St Saviour’s Burial Ground is owned and operated by Tetbury Town Council, who act as the Burial Authority.
The Burial Ground is for the interment of Tetbury Town and Tetbury Upton residents who, at the time of death or immediately before his/her death permanently resided within the electoral roll area of Tetbury Town Council or Tetbury Upton Parish Council. This shall apply to persons who at the time of death were resident in hospital, home for the elderly or hospice etc. who immediately prior to that residence were residents of Tetbury Town or Tetbury Upton parishes. In all other cases the fees and payments are for non residents.
An application for exclusive right of burial is granted for a period of 50 years and must be made on an application form supplied by Tetbury Town Council. The completed form must be delivered to Tetbury Town Council with associated forms and prescribed fee as set out in the table of charges (see table at end of regulations) at least 24 hours prior to the internment.
The purchaser of the exclusive right of burial will have their details entered into a register, maintained for this purpose by Tetbury Town Council, and will be issued with a Grant of Exclusive Right of Burial from Tetbury Town Council as proof of ownership. It is the responsibility of the Grant Holder to notify Tetbury Town Council of any change of name or address.
Any transfer of the Exclusive Right of Burial is subject to written approval of Tetbury Town Council, to the Grant Holder completing a signed ‘form of assignment’ and payment of any administration fee prescribed by Tetbury Town Council. On approval, Tetbury Town Council will provide written confirmation of the assignment to both assignor and assignee, and will update the register.
Burial plots may not be purchased in advance.
Tetbury Town Council reserves the right to level graves which remain raised and to infill graves which are lower than the surrounding area.
Flowers can enhance the appearance of the Burial Ground. A vase or plant container is permitted as long as it does not extend beyond the base of or is more than 600mm in front of the memorial. In the case of a wooden cross the vase must be placed immediately in front of the base of the cross.
Wreaths and cut flowers may be temporarily placed on graves and must be removed when they appear withered.
Plastic flowers are permitted as above but must be removed when they lose their colour or become damaged by the weather.
Tetbury Town Council reserves the right to remove any wreaths cut or plastic flowers if they consider them to be unsightly.
No trees or shrubs are to be planted on graves.
Tetbury Town Council will consider requests for memorial trees to be planted in suitable locations around the burial ground.
There is no requirement to erect a memorial or headstone but if one is erected it must have the necessary permission of the Town Council and be erected to appropriate specifications.
All memorials must be placed at the ‘head’ of the grave. Immediately after burial, a wooden cross must be erected at the head of the grave to show occupant details.
Head stones and wooden crosses shall be no more than 1 metre in height and of a reasonable type of stone or polished marble. The stone design and colour must be submitted to Tetbury Town Council for approval prior to installation with the required fee.
Kerb stones, edging or contained gravel beds may be allowed at the discretion of the Town Council but designs must be submitted, well in advance, with the appropriate fee.
Should any memorial be erected without permission of Tetbury Town Council the stone mason will be requested to remove it at no cost to the Council.
Wording and decoration must include the name/s of persons buried there and if possible the date of birth and date of death, for the information of future historians.
All wording and decoration must be approved by Tetbury Town Council. Memorials remain in the ownership of the purchaser and maintenance of them is the responsibility of the purchaser.
If Tetbury Town Council finds a memorial to be unstable or otherwise defective it will take action to make it safe and contact the owner. If the owner cannot be found or refuses to carry out the required works Tetbury Town Council reserves the right to remove and dispose of the memorial.
