Where is the burial ground and what type of plot is available?
St Peter’s Burial Ground is situated off Iver Lane, Iver adjacent to the closed churchyards of St Peter’s Church. The burial ground is owned and operated by The Ivers Parish Council and has plots available for purchase for a period of 25 years, for the interment of ashes however we have only consecrated plots available. We permit two ashes interments per plot (you can purchase two plots side by side for a total of 4 interments) and we permit lawn tablet memorials on these new plots.
There are existing burial plots that have been purchased as double plots with a burial space remaining and burials are permitted in these plots.
If you are interested in buying a plot for the interment of ashes please let us know and we can arrange to show you the current rows and positions that are available. We are very sorry but we do not undertake advance purchase and reservation of plots.
Fees and Charges
Forms for applications
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The Agreement
The Iver Burial Ground is owned and maintained by The Ivers Parish Council, and from the 1st January 2016 the administration of burials (re-opening of existing graves), interments of ashes and memorial applications will be operated as a cemetery by The Ivers Parish Council.
From the 1st January 2016, The Ivers Parish Council Burial Ground will be closed to all burials, except for those where an additional coffin is to be placed in an existing burial plot. Only cremated remains are to be allowed to be interred on the available remaining ground, or in any existing unused burial plots. Any queries relating to the Churchyard are to be directed to St Peter’s Church. Permission must be obtained from The Ivers Parish Council before burials (re-opening) or interment of ashes can proceed. In these regulations, the term ‘burial’ refers to the burial of coffins only, and the term ‘interment’ is used for the burial of ashes or caskets containing ashes.
General
Everything in a churchyard or burial ground, from the memorial stones to the trees and shrubs, is a matter for care and consideration for all who take a real interest in their churchyard or burial ground and surroundings and wish it to be a place of beauty.
In recent times, The Ivers Parish Council in consultation with the Church has adopted the Oxford Diocesan Regulations for implementation in The Ivers Parish Council Burial Ground. These will remain in force with regard to additional burials in existing plots, or when any work is required to an existing plot or stone.
These Regulations apply to Iver Burial Ground which is owned and maintained by Iver Parish Council. As it is consecrated ground, all who are concerned with interments of remains will ensure that these Regulations are understood by the legal personal representatives and undertakers involved.
These Regulations will be drawn to the attention of all local undertakers and memorial masons as well as to the relatives of the deceased.
The responsibility for the authorisation of a burial in an existing grave; the interment of ashes (in both existing or new plots); application for a headstone, grave ledger or lawn flat tablet, and additional inscriptions/modifications on existing headstones lies with the The Ivers Parish Council. Authorisation will only be given if the headstone, grave ledger or lawn flat tablet falls squarely within these Regulations (and any supplementary regulations imposed by Iver Parish Council).
The Ivers Parish Council’s Burial Ground Regulations, Interment Form, Application for Monumental Work Permit and The Ivers Parish Council’s Burial Charges Schedule can all be found on the Parish Council’s website.
No memorial or headstone may be erected in the burial ground, nor any modification to a headstone, grave ledger or lawn flat tablet, nor any additional inscription made to a memorial or headstone until the contract agreement set out on the The Ivers Parish Council’s Application for Monumental Work Permit, has been entered into by the legal personal representative or executor (usually, but not always, a close relative of the deceased), seeking to erect or modify it.
A copy of the agreement will be given directly to the person seeking to erect the headstone, grave ledger or lawn flat tablet. It is insufficient for the copy to be given to an undertaker or monumental mason.
The original of the agreement will be safely kept with the parish records.
The Exclusive Right of Burial for new interments of ashes plots for a period of 25 years may be purchased at the time of submitting a notice for interment but NOT reserved for future use.
Existing earthen graves – where the interment involves re-opening an existing grave, it will be necessary for the person giving notice to produce ‘Deed of Grant of Exclusive Right of Burial’. Where the Deed owner is deceased, the next of kin and other close relatives should agree who should take the transfer of Exclusive Right of Burial.
The granting to the Grantee the right of burial in the grave space in The Ivers Burial Ground and the authorisation that is given to the grantee to erect a headstone/grave ledger/lawn flat tablet to remain in the Burial Ground for the period as stated in the Grant of Exclusive Right of Burial deed and the Headstone Agreement. After the term has finished, on renewal of the deed, a different term may apply.
Memorials for Existing graves
The Ivers Parish Council Burial Ground for a new Headstone/Grave Ledger/Lawn Flat Tablet Agreement allows a memorial to be placed on a grave until the grave deed expires providing it conforms to the regulations. All fixings must conform to BS 8415 and NAMM Code of Working Practice.
This permit will expire at the end of its term notwithstanding the date of expiration of the deed itself.
If the memorial is more than 25 years old, it should be given a thorough inspection by a qualified mason and a written report sent to The Ivers Parish Council.
Every memorial shall be kept in repair by the owner and remain at the sole risk of the owner at all times and without liability to The Ivers Parish Council and Iver Parish Council shall not be responsible for any damage that may occur to the same.
No headstone or grave ledger may be erected or re-installed in the burial ground without written permission of the Parish Council (usually via the stonemason).
A memorial may be no larger than 1200mm (4ft) in height from the ground, 900mm (3ft) in width and 150mm (6 inches) in thickness; and no smaller than 75mm (3 inches) in thickness.
A grave ledger may be no larger than 30” x 54”, flat and flush with the ground.
All installations and colours must be commensurate with existing burial ground, and must be approved in advance by Officers of the Authority.
New and Existing Cremated remains in the Interment of Ashes Plot Area
A new plot of up to 4 interments may be purchased by residents of the Parish of Iver according to the burial ground fees.
Cremated remains must be placed at least 2 feet below ground either in an urn/casket (wood); no plastic containers are allowed. With the agreement of members of the family, ashes can also be interred within an existing grave or scattered in an existing interment plot (under turf).
The standard size of a cremated remains plot is 600mm x 700mm.
The only memorials permitted for any new memorial applications from 1st January 2016, for both existing plots and new interment of ashes plots, in the interment of ashes plot area and in any existing unused burial plots, are to be lawn flat tablets conforming to the regulations.
Lawn flat tablets on interment of ashes plots must be made of stone, square in shape; and should not be greater than 450mm x 450mm with a minimum thickness of 50mm and laid flush with the ground.
All lawn flat tablets for new cremation plots will have a period of 25 years.
All memorials of any kind must be erected in accordance with British Standard 8415 and current industry standards.
Right of Interment
The persons entitled to be interred or have ashes buried in The Ivers Parish Council Burial Ground are:
- those whose home address, at the time of their death was in the Parish of The Ivers. This includes persons who, at the time of death were in a hospital, hospice or home for the elderly but, immediately prior to that, were residents of the Parish of Iver.
- those whose home address, at the time of their death, was not in the Parish of Iver, but who have proof of residency in the Parish of Iver of 10 years or It will be the responsibility of the deceased’s family to supply proof of previous residency.
Those described in (2), being non-residents at the time of death, will be charged the current surcharge fee for non- residents of the Parish.
Inscriptions
Inscriptions must be simple and respectful; they may include appropriate quotations from the Scriptures or literary sources. A request for any other inscription (including non-literary verses) must be made to the Parish Council. Inscriptions must be incised or in relief. Plastic, lead or other inserted lettering is not permitted. Hand-crafted letter-cutting is welcomed and encouraged.
Nicknames or pet names may be used in addition to given names; they should, however, normally be included in inverted commas within the name of the deceased.
Additions may be made to an inscription at a later date following a further interment in the same site or for other suitable reason. Any such addition must, however, be separately authorised. The lettering, layout and wording must be consistent with the original inscription.
No advertisement or trademark may be inscribed on a memorial, although the mason’s name may be inscribed at the side or the reverse in unleaded letters, no larger than 13mm (1/2 inch). New memorials should not be put in place until at least 6 months has elapsed since the burial took place to allow settlement of the ground.
Memorial Benches
No Memorial benches/seats are permitted to be installed in The Ivers Parish Council’s Burial Ground.
Flowers and Containers
Only fresh flowers or wreaths may be placed on graves. These must be removed when withered or decaying. No plastic or artificial flowers are permitted save in relation to:
- Remembrance Day wreaths or poppies, or Christmas wreaths; these must be removed after a period of one month
- Silk flowers, appropriate to the season; these must be removed when they become faded or bedraggled
- Toys or similar ornaments may be left at the graveside for a period of twelve months after the burial or They must then be removed by the family or by the Parish Council after sensitive consultation with the family.
Flower pots must only be placed within the area of the grave.
From 1st January 2016 no glass jars and vases, balloons, pictures, candles, other movable or fragile embellishments will be allowed in the cemetery.
All paper and cellophane wrappings must be removed from flowers and must be disposed of properly from site.
Graves may not be fenced or otherwise individually delineated and individual gardens or shrubs are not permitted.
Any objects left at the grave but not authorised by The Ivers Parish Council will be removed and returned to the relatives as soon as possible.
Please respect the graves of others, and ensure that floral and other tributes do not overhang or cover other graves, nor the walkways between. Keep graves tidy, and remove dead or decaying items. Most families will have a number of floral tributes in the weeks immediately after a burial, but we ask that these be removed when dead, and kept to a realistic level in the long term.
The removal of Tombstones and Kerbstones and the leveling of grave mounds
Grave mounds will be levelled after a specified period of 25 Years. The Ivers Parish Council will level individual grave mounds that are no longer being tended, having given notice of intention to do so.
In providing the Burial Ground, the Parish Council, are seeking to serve the local community, and we thank you for your cooperation in helping us to maintain the site as a place of dignity and peace, which will be visited by family members for many years to come.
Contact details
For more information please contact:
Nicole McCaig
Deputy Clerk, The Ivers Parish Council, 45B High Street, Iver, Bucks, SL0 9ND
01753 655331
office@iversparishcouncil.gov.uk
Data protection
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