Crosswords2 mins ago
Headstones
Just a quickie.....
We have a 'family plot' in a churchyard which contains 3x burials and 3x cremations. Apart from the original occupant (my g.grandfather) none of the others are shown as being there. We wish to erect a headstone giving the details of each of them.
Does anyone have recent experience of the costs involved in purchasing the stone and getting it engraved?
We want nothing fancy (the churchyard frowns upon frippery and excess) but, obviously, there will be a lot of lettering involved and the stone used has to be functional rather than striking.
Many thanks.
Answers
No best answer has yet been selected by jackthehat. Once a best answer has been selected, it will be shown here.
For more on marking an answer as the "Best Answer", please visit our FAQ.I had one done a couple of years ago, it cost around £1000, it was only a slab after a cremation though. The lettering was pricey, maybe £3 per letter.
If you go to a local monumental mason's place they will know all the rules and regs regarding your local Churchyard, they can be very prescriptive and if you go for an online provider they may not know the local rules. Alternatively the Church warden should be able to advice you.
As a guide these prices include 90 letters
https:/
We had a replacement headstone 4 years ago for 3 family members,inscription approximately 90 letters including dates ....
"The cost of an for a new replacement stone is as follows
All polished Light Grey Granite Headstone and base,
Inscription as chosen in grey enamel paint, foundation and fixing
with a ground anchor system for the sum £800.00
Churchyard Fee £27.00"
here you go, jack
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I don't know that engraved lettering lasts for ever either, of course.
I regularly see the cost of headstones in estate accounts - generally you won't get much change out of £1,000 and could be quite a bit more.
As someone who spends an inordinate amount of time searching around graveyards for long dead relatives please please choose something that will endure. There is nothing more infuriating than finding a headstone and being able to make out that the surname is one of yours but everything else has faded into obsurity because the stone used is porous or the lettering was too shallow. I know you get this though!!!!!!
I was doing just that yesterday, bm.
Anyone who would care to investigate this twig of the family tree would be completely unaware of who was in the plot.
Even the church had no records of one of my aunts being buried there. Luckily we were able to persuade the current vicar that as we had attended the funeral/burial ourselves, we could confirm her mortal remains were interred in his churchyard.