Burials

We can usually carry out a funeral within six days of the service being booked with us. A burial can't take place unless a Coroners Order for Burial or a Registrars Certificate for Burial or Cremation has been issued. There are no legal restrictions on the type of coffin used. Your loved one can be buried in whatever clothing you choose.

There are seven municipal cemeteries in North Tyneside and new graves are available in all except Church Bank Cemetery.

New graves are excavated to take three full interments unless religious reasons or ground conditions prevent this.

A grave is allocated for each burial as required or can be pre-purchased. Most cemeteries have sections designated for Church of England, Roman Catholic and general burials. A few cemeteries also have Jewish and Muslim Sections.

Woodland burials are available within Earsdon Cemetery. The woodland section is surrounded on three sides by trees with pastureland beyond. Graves are excavated to take two full burials and the purchase fee includes a small sandstone plaque and the first inscription. Trees are planted in the vicinity but not on each grave. To maintain the natural surroundings we ask families who want plants on their graves to only plant spring bulbs or scatter wildflower seed.

There are two meadow sections within Whitley Bay Cemetery where the grass is managed so that wild flowers can bloom and the area remains free of memorials. Graves are identified by a small metal peg containing the unique grave reference. Some of our cemeteries have small areas set aside for baby graves. These graves are half the size of the normal adult graves and there is room for two burials of ashes at a later date if families wish to consider this option.

Many cemeteries also have ashes plots which can accommodate between four and six burials of cremated remains, depending upon the size of the caskets used.

Fees and charges

*During permitted hours

Where the grave rights have been purchased for 50 years the deed holder decides who can be buried in that grave, the inscription and type of memorial (if any). Deed holders can assign the grave rights to someone else in their lifetime. If this doesn’t happen, once the owner of the rights passes away, and further interments or a new memorial is needed, a legal transfer of the rights will need to take place. This will help to avoid family conflict where a number of family members all have an equal claim on the grave.

Please contact Preston Cemetery Office on (0191) 643 6070. We can guide you through the process (shown in the flow chart below).

You can view the Transfer of grave rights flowchart here

Families who choose not to purchase the rights to a grave are offered a grave which has previously been buried in (minimum of 14 years ago) with depth remaining for a further burial. These un-purchased graves can't have a fixed memorial but a vase or wooden cross is allowed (cemetery fee payable). It may also be possible for one family to purchase the grave at a later date and erect a memorial to their loved one, even though others are buried in the same grave.

Fees and charges

* The non resident fee applies if the deceased lived outside the Borough of North Tyneside at the date of death, unless:

• the deceased lived outside the Borough for less than a year before death
• the deceased moved outside the Borough to receive specialist care unavailable within the Borough

Where graves are to be pre-purchased or purchased for memorial purposes only, the applicant's address will determine if the non resident fee should be charged.

Normally, fixed memorials (e.g. headstones) cannot be placed on an un-purchased grave although a small vase or wooden cross may be allowed. Cemetery fees are payable for any memorial erected in our cemeteries. Please also be aware that the stability and maintenance of memorials is the responsibility of the deed holder in their life time and passes to the next of kin in the event of their death.

The cemeteries are maintained with regular grass cutting but if you choose to have a fixed kerbset (purchased graves only subject to approval and fees) or a temporary home-made surround placed around the grave, the area within the surround/kerb is the family's responsibility.

Sometimes (without notice) we may need to reposition temporary surrounds in order to gain access. Please be aware that all graves will settle and this can take at least a year following the burial. No surrounds should be placed on the grave in that period as the settlement may damage them and they will interfere with our ability to keep the graves topped up. When we believe full settlement has occurred, we'll dress the grave with top soil and apply grass seed.

Fees and charges

Graves will be planted out with seasonal bedding plants twice per year. Kerbed graves will be fully planted. Non enclosed graves (lawn types) will be planted with a flower border (4’x2’).

Fees and charges

Most burials are in cemeteries or churchyards, but sometimes people ask for burials on private land, for example, farmland or gardens.

You must:

• get permission to complete a burial where you are not the landowner
• tell any individual or mortgage company that has an interest in the property
• consider that access to the grave could be denied or restricted by change of ownership

The site must:

• have a deep water table
• be far enough away from watercourses to avoid pollution
• avoid electrical or other services

A limited number of burials will not be classed as a change of use and don't need planning approval. If you plan to fence or mark grave with a memorial, you might need planning permission.

You must:

• take care to excavate the grave and lower the coffin safely
• cover the coffin with soil to a depth of 3ft (90cms)

Farmland burial

The grave can be sited away from neighbours or the public and so should not cause offence. One or two burials generally don't need planning permission, but more than this might need planning approval for use as a cemetery or for mixed use if farming continues.

Garden burial

You must consider the effect a garden burial might have on your neighbours. They could be offended, uncomfortable or even horrified.

Bear in mind:

• this might not pose legal objections but could damage relationships with neighbours
• a house with a grave could reduce in value and put off future buyers