Funeral Services

Woodland burials
Many people are rightly concerned about the environment today. With this in mind some cemeteries have specially set aside areas for for 'woodland' burials, also known as 'environmentally-friendly' or 'green' funerals . This part of the Cemetery is designed to be a natural woodland area which will not be laid out in a formal manner with graves marked by headstones. The area will be allowed to grow as naturally as possible, with a tree eventually being planted on each grave. The Cemetery office has issued a leaflet entitled 'Woodland Burial - A Return to Nature', copies of which are available from us, which explains about this new scheme in detail.

Woodland burials tend to be cheaper than a traditional burial, for two reasons: firstly, the coffin is very simple and, secondly, there is no cemetery fee for purchasing the burial rights to the plot as the rights ascribed to the graves are held by the Cemetery Authorities.

Only bio-degradable coffins are permitted in the woodland section. We are able to provide very simple coffins which accord with both the letter and the spirit of the regulations. There has been some publicity in the Press about cardboard coffins and, although we are able to supply cardboard coffins, our recommended type of coffin is a simple chipboard shell with a paper foil veneer. We prefer chipboard coffins to cardboard ones for three reasons:

• We believe they have a more dignified appearance.
• We are worried about the strength of cardboard coffins.
• Cardboard is made from virgin wood pulp. This means that trees have been specially grown and cut down to make the cardboard. Chipboard is made from wood waste products and is therefore, in our opinion, more environmentally sound.

We are happy to advise on all aspects of choosing a 'Woodland Burial'. As well as offering a variety of traditional coffins we can provide a range of Bamboo, Wicker and Seagrass coffins which are more environmentally friendly, and are also Fair Trade certified. We have also sought, and received, assurances from our suppliers that the hardwood used in our oak veneer and solid oak coffins comes from a properly-managed forestry source.