relevant book is available.
Memorial Cards These cards are gilt edged and carefully inscribed to the same high standard as they appear in the Book of Remembrance.
Book of Remembrance The Book of Remembrance is situated in a specially provided room near to the chapel at Stonefall. The books are hand made and bound in leather, composed of leaves of the finest vellum. Pages are allocated to each day of the year and inscriptions are usually placed within the book on the date of death or occasionally on a joint date such as a
Miniature Books Leather bound, the miniature books provide a similar service as the memorial cards but are to a much higher quality. They can be used as personal family records and additional inscriptions can be entered if required.
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Specimens of the memorial card and
The basis of the memorial is the inscription in the
miniature book may be seen at the
original Book of Remembrance. This is tangible
crematorium office.
and permanent, and indeed, offers the only form of memorial that is available in perpetuity. The inscription must first be placed in the leather bound book (see page 7). Once in the book, access to the inscription on-screen is via a special viewing card, which is swiped at a point beside the screen. The card is unique to you and will take you directly to your inscription. For full details, please
On-Screen Memorials at
ask for our separate leaflet.
Improved access to the book of
It is also now possible to view inscriptions via the
Remembrance was the prime reason
internet on http://harrogate.bookofremembrance.eu
Harrogate Crematorium
for development of the on-screen memorial, but it is far from the only benefit. For each entry, as well as the inscription in the book, it is possible to include up to four additional screens of text and/or photographs to produce a truly unique memory of your loved one(s). The kind of information, which might form the basis of additional screens, includes photographs of the person(s) commemorated, a brief biography, a favourite verse or piece of prose, or photographs of significant places or occasions.
Memorial Plaques Within Stonefall grounds, memorial plaques can be affixed in a variety of locations and sites, following a cremation. All plaques are purchased for an initial fixed period, after which an opportunity to renew is offered.
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In order to preserve the natural appearance and beauty of the gardens, it is requested that no personal articles are left. Fresh cut flowers or a small wreath only may be laid immediately behind a kerbside plaque or any grassed area and these will be disposed of regularly by the grounds staff during
Kerb Plaques
their maintenance programme. It is essential that you notify the service of any change of either owner or address so
A single bronze plaque can be purchased and placed in designated areas within the gardens. A double inscription can be placed on a plaque
that we are able to contact you once the
if desired.
period of ownership has expired on the plaques, in order to offer you the option to renew; otherwise the plaque will be removed, placed in storage for 12 months and then sent for recycling if no further instructions have been received.
Vase Block with Plaque The plaque is combined with a container for holding flowers and is located near the columbarium building adjacent to the memorial gardens at Stonefall.
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MEMORIALS Tree Plaque (if available) These are located in various areas of
Columbarium The columbarium, which in Latin is a dovecot, is
the grounds. Some trees have a fixed
a memorial structure built adjacent to the memorial
block in front, on which the plaques
garden in Stonefall cemetery. It offers an alternative
are placed, along with a flower holder.
to the formal strewing or burial of cremated
The more available option are the
remains. Niches within the walls can hold two sets
tagged trees, with inscription. Please note that no other articles must be left around the tree.
of cremated remains, which are fronted by Balmoral red polished granite, bearing an inscription. They can be purchased for an initial fixed period, after which a renewal period is available.
Ripon Memorial Wall Within Ripon cemetery, there is a Garden of Rest where cremated remains can be strewn. There are also memorial
Seat with Plaque Hard wood seat benches may be available with a plaque within a variety of cemetery locations.
walls for which plaques can be purchased and affixed in memory of those who have passed away. Further information on the options for cremated remains and memorials are available from the Bereavement Services office.
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CEMETERIES The service operates ten open cemeteries and a crematorium: FEWSTON Meagill Lane Blubberhouses Opened: 8.6.1911 GOLDSBOROUGH Station Road Goldsborough Opened: 30.3.1950 GROVE ROAD Grove Road H arrogate Opened: 24.4.1864 HARLOW HILL Otley Road H arrogate Opened: 3.10.1871 KIRKBY MALZEARD Warren Lane Kirkby Malzeard Opened: 5.4.1882
KIRKBY OVERBLOW H arrogate Road Kirkby Overblow Opened: 30.9.1883 KNARESBOROUGH York Road Knaresborough Opened: 2.9.1876 PATELEY BRIDGE Panorama Way Pateley Bridge Opened: 16.10.1874 RIPON Kirkby Road Ripon Opened: 14.2.1894 STONEFALL Wetherby Road H arrogate Opened: 5.6.1914 Chapel facilities are available for funeral and memorial services at Ripon and Stonefall.
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Of special historical interest are the sections at Stonefall and Ripon cemeteries, dedicated to the military personnel who perished during the two World Wars; the War Graves Commission maintains these. Individual War Graves are also sited throughout the council’s other cemeteries. As part of the Stonefall site, there is a Hebrew Cemetery, which is overseen by the Harrogate Hebrew Congregation. Most of the cemeteries have space available for full and cremated remains burials and to pre-purchase for the future. The records for each cemetery and the crematorium are maintained at the Bereavement Services office and certain records are available during office hours for inspection. As part of the services commitment to public safety, an ongoing memorial survey programme has been developed in conjunction with the Health and Safety Executives and other professional recognised bodies.
BURIAL SERVICES
Burial Services All the cemeteries in the services care are open for burial; however, new graves are very limited in Grove Road and Harlow Hill. A grave is allocated for each burial as required or can be pre-purchased. Graves can not be pre-purchased in Grove Road and Harlow Hill. The grave provided by the service for full burials is a lawn grave, which is for one, two (or three limited availability) interments. The sections are maintained with regular grass cutting, with the facility provided for a full memorial stone (as approved by the service). There are specifically designated sections within some cemeteries reserved for cremated remains, baby and child graves. Baby Graves This section is reserved for babies up to one year and is provided for those families wishing to place a memorial tablet on the grave, as approved by the service. Headstones can be placed on certain of these graves. Child Graves This section is reserved for both babies and children, with room for one interment in each grave and has the facility for a full memorial stone (as approved by the service). Cremated Remains Graves Each grave can contain up to six sets of remains. To assist in the services aim to be as
ecologically friendly as possible, each set of remains may be interred within a container made only of natural materials, e.g. wood, metal or natural quarried stone. It is compulsory, that all owners of grave rights make provision for the transfer of the rights to their heirs or assignees, either in lifetime or at the time of death. Headstones Following a burial, it is possible for a headstone, which complies with the council’s regulations to be erected on the grave space for a fixed period. After making your selection, an application must be submitted to the Bereavement Services team for approval. The headstone must be fixed by an accredited memorial mason who is registered with the council. All headstones are subject to constant safety inspections, which are fully explained in the Rules and Regulations governing memorials. Woodland Burial Graves These graves are for single burial only and are commonly known as green burials. The area is a completely natural site with no headstone or memorialisation allowed. However, at the discretion of the council, trees can be planted in specific areas and bereaved relatives may wish to support this as a living memory of their loved one.
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DEEDS, GENEALOGY AND GUIDING PRINCIPLES Deeds of Transfer As it is only the grave owner that can give permission for any burials in a grave, or for the scattering of remains and memorial erection on a grave, grave ownership must be kept up to date. If the grave owner is deceased, grave ownership must be transferred into a living person's name so that any necessary signatures can be obtained. If a grave owner dies and does not leave clear written instructions as to who the subsequent grave owner should be, then a Deed of Transfer needs to be completed. A living grave owner can transfer the ownership of their grave on completion of a surrender of ownership form. Any queries regarding the transfer of grave ownership should be referred to the cemetery office.
Genealogy The Bereavement Services office holds all the registers relating to burial and cremation in the district’s cemeteries and crematorium, from 1864 to the present day. Bereavement Services staff can conduct searches of the registers for you, or you may visit the office to view the burial registers by appointment. Guiding Principles To complement the Charter for the Bereaved, the Institute of Cemetery and Crematorium Management ICCM has published a set of Guiding Principles. We have adopted these principles, copies of which can be seen at the Bereavement Services office. The first Principle summarises the commitment of the council’s Bereavement Services team to manage with competency and efficiency, to ensure that the entire bereavement experience occurs without error or insensitivity, and meets the religious, secular, ethnic and cultural needs of the bereaved.
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CHARTER FOR THE BEREAVED Harrogate Bereavement Services team have adopted the Charter for the Bereaved. The ICCM, a professional organisation committed to developing and improving bereavement services and providing training for those who work within it, established the Charter. In order to adopt the Charter for the Bereaved an authority has to demonstrate that they satisfy 35 basic rights associated with funerals. The Charter also contains objectives, and helps authorities to set priorities for future development and improvement. An annual assessment ensures that the service keeps improving and raising its standards, and allows it to be ranked against other services throughout the country. Members of the public can be assured that an authority that has adopted the Charter is committed to providing excellent service designed to meet their needs. This is certainly the case in the Harrogate district. A copy of the Charter for the Bereaved can be viewed at the Bereavement Services office, or on the Institute of Cemetery and Crematorium Management website at: www.iccm-uk.com
In summary the Charter: Seeks to generate interest in and educate people about bereavement. It also helps to influence the expansion of services and clarify the various roles and responsibilities of those involved. Is committed to improving the service by confronting rather than disguising or ignoring death. It is intended to define the rights of every individual who experiences bereavement. In achieving this aim, it also sets standards of service related to burial, cremation and funerals. It is a written statement of what can be expected and enables people to judge the quality of the service received. The Charter enables you to recognise a responsive service, one that meets your expectations and one that is delivered with the right attitude and with a genuine desire to be helpful. Where these human qualities are combined with the requirements of the Charter, the highest standards will be achieved. The Charter will give you greater influence over the arrangements of funerals, thereby controlling costs and obtaining greater satisfaction.
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How TO FIND STONEFALL CEMETERY
Bereavement Services, Stonefall Cemetery, Wetherby Road, Harrogate, North Yorkshire, HG3 1 DE Email: bereavement@harrogate.gov.uk www.harrogate.gov.uk/bereavement Tel: 01423 883523
Fax: 01423 884151
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