Location: Woodbridge-IP13 6ET, Lowestoft-NR32 2EX, Felixstowe - IP11 3SH
-
-
Email: customerservices@eastsuffolkservices.co.uk
Supporting families and communities through compassionate care
Grief can feel overwhelming, and saying goodbye to a loved one is never easy. At East Suffolk Services, we understand that this is one of life’s most difficult moments. Our bereavement services are designed to help families and communities create meaningful tributes that truly reflect the life lived. From burials and ashes interments to personalised memorials and commemorations, we offer a range of options to honour your loved one in a way that feels right for you.
Traditional
This style of plot allows for an individual style of memorial. You can apply to have a kerb set placed around the plot, or a standard headstone can be erected. The memorial application approval is subject to the cemetery rules and procedures.
Garden of Rest Ashes Plots
Within some of our cemeteries are dedicated areas for ashes plots. These areas are known as the Garden of Rest.
On a Garden of Rest plot, no memorials are permitted; however, Cemeteries like Woodbridge have a Memorial Wall adjacent to the Garden of Rest plots where you can apply through an approved Bramm / Namm Stone Mason to have a Memorial Wall Plaque placed on the wall.
Lawns
A standard headstone can be erected within these areas. No kerb sets are allowed. The memorial application approval is subject to the cemetery rules and procedures.
Common Graves
Council retains the ownership rights to all public graves. No memorials or markers are permitted on the grave.
Burials and ashes interments can be arranged directly with our Bereavement Services office or via a Funeral Director. For any queries, please contact us at cemeteries@eastsuffolkservices.co.uk.
Most full graves will hold several sets of ashes (siting of which to be determined due to the location of any existing memorial),
To open a pre-purchased or reopen an existing plot, a Notice of Interment form will need to be completed, and signed consent will be required from the registered grave owner.
Burial and ashes interments can be booked for Monday to Friday (excluding evenings, weekends and public holidays).
The latest times that an interment can be booked vary depending on the time of year.
From 1st April through until 30th September, burials and interments can be booked between 9.30 am – 14.00 pm.
From 1st October through until 31st March, burials and interments can be booked between 9.30 am – 1.30 pm.
The location of each new burial plot will be allocated as the next available. If a family has a specific area of preference, please let the Bereavement Services office aware.
Within the grounds of Beccles, Kirkley, Leiston, Lowestoft and Woodbridge cemeteries, there is a chapel which is available for hire. The chapels can be hired either prior to a burial or ashes interment taking place, or it is available for a chapel-only service. The majority of our chapels can seat anywhere between 40 – 60 guests. The chapel can be hired for a maximum of 30 – 45 minutes.
Woodbridge Chapel has an electric organ. A funeral director will be able to make arrangements for an organist to attend on the day of the service.
Within Beccles, Kirkley, Leiston and Lowestoft chapels, music via a CD or Bluetooth speaker may be played. Electricity points are provided in the chapels.
When you become a registered owner of a plot, this will give you the automatic right to be buried or interred without the permission of anyone else.
Being the owner of a burial plot, you are the only person who is able to authorise any further burials or interments within that plot. You are also the only one who can apply for a new memorial to be erected or for any changes to be made to an existing memorial.
Transfer of Burial Rights
Once the registered owner has been buried or interred, if they are the only owner, the ‘burial rights’ for the plot should then be transferred at the earliest opportunity. We would need to see a copy of the deceased’s Will, or if this is not available, a Statutory Declaration form will need to be completed.
Items accepted on graves:
- Natural wreaths
- Real Flowers and plants
- Artificial flowers and wreaths
Items not accepted on graves:
- Glass or breakable materials
- Candles
- Trees / shrubs
- Porcelain
Looking after a grave
Our cemetery operatives will inspect a grave for any subsidence approximately 6 months to 1 year after a burial has taken place and will complete a soil top-up if deemed necessary. Grass cutting of our cemeteries is carried out on a planned maintenance schedule. This can be found on the notice boards within the cemeteries. Please ensure all items which are placed on the grave of your loved one are kept within the grave boundaries and do not encroach onto graves nearby or restrict our cemeteries operatives from carrying out maintenance. We understand the importance of families decorating a loved one’s grave, especially at Christmas. All Christmas wreaths or expired flowers will need to be removed from graves by 31st January. After this time, these will be removed by a member of our staff.
To apply for a memorial on a grave, there must be a living owner of the grave. It can only be the registered owner of a grave who can apply via an approved Namm or Bramm certified Stone Mason. They would send us a proposed memorial application for approval. Once we have approved the application, we will notify the stone mason directly.
It is the responsibility of the registered grave owner to ensure that the memorial is kept in good repair, with any repair which is required repairs arranged between the grave owner and an approved stone mason.
All memorials will be inspected by an authorised member of staff following their fixing.
All memorials will be inspected on a routine basis to check on their safety. Any which are deemed unsafe will either be banded or laid flat. East Suffolk Services will attempt to contact the registered grave owner in writing and by telephone, requesting they arrange for the necessary repairs to be carried out by an approved stone mason at the expense of the owner.
Downloadable Forms
Fees and Charges
The Bereavement Services fees and charges list covers burials, interments and other associated costs. It also covers the fees for Exclusive Right of Burial purchases and memorials. Download here
Exclusive Right of Burial Application Form
The Exclusive Right of Burial Application form is to be completed by all those who wish to be a named owner of a grave space. Download here
Cemetery Rules and Regulations
Cemetery Regulations Download here.
Conduct in the cemetery Download here.
Important Cemetery Information Download here.
Notice of Interment Form
The Notice of Interment Application form is to be completed and signed by all those who are named owners of the grave space. Download here
Memorial Application Form
The Memorial Application form is to be completed and signed by all those who are named owners of the grave space. Download here.
The Bereavement Service office is contactable Monday – Thursday between 8.30 am – 17.00 pm and Friday between 8.30 am – 16.30 pm.
The Bereavement Service email is cemeteries@eastsuffolkservices.co.uk