1. A certain part of the Cemetery is consecrated for burials according to the Rites of the Established Church, the remaining part being unconsecrated and any burial may take place therein provided such burial and the service (if any) attending is/be conducted with decorum.

2. Notice of every interment on a form to be provided by the Council must be given at least 2 working days previous to such interment taking place to the Ringwood Town Council, “Greenways”, 71 Christchurch Road, Ringwood, Hampshire BH24 1DH between 09.00 and 16.30 hours on Mondays to Fridays inclusive. If interment is permitted in a vault or brick grave, then 3 clear days notice must be given. No notice can be received between 16.30 hours on a Friday and 09.00 hours on the following Monday.

3. The hours of interment will in all cases be between 09.00 and 16.00 hours subject to arrangements as to the precise time with the Vicar, Minster or other authorised person required to officiate. No interment may take place on Sundays, Good Friday, Easter Monday, May Day Bank Holiday, Spring Bank Holiday, Late Summer Bank Holiday, Christmas Day, Boxing Day or New Year’s Day.

4. All fees and charges to be paid to the Ringwood Town Council when giving notice.

5.

a) Selection of the grave space in all cases both of general interment and on purchase is as determined by the Town Council.

b) All double depth graves for which the Exclusive Right of Burial has not been purchased at the time of the interment will be known as Common Graves and the Ringwood Town Council reserve the right to re-use these graves for future interments after a suitable period of time has elapsed.

c) The option to purchase the Exclusive Right of Burial of a Common Grave is open to relatives at any time subsequent to the interment and must be exercised before a further interment has taken place in the same grave.

6. The certificate of the Registrar of Deaths, or where an Inquest has been held, of the Coroner, must be handed to the Town Clerk, or his duly appointed representative, before or at the same time of interment.

7. Grave spaces for persons above 12 years of age shall be at least 6’6” (2400mm) x 4’ (1200mm) and for those under 12 years of age at least 5’ (1500mm) x 4’ (1200mm).

8.

a) The consent in writing of the owner (or funeral director on their behalf) to an interment in a purchased grave or vault must be given to the Town Clerk on the notice of burial and such consent must contain the grave number.

b) No interment shall take place in a new single depth grave unless the Exclusive Right of Burial for that grave is purchased at the time of the interment.

c) If the Exclusive Right of Burial has not been purchased, single depth graves will not be permitted, except where ground conditions are unsuitable for deeper graves.

9. All vaults shall be constructed under the direction of the Town Clerk, and built with:

i) good whole bricks or stone properly bonded and solidly put together with good mortar compounded of good lime and clean sand or other suitable material or with good cement mixed with the clean sand or

ii) other good hard or suitable material properly and solidly put together.

10. Materials of every description to be used in the construction of graves or vaults and all stones, tombs, tablets and monuments must be conveyed into the Cemetery on vehicles with wheels not likely to cause damage to paths and the turf.

11. Whenever a burial has taken place, except in a private vault, the surface of the grave shall, as soon as practicable, be covered with fresh turf unless a monument is to be erected upon it and in no case shall the bare earth be left exposed.

12. No body shall be buried in a grave so that any part of the coffin is at a depth of less than 3’ (900mm) below the level of the ground adjoining the grave.

13. All damage caused to any boundary wall, fence, ground, paths, memorials or to any part of the Cemetery must forthwith be repaired to the satisfaction of the Town Clerk by the party causing the damage.

14. No body shall be buried in a grave unless the coffin is effectually separated from any other coffin already in that grave by the means of a layer of earth not less than 6” (150mm) in thickness.

15. Where any grave is re-opened for the purposes of making another interment therein, no person shall disturb any human remains interred therein or remove therefrom any soil which is offensive.

16. Every person who in a Cemetery buries a body in a vault shall on the day of the interment after the deposit in the vault of the coffin containing the body cause the coffin to be wholly or permanently imbedded in and covered with a layer or layers of good cement and concrete not less in any part of 6” (150mm) in thickness or to be wholly and permanently enclosed in a separate cell or receptacle which will be constructed of slate or stone flagging not less than 2” (50mm) in thickness properly jointed in cement or good brickwork in cement in such a manner as to prevent as far as may be practicable the escape of any noxious gas from the interior of the cell or receptacle.

17. The owner of an Exclusive Right of Burial shall maintain the grave in good order and condition to the satisfaction of the Town Clerk.

18. No memorial shall be erected upon any grave unless the Exclusive Right of Burial has been granted and without the consent in writing of the Town Clerk.

19. Before a memorial is erected, the correct grave must be verified and agreed with the Town Clerk.

20. The person responsible for erecting, fixing, moving or transporting the memorial must provide all necessary tools, equipment and labour necessary for that purpose.

21. The person responsible for erecting the memorial must move all spare soil and clean up after the completion of the work to the reasonable satisfaction of the Town Clerk.

22. Suitable foundations must be provided in order to prevent memorials from sinking and must be constructed in accordance with the Code of Working Practice issued by NAMM.

23. No memorial, other than a headstone not exceeding 900mm in height, 900mm wide and 300mm in depth shall be permitted to be erected in any part of the Cemetery. Any flower vase or other container is to be an integral part of the memorial.

24. No plants with roots shall be planted on or adjacent to graves without Town Council permission.

25. No ornaments or articles are to be placed on or adjacent to graves without Town Council permission.

26. Kerbstones are not permitted.27. The maximum height of a memorial in the Garden of Rest is 150mm, the size for a single plot being 550mm x 275mm.

28. In all cases, design dimensions and inscriptions must be submitted to the Town Clerk for approval whose decision shall be final. Any contemplated work not provided for as above will be the subject of arrangement and fees with the Council.

29. No memorial is to be removed for any purpose without the previous consent of the Town Clerk.

30. Artificial grass matting must be used in the case of all interments. No dogs will be allowed in any part of the Council’s Cemetery unless on a leash, and cycling is not permitted within the Council’s Cemetery, and in particular, no moped or motorcycle shall be permitted within the Council’s Cemetery.

31. In all cases, whether the grave is hand dug or a mechanical digger is used, the Undertaker and any contractors appointed by him shall comply with all of the provisions contained within the latest Code of Practice issued by the Institute of Burial and Cremation Administration relating to grave digging. In particular, the Undertaker and any contractors shall be responsible for complying with all aspects of Health & Safety legislation relating to the digging, opening and backfilling of graves.

32. On completion of each funeral gravediggers are to remove all boards, wheelbarrows and equipment from the Cemetery.

33. A register of all burials will be kept in the Council office where at all times reasonable searches may be requested and certified extracts obtained from the Town Clerk upon payment of the appropriate fee.

34. The Council’s Cemetery will be open to the public, free of any charge.

35. Visitors shall not interfere with the Council’s employees in their duties nor employ them to plant graves or execute any private work whatsoever and employees are not authorised to receive any gratuity. Visitors will be required to keep to the paths and refrain from damaging shrubs, flowers and memorials and to behave in a decorous manner.