Memorial Garden

St Mary's is a beautiful and ancient church which is a wonderful place to remember those we love but see no longer. The burial of ashes at St. Mary's is a beautiful location to have a place to remember your loved one. 

If you would like to enquire about having a burial of ashes here then please contact Revd Tom to find out more at: revtomcook@stmaryscoventry.org

We have a wonderful service we can offer you at St Mary's that will mark this special moment of remembering your loved one as we bury their ashes. 

At St. Mary's we have what is known as a Memorial Garden also known as a ABCR (Area for the Burial of Cremated Remains). There are certain regulations that apply to ABCR's and the details that affect what can happen in an ABCR can be found on this page. Our Parish Churchyard Policy (*not yet granted by Chancellor of the Diocese) has been written in line Churchyard Regulations of the Diocese of Coventry. The aim of the policy and practices within it is to, 'create fairness, equality and consistency of treatment for all.' 

If you wish for your loved ones' cremated remains to be buried in one of St. Mary's ABCR's also known locally as Memorial Gardens then please speak with Revd Tom about arrangements. 

You can find a more detailed description of the terms of burial of cremated remains further down this page but the key points and prices for this are shown below. 

The cost of burial of ashes

The cost of the burial of ashes is set by the Church of England and is adjusted annually on 1st January. The details below are accurate until December 31st 2025: 

The cost of the burial of ashes is £198 with £52 going to the diocese and £146 going to the local parish. 

The service also requires the services of our Verger to prepare the plot and assist on the day at the cost of £30. 

This brings the cost of burial to £228 

The reciprocal use of the land in a Memorial Garden

The Memorial Gardens at St. Mary's are a wonderful place to remember your loved ones and we want to ensure that future generations have a space to remember them. To ensure this can happen there is a temporary nature to the plots in a memorial garden. We rotate the burial of ashes around three areas in St. Mary's churchyard allowing for the maximum amount of time before re-using a plot. It is then likely that the plot will remain undisturbed for many years. 

The space in which the ashes are buried is not an exclusive plot for all time. The nature of the Memorial Garden is that as the area becomes full we return to the beginning area of another garden and continue to bury ashes. At St. Mary's we have three areas that are used as Memorial Gardens to do this. Because of the temporary nature of plots within the Memorial Gardens the monuments are also deemed as temporary. Details regarding monuments are detailed below. 

Monuments within Memorial Gardens

'Monuments' is a term that means an item that someone might wish to add to a plot to mark and remember their loved one. We have two types of 'monuments' that conform to the Churchyard Regulations that the parish priest is allowed to authorise. No item may be added to a plot without the written permission of the parish priest or a faculty from the Chancellor of the Diocese if it does not conform to the Churchyard Regulations or Parish Policy (*when one is granted by the Chancellor).

At St. Mary's the placement of a small wooden cross or a small vase or a marker on a stake is permitted with the consent of the parish priest.

A small wooden cross costs £57 with £18 going to the diocese and £39 to the parish.

A small vase or marker on a stake costs £92 with £18 going to the diocese and £74 to the parish. 

 We want to help all people feel can remember their loved ones in an appropriate way. Please consult with the parish priest before adding anything to a plot to avoid the situation of having items removed. Any 'unlawful introduction of memorials of any kind into a churchyard is likely to be required by the chancellor to remove it and ordered to meet the cost of doing so.' - Churchyard Regulations

Artificial flowers are not permitted and should be removed from any memorials on which they are laid. By way of exception to this prohibition the placing of wreaths and poppies is permissible in the periods of and leading up to Remembrance Day, Christmas, and Easter and on the anniversaries of birth, death, or marriage. Such items are to be removed not more than one month after those occasions. If the items are not removed by those who placed them on the memorials within that period they should be removed by the churchwardens or a person authorised by them. 

The church will not be checking when different anniversaries are and so will clear all artificial flowers at the end of every month. If you place artificial flowers towards the end of the month and want them to be in place for a whole month it is your responsibility to contact the church and let us know whose plot, with location and what type of artificial flowers will be placed there. These will then be cleared the following month. The church will not keep or return artificial flowers and they will be disposed of. 

No balloons or other portable items are to be left on a grave save that such items may be left in position for the period of one calendar month after interment. If the items are not then removed by those who placed them on the grave they should be removed by the churchwardens or a person authorised by them.

The incumbent may not permit any memorial or element of a memorial which involves stone, concrete, metal, glass, plaster, or plastic objects whether in the form of model people, animals, or toys or otherwise. 

The incumbent may not permit a memorial which includes kerbs, railings, or chippings. 

The incumbent may not permit any object designed to make a noise when moved by the wind.

No type of plant, shrub or tree may be planted.