Cremated Remains
“Our Family Taking Care of Your Family”
A Loved One’s Ashes
At the time of making the funeral arrangements, it is not always easy to realise the emotional benefit that is gained after the funeral by having somewhere to go – a place for you and your family to go back to – knowing that a loved one is there.
Today, most churchyards and cemeteries have a separate area solely for Cremated Remains or Ashes – most of which allow you to mark the grave with a small headstone, tablet or vase. Alternatively someones ashes can be strewn or interred at the crematorium where the cremation took place.
Locally, both GreenAcres (Colney Wood) and Norfolk Bluebell Wood Burial Parks have designated areas for cremated remains.
We will be happy to advise on how to make the necessary arrangements.
Options And Information Regarding A Loved One’s Ashes
What are the options available?
When arranging the funeral we will discuss with you the final destination of the deceased’s ashes.
The options can vary from having them laid to rest in the Gardens of Remembrance at the crematorium or for us to collect the ashes on your behalf and we arrange for them to be buried in a local churchyard or cemetery.
Some families prefer to privately scatter their loved ones ashes at a location of personal significance such as a favourite woodland or walk or by the sea, a sporting venue such as a bowling green or golf course or even overseas at a favourite holiday destination.
Alternatively you may wish to collect the ashes from us to keep at home.
How soon are someones ashes available from the crematorium?
Generally speaking ashes are available from the crematorium the next working day.
If you require them urgently it is possible for the Applicant for Cremation to collect them from the crematorium however the majority of families prefer us to collect them on their behalf.
If it is your wish for us to collect them from the crematorium it is normal practice for us to do so the next time we are at the crematorium of which is usually within a few days of the funeral taking place unless prior arrangements are made for us to do so earlier.
When the ashes are brought into our care they are recorded and held in our Chapel of Rest until you are ready to receive them.
It is our policy not to inform you immediately when they are with us as this can put unnecessary pressure on families to collect them from us. It is usually safe to assume the ashes are with us within a week of the funeral taking place. We do however confirm we have the ashes in our care two to three weeks after the funeral usually at the time of sending the final invoice.
Do we need to give notice when collecting ashes from you?
Yes please. If you wish to collect a loved ones ashes from us please give us 2 working day’s notice so that we can arrange to collect them if we haven’t already. At this time we will also need to discuss with you what type of urn you wish to receive them in.
Can anyone collect the ashes from you?
The answer to this is no.
We will only release someone’s ashes to the Applicant for Cremation or someone nominated by the Applicant. We may ask for Identification of the person collecting the ashes or written authority from the applicant before we release the ashes to be sure that we have released them to the correct person especially if they are to be released to a third party.
How long will you hold the ashes in your Chapel of Rest?
We appreciate that it can be a difficult decision to make and we believe that a little time should be taken to decide on the final destination of the ashes. With this in mind we don’t have a particular time scale for you to collect them however we would request that ashes are collected within 3 months of the funeral taking place due to the fact we have limited space available to keep them. Also if we are left with someone’s ashes indefinitely families may move address and make it difficult for us to make contact them in the future to remind you they haven’t been collected.
Can you hold Ashes long term until a spouse passes away?
Yes. We are happy to hold ashes long term however this must be arranged with us as soon as possible to avoid us chasing you in the future to collect them.
What will happen to any unclaimed Ashes?
If the next of kin or executor fail to collect the ashes after a period of two years and we are unable to make contact with the applicant for cremation we will assume you are happy for us to return the ashes to the crematorium where the cremation took place and arrange for them to be scattered in a suitable location. This location will to be in an area where it’s unlikely a future memorial could be placed. Therefore we urge you to collect any ashes as soon as possible or arrange for us to hold them long term to avoid this happening.