'Loving God, Serving Christ,
Growing the Church'

CHURCHYARD REGULATIONS 2015
(memorial tables amended 2022)
Regulations issued under the authority of

Robin Hopkins

Commissary General of the City and Diocese of Canterbury
in consultation with the Diocesan Advisory Committee

1. No object may be introduced into the churchyard without the written
permission of the Minister in accordance with Regulations 3, 4 or 5 or
of the Commissary General of the Diocese.

2. No burial, interment or memorial is permitted within four metres of any
exterior wall of a church.

3. This Regulation concerns burials. The Minister may grant permission
for the introduction into a churchyard of a memorial provided that the
following conditions are met:
(a) application for the introduction of the object is made in writing to
the Minister on the standard “Application under Churchyard
Regulations” form, such application to be submitted to the
Minister at his or her usual address and
(b) application is made no sooner than six months after the date of
the relevant burial and
(c) a memorial is in the form of a stone or wooden cross or
headstone at the head of a grave and meets the requirements of
paragraphs (d) to (o) below
(d) the following materials are permitted: unpolished Portland,
Purbeck, York or Nabrasina marbles, Celtic Limestone, slate,
honed pale grey granite, oak or teak. Other forms of unpolished
stone may be permitted at the discretion of the Minister.
(e) subject to paragraph (f) below, the size of a headstone or cross
and base falls within the dimensions set out in either Tables 1A
and 1B or Table 2 as follow:

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​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​In the case of a timber cross the minimum thickness permitted is 1.5
inches (40mm)

(f) a memorial for a child aged under 16 years at the date of death
may be smaller than the standard sizes specified above at the
discretion of the Minister.
(g) kerbs, railings or chippings, whether raised or at ground level,
are not permitted.
(h) moulded figure work is not permitted.
(i) the inscription on a memorial should contain the names of the
deceased, the date of his or her death, and the date of birth or
the age at death. All factual material in the inscription must be
accurate.
(j) the words to be inscribed on a memorial or any emblem, badge
or other design, must be appropriate in the opinion of the
Minister (and any necessary third party permissions obtained).
(k) photographic reproductions are not permitted.
(l) all words inscribed must, in the opinion of the Minister, be clearly
legible and the overall layout and design set out suitably.
(m) any infilling of lettering and other designs shall be of grey matt
finish or earth colour enamel and, in the opinion of the Minister,
shall be in harmony with the material from which the memorial is
made.
(n) no advertisement or trademark is permitted. If the name of the
craftsman who produced the memorial is inscribed on the
memorial, it shall be on its side or reverse only, in lettering
similar to the main inscription and not more than 15 millimetres
in height.
(o) the anchorage of all memorials must be in accordance with the
best practices of the industry and must comply with current
Health and Safety Regulations.

4. This Regulation concerns the interment of ashes.
(a) Biodegradable containers shall be used save where ashes are
placed directly into the ground without a container.
(b) Individual memorials are only permissible in principle where the
Faculty authorising the setting aside of an area for the interment
of ashes so permits. In such cases the Minister may permit the
marking of any individual interment by means of a tablet if the
following conditions are met:
(i) application for the introduction of the object is made in
writing to the Minister on the standard “Application under
Churchyard Regulations” form, such application to be
submitted to the Minister at his or her usual address and
(ii) application is made no sooner than one month after the
date of the relevant interment.

(c) In addition to the conditions in Regulation 4(b), the following
conditions concerning form, size and type of stone must be met:
(i) in a case where the Faculty authorising the setting aside
of an area for the interment of ashes has specified the
form and or size of memorials, the memorial is in the
specified form and or size or
(ii) in any case where the Faculty authorising the setting
aside of an area for the interment of ashes permits the
placing of individual memorials but does not specify the
form and size of such memorials, the memorial is to be in
the form of a tablet not exceeding (21’’x 21’’) 525
millimetres x 525 millimetres and
(iii) in any case where the Faculty authorising the setting
aside of an area for the interment of ashes has specified
any permitted stone or stones, the memorial is of a
permitted stone or
(iv) in any case where the Faculty authorising the setting
aside of an area for the interment of ashes permits the
placing of individual memorials but does not specify the
type of stone permitted, the memorial is to be of
unpolished Portland, Purbeck, York or Nabrasena
marbles, Celtic limestone, slate, honed pale grey granite,
oak or teak, or another form of unpolished stone at the
discretion of the Minister

(d) In addition to the conditions in Regulation 4 (b) and (c), the
following conditions concerning the design of memorials must be
met:
(i) the inscription should not exceed four lines of text
including the names of the deceased and dates of birth
and death, save that nine lines of text are permissible in
the case of a double interment. All information must be
accurate.
(ii) the words to be inscribed on a tablet and any emblem,
badge or other design must be appropriate in the opinion
of the Minister (and any necessary third party
permissions obtained).
(iii) photographic reproductions are not permitted.
(iv) all words inscribed must, in the opinion of the Minister, be
clearly legible and the overall layout and design must be
set out suitably.
(v) any infilling of lettering and other designs shall be of grey
matt finish or earth colour enamel and, in the opinion of
the Minister, shall be in harmony with the material from
which the memorial is made.
(vi) the name of any craftsman, trademark or other
advertising may not appear on the tablet.

5. This Regulation concerns flower containers. The Minister may grant
permission for the introduction into a churchyard of a container for
flowers provided that the following conditions are met:
(a) in the case of a flower container which is to be set in the
base of a memorial, its top will not protrude above the
level of the base or
(b) in the case of a flower container which is to be buried in the
ground immediately in front of the memorial, its top will not
protrude above ground level and
(c) if the flower container is to be placed in an area where there are
cremated remains, a Faculty has provided for tablets to be
placed over individual interments. Such a container must either
be incorporated into the tablet or buried in the ground within the
plot, in such a way that it will not protrude above ground level or
project beyond the plot itself.

6. This regulation concerns artificial flowers. Artificial flowers may be
permitted for a temporary period by the Minister. Rose bushes and
other shrubs shall not be planted on individual graves.

7. For the purposes of these Regulations, ‘Minister’ means the Incumbent
of the Benefice in which the churchyard is situated or, where rights of
presentation are suspended, the Curate licensed to the charge of that
parish or the Minister acting as Priest-in-Charge.

8. In the exercise of any discretion under these Regulations, the Minister
shall have regard to the current version of the Churchyard Guide.

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Robin Hopkins
Commissary General of the City and Diocese of Canterbury
January 2022