Memorials

The importance of a memorial as a means of commemorating the life of a loved one, acting as a focus for grief in years to come and as an historical record is widely recognised.

We would therefore like to allow you to have as wide a choice of memorials as possible. It is for this reason that you need to be aware of the range of designs available whilst making your choice.

Your appointed memorial mason will advise you of the choice of memorials available relative to the cemetery section in which the grave has been purchased as the memorial will need to be within this Council’s regulatory dimensions.

It is important to be aware that by placing a memorial in the cemetery you are accepting a number of responsibilities and conditions. For example:

• Memorials and vases must be of natural quarried stone only.
• The memorial must be within the maximum permitted size for the specific cemetery and section.
• Your appointed memorial mason is required to provide you with a workmanship guarantee of a minimum period of 15 years.
• Your appointed memorial mason will submit the permit application form on your behalf. We will check this application form before issuing the permit to install. In addition we will also ensure that:-
• Only BRAMM (British Register of Accredited Memorial Masons) are permitted to work in Torfaen cemeteries.
• Memorials are to be installed after the minimum installation date to allow adequate ground settlement to provide as much stability as possible.
• It is your appointed memorial masons responsibility to ensure the memorial is placed on the correct grave to the required standards and that the ground is reinstated satisfactorily.
• We will inspect and test the memorial after 8 weeks to ensure it has been installed to the required standards.
• We will liaise with the memorial mason in the event of there being any problems.
• In order to offset the cost of this service, a memorial fee is charged and is revised annually.

Please contact the Cemetery Office should you have any further queries.

Change of Address

Please advise the Cemetery Office of any change of address so that we can update our cemetery records. This is very important should there be a need for future correspondence.

Memorial Responsibility

The memorial is the sole responsibility of the grave owner and does not become the property of the Council. The Council therefore accepts no responsibility or liability for any vandalism caused to any memorial.

It is your responsibility to ensure that the memorial is maintained in a safe condition and does not pose a hazard to the visiting public or cemetery staff. In the unfortunate event of a memorial being found to be unsafe at any time, the Council reserves the right to immediately make it safe.

Should your memorial require any maintenance or cleaning we advise you discuss this with a memorial mason.

We must stress these items are not intended to worry you in any way but are required for the benefit of all who visit a cemetery.

You may wish to consider taking out insurance cover for your memorial. Your appointed memorial mason should be able to provide advice regarding this.

Memorial plaques on benches

It is possible to purchase a 16cm plaque to be placed on a bench made from recycled material. The bench remains the property of the Council and each bench can accommodate up to 14 individual plaques. The wording on the plaque is of your choosing but cannot exceed 100 characters (including punctuation). A survey has been done on the four Torfaen Cemeteries and appropriate bench locations have been identified; benches can only be placed on these predetermined locations. A new bench would not be placed if there is availability on a bench already in that area. Contact the Cemetery Office for further information.

Plaque and vase in Llwyncelyn Meadow Burial area

The Meadow Burial area in Llwyncelyn cemetery forms part of the designated Local Nature Reserve which has high ecological value therefore no memorials are permitted in this area so as to preserve the natural habitat. Flowers are not permitted to be placed on a grave for the same reasons.

A memorial wall is now available which accommodates individual plaques each with a vase to hold flowers. Each plaque with a vase can be leased for a period of ten years by the grave owner(s). Contact the Cemetery Office for further information.

Cemetery Maintenance

It is the aim of the Council to provide the highest possible standards of cemetery maintenance within the finances available. Should you have any queries or concerns regarding any aspect of these functions, they can be addressed to the Cemetery Office during normal office hours.

We are sure that you will appreciate it is inevitable that grass cuttings may blow onto memorials during mowing operations. Every effort will be made to minimise this problem and we apologise for any inconvenience it may cause you.

In an effort to preserve the dignity and appearance of the cemeteries, there are specific regulations in place of which you are advised to make yourself aware of.

You can view the cemetery regulations here or contact the Cemetery Office to have them emailed to you.

Christmas Wreaths

If you wish to place a Christmas wreath or a similar tribute on the grave of a loved one, please feel welcome to do so. We are sure you will appreciate that if left for a long time they can damage the grass, deteriorate and become unsightly. It is for these reasons that we remove all wreaths immediately following 31 January.

Last Modified: 11/09/2023 Back to top