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Cemetery

Iccm Logo
The Cemetery has been open since 1875 and is now nearly full. As well as the graves of many local residents, there is a small section which is leased to and maintained by the Commonwealth War Graves Commission. In this area are the graves of Canadian airmen who served in Pershore and Defford during the Second World War and who lost their lives during the conflict. A service of Remembrance takes place on 11th November each year at the Cross of Sacrifice and the names of all the fallen are read at this service on alternate years.

Pershore Cemetery is owned and managed by Pershore Town Council, who are a corporate member of the Institute of Cemetery and Crematorium Management.

This page aims to provide you with information about the cemetery and various aspects relating to burials. It also explains your responsibilities as owners of the rights over grave spaces at the cemetery.

Pershore Cemetery dates from 1875 and has been the final resting place for most Pershore residents since that time. The Town Council endeavours to create a pleasant and peaceful setting at the cemetery and staff are available to answer any questions you may have.

The Cemetery is located on Defford Road, Pershore WR10 3BX and is open as follows:

October – March       8am – 5pm

April  –  September   8am – 8pm

There is a designated car park available and the same opening hours apply.

The Council is a member of the Association of Burial Authorities, incorporating the Institute of Cemetery and Crematorium Management and complies with the code of practice laid down by that organisation. All memorials are required to be installed to the standards of the National Association of Memorial Masons and a list of masons who are approved to work at Pershore Cemetery is available below.

Staff are contactable  at the Town Hall from 9.00am until 5.00pm, Monday to Thursday and until 1.00pm on Fridays – 01386 561561

Arranging the funeral of a loved one

Details of how to arrange a funeral will be provided by the Registrar when registering the death and you will be given the names of a number of Funeral Directors in the area. You can decide on either a full burial or a cremation and you may, should you so wish, make arrangements for the funeral without using a funeral director, although this is less usual.

The funeral service can be religious, humanist or a civil ceremony. It can be in a local church, at the crematorium or, for smaller funerals, the cemetery has a chapel that provides an intimate and dignified space for approximately 40 people.

If you choose cremation, the decision on the burial of the ashes does not need to be made immediately. In fact it is recommended that families wait a few weeks so that they have time to make sure that they know how they want to proceed.

However, if a full burial is to be undertaken, and you do not already own the rights to a grave space at the cemetery, you will need to choose such a space. It is hoped that the notes below will assist you in this process.

Please note that it is a legal requirement that no burial or interment of ashes may take place at Pershore Cemetery without the permission of the Town Council.

Cemetery

Purchase of the Exclusive Right of Burial in a Grave at Pershore Cemetery

Burials

Unfortunately, the Council no longer has sufficient space at the cemetery to allow a grave space to be purchased in advance of it being required for a burial. You will therefore be choosing a grave space for a loved one at what may be a very difficult time and it is important that you take the opportunity to visit the cemetery to choose the place where you wish to lay your loved one to rest. It is hoped that the following information will help you to choose this space and explain the various types of memorial that are allowed in different sections of the cemetery.

A family will usually purchase the rights to a grave space in which up to two burials may take place, the rights lasting for 70 years. If at the end of that time the family wish to repurchase the space, they will need to contact the Town Council at that time. Should you decide not to purchase the rights, it is important that you speak to the Town Clerk about the implications for the installation of a headstone and other aspects of your decision.

If you do decide to purchase the rights you are also allowed, with the Council’s formal permission, to arrange for a memorial to be erected on the grave. The type of memorial permitted depends upon the location of the grave and it is therefore very important that, when choosing your grave space, you ensure you have a clear understanding of what type of memorial is permitted in the area you have chosen. Please note that if you decide not to purchase the right, no memorial of any type may be installed on the grave.

Please note that the lawn sections are plots, M, V, W, X and Y and in these areas, headstones only are permitted although other small memorials may be placed within 18 inches of the headstone. No kerb sets are allowed in these sections, but families may arrange for a flat stone, the full length of the grave, to be installed if they wish. Examples of this can be seen in various areas of the cemetery. A map of the cemetery can be seen below showing where the various sections can be found.

Cremated Remains

If you choose a cremation, you will receive the ashes at some time following the cremation, either in a casket or an urn. You may choose to bury the ashes at any time in the future either through your funeral director, or, if you prefer, privately through the Town Council.

A separate part of the cemetery is laid out for the burial of ashes in a Garden of Remembrance. The rights to the space are again purchased and the ashes buried in the casket or urn. The owner of this space then has the right to place a memorial, in the form of a flat stone, on the grave with the Council’s formal permission.

Please note that it is a LEGAL REQUIREMENT that ashes may only be buried in any part of the cemetery with the authorisation of the Town Council and in the presence of a person authorised by the Town Clerk and the Certificate of Cremation handed to the person so authorised.

Cemetery Regulations

  • In those areas of the cemetery classed as lawn sections (as noted previously) the graves will be turfed or seeded flat. Headstones are permitted but vases, or other small memorials in this section are only permitted within 18 inches of the headstone.
  • Please note that no railings, chains or fencing of any description or any other similar inappropriate item will be allowed as any part of a memorial and the Council reserves the right to remove these items when undertaking grounds maintenance.
  • No person may plant any tree within the cemetery.
  • Permanent memorials may not be installed unless the grave space has been purchased by the person applying for the memorial, the express permission of the Town Council has been received and the necessary fee paid.
  • It is the responsibility of the owner of the grave space to keep the grave neat and tidy at all times and any memorial in good repair so that it is safe. If any owner fails to fulfil these obligations the Town Council reserves the right to make good any deficiency including, if necessary, the removal of any memorial or other object for which, when applicable, the owner will be charged.
  • No one other that a person acting with accredited authority such as a funeral director, authorised memorial mason or member of the Town Council staff shall dig or carry out memorial mason work in the cemetery.
  • Temporary wooden crosses erected by the funeral directors may remain on the grave for a maximum period of 6 months following which they will be removed.
  • The Town Council reserves the right to remove vases, plastic and silk flowers, and any other inappropriate ornaments from graves and to dispose of wreaths, sprays and similar fresh flowers once these have perished.
  • Please note that whilst dogs are permitted in the cemetery they must be kept on a lead at all times. Please clean up after your dog.
  • Children under the age of 14 years old are only allowed in the cemetery in the company of an adult.

Maintenance of the Cemetery

Weather conditions permitting, all sunken graves will be topped up with soil and re-seeded. In the lawn areas of the cemetery, no plants may be planted beyond the 18 inches in front of the headstone and the Council reserves the right to remove and dispose of any plants or other objects extending beyond this limit.

The contractors will mow around graves as part of their routine maintenance and strim up to headstones.
Maintenance of the actual grave is the responsibility of the owner of the grave space.

Bench

Memorials

Memorials may only be erected by authorised stone masons, a list of which on page 8 of this leaflet.

Your chosen mason will advise you on the type of memorial and apply to the Town Council for permission to erect this on your behalf. Only the owner of the grave space may apply for such a memorial and your stone mason will ask you to sign the necessary application form.

The Town Council reserves the right to refuse any inappropriate memorial or inscription.

Please note that there are restrictions on the type of memorial that may be erected in different parts of the cemetery.

For further information please contact the Town Clerk:
Tel: 01386 561561
Email: townclerk@pershore-tc.gov.uk
or visit us in the Town Hall, at 34 High Street, Pershore WR10 1DS

Memorial Masons Approved to Work at Pershore Cemetery

Abbey Memorials Ltd
Rawreth Industrial Estate
Rawreth Lane
Rayleigh
Essex
SS69RL
Tel: 01268 782757

Memorials of Distinction
The Memorial Works
Southfields Road
Dunstable
Bedfordshire
LU6 3EP
Tel: 01582 249990

Town & Country Stonemasons
Unit 86J Blackpole Trading Estate West
Hindlip Lane
Worcester
WR3 8TJ
Tel: 01905 759191

RGR Memorials
4 Wold Farm Park
Broughton Road
Old
Northamptonshire
NN6 9RH
Tel: 01604 780044

The Memorial Company
227-279 Pershore Road South
Kings Norton
Birmingham
B30 3EX

Tel: 0121 459 2355

Memory Lane Memorials Ltd
60 High Street
Pershore
Worcestershire
WR10 1DU
Tel: 01386 555201

George Willcox
Weston Ind. Estate
Honeybourne
Evesham
Worcestershire
WR11 7QU
Tel: 01386 840855

Ursells
Waterloo Monumental Works
Cantilupe Road
Ross on Wye
Hereford
HR9 7AN
Tel: 01989 562530

Simply Stone Evesham Ltd
58 Port Street
Evesham
Worcestershire
WR11 1AP
Tel: 01386 421999 or 07793 084166

Stonemasons of Worcester Ltd
The Stoneyard
Hylton Road
Worcester
WR2 5JS
Tel: 01905 423178

JW Stonemasons of Cannock
136 Anglesey Business Park
Littleworth Road
Hednesford
WS12 1NR
Tel: 01543 422023

MS Group Ltd
Mossfords
285 Cowbridge Rd West
Cardiff
CF5 5TF
Tel: 02920 593245

Just Memorials
Unit 15
St Richards Road
Evesham
Worcestershire
WR11 1XJ
Tel: 01386 47852

Fees at Pershore Cemetery as of 1st April 2023-24

Scale of charges
Please note that the charges below relate to anyone resident in Pershore, or a person who resided in the parish within the preceding 5 years. In all other cases the exclusive rights of burial, interment and memorial fees will be multiplied by 2.5. These fees are reviewed annually and therefore subject to change without notice.

Interments

  • Interment of child under 18
  • Interment of person over 18
  • Interment of cremated remains
  • Purchase of full-size grave plot
  • Purchase of plot for cremated remains
  • Purchase of grave for child under 12
  • No fee charged
  • £270
  • £195
  • £500
  • £250
  • £145

Memorials

  • Flat Stone (max 6ft 6ins x 2ft 6ins – flat to ground)
  • Headstone up to 3ft high
  • Footstone
  • Kerbstone
  • Additional inscription
  • Vase with inscription
  • Stone with vase and inscription
  • Flatstone in Garden of Remembrance
  • Use of chapel and keyboard
  • Transfer of ownership fee
  • £220
  • £250
  • £95
  • £250
  • £115
  • £115
  • £140
  • £175
  • £150
  • £80

Music available at Pershore Chapel

Cemetery

If you have any queries, please contact:

Town Clerk
Pershore Town Council
34 High Street
Pershore
WR10 1DS

Tel: 01386 561561
Email: townclerk@pershore-tc.gov.uk