Burials

What your options are

If you are arranging a burial you may:

• use a purchased grave (a grave already owned by your family)
• purchase a new grave
• use an unpurchased grave

Purchased graves

Purchased graves are those where the exclusive right of burial is purchased by a nominated person (usually the next of kin of the deceased), effectively forming a private grave and giving the family control of any future burials in that grave. The grave owner must give written permission before any burial or memorial work can take place.

Exclusive rights of burial can be purchased in advance of being required for burial. It is also possible to meet a member of staff in the cemetery to select the grave space yourself on payment of a selection fee.

Exclusive rights of burial are purchased for a fixed term. This can be for a minimum of 50 years, up to a maximum of 90 years.

Please note that the land remains the property of the council; the owner simply purchases the exclusive right to use that piece of land as private burial space. 

At the end of the term, it is the family's responsibility to renew their burial rights if they so wish. Should the rights not be renewed, the cemetery staff can lawfully remove any memorial after giving a set period of notice for you to remove the memorial yourself. If there is sufficient depth left in the grave, we also have the right to bury someone else there. We DO NOT have the right to disturb any existing burials in the grave.

Unpurchased graves

These are also known as 'common' or 'public' graves. The council retains control of the burials in these graves. They are used for the burial of people who do not already own a purchased grave, and whose family do not wish to buy a grave at the time of making the funeral arrangements. We do not permit empty graves to be used in this way and so if you choose to bury someone in an unpurchased grave they will be buried with other people who may not be related to them.

The council ensures that there is an 8 year interval between successive burials in these graves (unless the deceased were from the same family) which gives the family the opportunity to purchase that grave at a later date. If the grave is not purchased within 8 years, the council may re-use the grave to bury someone from another family.

Only unfixed memorials, such as a wooden cross or small stone vase / tablet, can be placed on an unpurchased grave subject to application and the payment of a small charge.

Different types of graves 

Lawned graves / unlawned graves

• Lawned graves are designed to emulate war graves by providing a neat and uniform appearance. You are only allowed to use the 1st three feet of these graves for a memorial or planting. The remainder of the grave must remain open lawn. Lawned graves were introduced to allow unobstructed access for visitors, including those with disabilities, and to make graves easier to maintain for the public.     
• Unlawned graves have no such restrictions and the entire length of the grave (8 feet) can be used for memorials or planting.

Graves for specific faiths

The cemeteries are divided in to various sections, and some sections are designated as being suitable for specific religious faiths. Our cemeteries have sections that are designated as:

• Consecrated land - blessed as sacred by the Church of England
• General land - suitable to be used for any burial
• Moslem land (Harton Cemetery and Boldon Cemetery only)
• Jewish land (Harton Cemetery only)

Children's graves

Whilst children can be buried in any full sized grave in our cemeteries, we can provide small graves specifically for the burial of babies and children in all of our cemeteries. Hebburn Cemetery has a designated section for the burial of infants and babies.

Cremated remains graves

Whilst cremated remains can be buried in any purchased grave in our cemeteries, we can provide small graves specifically for the burial of cremated remains in all of our cemeteries. 

Service arrangements available in the cemeteries

There are chapels available to be used for funeral services in Harton, Jarrow, Hebburn and Whitburn Cemeteries. You may hold a service there before proceeding to the graveside for the burial. Alternatively, you can hold your service at a local place of worship, followed by a brief committal ceremony at the graveside.

If you are planning to place a permanent memorial on a grave, there are a number of things that you need to know.

Important points

You need permission from the Council before installing any type of permanent memorial on a grave. A memorial installed on a grave without permission may be removed by us without giving notice beforehand.

We recommend that you wait at least one year after a burial before installing a memorial to allow for natural land settlement.

Your memorial and its continued maintenance is your responsibility. We strongly recommended that you insure it against theft or damage.

Memorials may have to be removed to allow burials and this will incur additional costs to those funerals. This is particularly the case with kerb surrounds, so it may be advisable to wait until all of the burials in the grave have occurred before installing them.

Memorials can be unstable and it is recommended that at all times you and your family members, particularly children, should avoid coming into contact with other memorials while in the cemetery.

Stonemasons which should be used

Only stonemasons who are registered with The National Association of Memorial Masons (NAMM) or The British Register of Accredited Memorial Masons (BRAMM) are permitted to work in our cemeteries.

This means that they will work in strict accordance with:

• British Standard 8415 (2018) - the professional standard for stonemasonry 
• The BRAMM Blue Book or the NAMM Code of Working Practice 
• The Council's Cemetery Rules and Regulations

You can find a list of the stonemasons who registered with NAMM or BRAMM below:

• NAMM
• BRAMM

View the list of local companies who are registered.

The stonemason will submit an application form to us detailing the memorial you wish to install.

Every application is subject to a fee. View a list of cremation and burial expenses.

The stonemason will pay the appropriate cemetery fee on your behalf and then recoup it from you. They can only proceed with the installation once they have received a permit from us.

Doing the work yourself

It is important that our cemeteries are safe places for people to visit and work in. That is why any stonemasons wishing to work there must be registered with NAMM or BRAMM.

However, families can also install their own memorials but are restricted to only:

• wooden crosses
• stone vases
• decorative stone surrounds

If you wish to place one of these memorials on a grave you need to submit an application form to the Council and pay the appropriate cemetery fee. View a list cremation and burial fees.

You can get an application form from Bereavement Services.

Once your application has been approved, we will send you a permit so you can proceed with the work.

We strongly recommend that you wait 12 months after a burial before installing a memorial. Following a burial, the grave can be subject to natural settlement for many months, meaning that the ground level can drop and need filling.

Authorised memorials

Some of the sections within our cemeteries are classed as "lawned" sections. The graves on these sections must remain open lawn apart from a 3 feet long strip at the head of each grave that can be used for memorials, mementoes and plants / flowers. It is not permitted to place memorials beyond the 3 feet long strip. 

Lawned and unlawned sections

The lawned sections in our cemeteries are:

The rest of the sections within our cemeteries are "unlawned" sections. Almost the entire length and width of these graves can be used for memorials, mementoes and plants / flowers.

Here is a guide to what memorials are permitted on lawned and unlawned sections:

Unpurchased graves are restricted to only a memorial stone (not in excess of 12" x 12") or a wooden cross.

Maintaining the memorial 

Whilst the council is responsible for maintaining the cemetery in a safe condition, you have a responsibility to maintain your memorial in a safe condition. If you fail to do this the cemetery staff may take action to make the memorial safe.

Any stonemason wishing to work in South Tyneside's cemeteries must be registered with the National Association of Memorial Masons (NAMM) or The British Register of Accredited Memorial Masons (BRAMM).

This is a list of the local companies who are registered. They are listed alphabetically, not in any order of merit.

There are many more stonemasons registered with NAMM or BRAMM and they can be found on these websites:

NAMM

BRAMM