Facilities

GENERAL INFORMATION
1. The following regulations have been designed and formulated for the control and use of Mercia Forest Crematorium.

2. All correspondence should be addressed to:
Mercia Forest Crematorium
Broad Lane,
Essington,
WV11 2RJ

T: 01922 660 560
E: merciaforest@westerleighgroup.co.uk

3. Crematorium Opening Times:

Office	Monday - Friday 8.30am - 5.00pm
Gardens	Mon - Fri April - September, 8.30am - 6pm October - March, 8.30am - 5pm Weekends and Public Holidays 8.30am - 6pm

4. Children - those below 15 years of age, will not be permitted to enter the memorial gardens unless accompanied by a responsible adult.

5. Dogs shall not be permitted in the grounds.

6. Vehicles - cars are allowed in the crematorium grounds but drivers shall not exceed the speed limit of 5 mph. Cars must only be driven on the main carriageways. On no account may cars be driven on footpaths, grass areas or planted areas. All vehicles must be parked neatly to allow access to other vehicles.

7. The crematorium company shall not be held responsible for the safe keeping of any wreaths, flowers, plants or any other objects placed in the crematorium grounds nor any damage caused to memorials and monuments by high winds or storms, or other factors outside their control. An incident book is kept at the office for recording thefts of any type and the police will be informed of more serious crimes and if a high incidence of thefts occurs.

8. All persons shall conduct themselves in a decent, quiet and orderly manner. The General Manager is empowered to take such action as he/she may consider appropriate against any person who may:
- Commit any nuisance in the crematorium.
- Wilfully create any disturbance in the crematorium.
- Wilfully interfere with any burial taking place
- Wilfully interfere with any grave or memorial or any plants, flowers or other such objects in the crematorium grounds.
- Play any game or sport in the crematorium grounds.

9. Visitors to the crematorium shall not unreasonably interrupt any employee at their duties or employ them to execute private works within the crematorium or extend to them any gratuity. All enquiries, complaints and requests by members of the public must be made to the crematorium office and not to colleagues working in the crematorium grounds.

10. No person not being an officer or servant of the Crematorium or another person so authorised by or on behalf of the Crematorium Company, shall enter or remain in the crematorium grounds at an hour when it is closed to the public.

11. The taking of commercial photographs and filming is not permitted in the crematorium grounds except with the prior approval and permission of the manager in writing and upon payment of the appropriate fee. Photographs of individual memorials by approval with the owner are allowed.

12. No person shall operate any sound equipment or play any musical instrument in the crematorium grounds without the prior consent of the manager. This should not discourage people from singing at the graveside or playing a favourite song quietly with the acknowledgement of the manager.

13. The Crematorium Company reserves the right to close the crematorium grounds on any day should it be considered that circumstances so warrant.

14. The sale of goods, services, plants or other articles, the soliciting of orders or repair of memorials or for work connected with graves is strictly prohibited within the grounds of the crematorium. All such services and requests should be met by the crematorium office.

15. No employee of the Crematorium Company are allowed to undertake privately, any work or favour of any kind nor receive any gratuity for the said work of favour.

16. The placing of stone paving slabs, timber, etc around and leading to a memorial plot is strictly prohibited and shall be removed without prior notice on the grounds of health and safety and to satisfy the insurance underwriter of the company.

17. Any plants, vases or any other item placed outside the memorial plot shall be removed without prior notice.

18. The planting and maintenance of the grave is the responsibility of the plot owner and the company does not undertake any work unless a separate agreement has been made with the crematorium company and the appropriate fee paid.

19. All persons entering into the crematorium grounds shall conform to all respects with the crematorium regulations and shall be subject to the orders of the manager and staff who have full power to exclude from the crematorium grounds any member of the public whom may be deemed fit to exclude. Should it be necessary to use physical force to remove a subject, the Police shall be summoned.

20. These rules and regulations shall be final.

21. The crematorium company reserves the right to make any alterations and additions to the rules and regulations of the crematorium at any time it feels fit.

22. Rubbish must be placed in the receptacles provided for this purpose. No household rubbish must be left in the crematorium or dumped.

23. The crematorium fees are displayed in the crematorium office and are revised as required. 
 

Exhumations

1. No human remains will be removed from any grave after committal without the proper authority from the Home Office and/or the Ecclesiastical Court.

2. In the first instance a request for exhumation should be made to the manager of the Crematorium before any application for licence or faculty is made.

3. The Exhumation will be carried out in strict accordance with statutory provisions and any conditions imposed by the Secretary of State for the Home Office or the Ecclesiastical Court and any restrictions added by the Local Area Health Officer. Nothing in these regulations should be construed as authorising the disturbance of Human Remains without the appropriate authority. Human Remains within these regulations is deemed to include cremated remains.

 

Cremated Remains

1. The interment of cremated remains will only be permitted (and recorded in the cremation registers) when carried out in the presence of the manager or their authorised staff and only after the necessary documentation has been completed. The scattering of cremated remains is only allowed in the nominated woodland area, or memorial lawn by prior agreement, within the grounds and the above procedure needs to be adhered to also.

2. The certificate for Disposal of Cremated Remains issued by the Crematorium where the cremation took place must be delivered to the office before the interment can take place. Failure to deliver such Certificate will result in postponement of the interment until such time as the certificate can be produced.

 

REGULATIONS CONCERNING CREMATIONS

1. A cremation can only legally take place when the Crematorium has the Registrar's Certificate for Disposal or a Coroners Order for Cremation, Forms 1, 4 and 5 and the Medical Referee has signed Form 10 to allow the cremation to take place. Without these forms in no circumstances will a cremation be carried out. (Cremation Regulations 1930 Regulations)

2. The above forms must be received by the Crematorium Office at least 48 hours prior to the service taking place. Failure to provide these forms will cause the cremation to be postponed until such time that these can be produced.

3. The forms will be submitted on those provided by the crematorium and the appropriate fee paid before the cremation takes place, unless an account arrangement has been made with the General Manager.

4. Any form of religious service may be used but any other ceremony is subject to the approval of the General Manager. Alternatively, the ashes may be committed without a service.

5. The General Manager is authorised to refuse entry into the crematorium chapel any coffin, which in their opinion may be a hazard to public health. (Public Health Control of Disease Act 1984).

6. The maximum dimensions of a coffin to be loaded into the cremator is 38” wide (including handles) by 28” deep and 88” long.

7. The number of mourners permitted to enter the crematory for a witnessed cremation is six persons. This can only take place with the prior consent of the Superintendent and at his or her discretion.

8. The Funeral Director, or persons effecting the funeral service must provide sufficient staff to convey the coffin into the chapel, unless prior warning has been given to the office and the appropriate fee paid.

9. Every body that is brought to the crematorium must be contained in a suitable coffin or shroud. No coffin or shroud should be accepted unless it bears adequate particulars of the identity of the deceased therein.

10. The Crematorium will not be held responsible for any error or consequences which may arise by reason of any inaccuracy in or late receipt of paperwork and will accept orders and instructions by telephone only at the risk of the sender.

11. The crematorium will store the resulting cremated remains for a minimum period of 3 months before they are scattered in the remembrance garden, unless instructions to the contrary are given at the time of applying for the cremation.

12. If no instructions are given regarding the use of floral tributes, they will remain in the floral tribute area at the side of the chapel for 2 days, including the day of the funeral. After this period the flowers will then be disposed of.

13. Any music requirements must be communicated to the crematorium office at least 24 hours before the service is due to take place. If pre-recorded music is to be played, each piece of music must be clearly marked and in the case of CDs, each piece of music on a different CD. The crematorium accepts no responsibility for poor quality recordings or damage to worn out CDs or mistakes due to the inadequate labelling of pieces of music.

14. The cremation of body parts is permitted on the completion of the appropriate forms and the payment of the appropriate fee.

15. The cremation of a non-viable foetus is permitted with the production of the Medical Practioner’s or Midwife’s certificate of delivery.

 

REGULATIONS RELATING TO MEMORIALS

1. All memorials must be supplied and fixed by the Crematorium Company. No external stone masons will be permitted to carry out work in the crematorium grounds.

2. No memorial may be fixed in the crematorium grounds without the approval of the Manager. Unauthorised memorials will be removed out of the memorial gardens at the grave owner’s expense. All suitable styles and materials will be provided for your choice.

3. Inscriptions can contain relaxed expressions such as “Mum” and “Dad”, nicknames etc. The only regulation to this policy is that no inscription should contain words or sentiments which may be offensive to another visitor in the opinion of the General Manager.

4. All memorials erected are maintained at the expense of the owner of the Exclusive Right of Burial of that particular grave. Where memorials split, crack or become dangerous, the grave owner shall be required to have that memorial repaired, re-fixed or relevelled so that it shall be safe at all times.

5. The Crematorium reserves the right without notice to:
a) Remove or make safe any memorial which in their opinion is a danger or could become a danger to any person in the crematorium grounds.
b) To remove temporarily any memorial or part of the memorial if such a course of action appears to the General Manager to be desirable.
c) To recover all reasonable costs in making any memorial safe from the grantee or their representative.

7. Every memorial design or idea for commemoration will be considered by the company and that choice will be provided if it is reasonable for the company to do so. This will not include though materials which cause particular environmental harm such as the use of teak and other rainforest timbers for garden benches.

 

Date of Operation:

These regulations shall come into force on 10th July 2023.