Burial Regulations 1924

RULES AND REGULATIONS MADE BY MARSTON PARISH COUNCIL ACTING AS THE BURIAL BOARD FOR THE Parish of Marston, IN THE COUNTY OF OXFORD, WITH THE TABLE OF FEES.

PRINTED BY THE UXONIAN PRESS, 29 QUEEN STREET.

Under Section 38 of the Burial Act, 1852

THE Office of the Board shall be at the Dwelling-house of the Caretaker of the Burial Ground at Marston. The Register of Burials shall be kept by the Clerk.

The Office of the Board shall be open daily (except on Sundays) between the hours of io a.m. and 6 p.m. for the purpose of affording information and receiving applications for Grave Spaces and notices of interments. Every notice must be given, and every application made, upon a form to be obtained at the Office of the Board.

There shall be kept at the Office of the Board a Plan of the Burial Ground, showing the portions thereof in which burials will be permitted for the time being, and such Plan shall be open to inspection free of charge by all persons making application for Grave Spaces or Vaults. No burial will be allowed to take place in any part of the Burial Ground not marked out in Grave Spaces on the Plan.

The Board reserves the right of refusing applications for the purchase in perpetuity of Grave Spaces not required for the purpose of immediate burial therein, and no enclosure of ground so purchased shall be allowed until at least one interment shall have been made therein.
Notice of every intended interment must be given at least 24 hours previous to the interment, except in a case where immediate interment has been ordered upon the Certificate of the Medical Officer of Health. Where such notice has not been given any extra expense thereby incurred will be added to and must be paid with the other fees,

In every case in which it is intended to bury a body in the Consecrated portion of the Burial Ground, otherwise than in accordance with the rites of the Church of England, the Notice of such intention required by Law shall be given to the Caretaker 48 hours at least prior to the time fixed for the burial.
All interments shall take place on week-days between the hours of io a.m. and 3.3o p.m. from the 1st of October to the 31st of March inclusive, and between the hours of to a.m. and 6 p.m. from the 1st April to the 3oth of September inclusive. Parties wishing to make interments at other hours or on Sundays may do so by arrangement with the Minister and the Caretaker.
No Hearse or Carriage, other than a Hand Truck or Bier, shall be admitted within the Burial Ground.
Except by order of the Board at a Meeting thereof, only the bodies of persons having a legal right of burial in the Burial Ground can be admitted for internment therein, except in a purchased Vault or Grave with the written consent of the owner thereof, and subject to the limitations prescribed by Rule 29.

All fees and charges incidental to an interment and payable to the Board shall be paid at the time when the notice of such interment is given. Fees for purchase of Grave or Vault Spaces not required for immediate burial shall be paid within one month after the granting of the application for the purchase thereof, and if not paid within that time the ground may be resold, or the sale be cancelled. All other fees and charges shall be paid previous to the admission to the Burial Ground of the Stone or other subject matter in respect of which, when fixed or placed, such fees or charges shall be payable. A Table of such fees and charges shall be kept and exhibited at the Office of the Board.

No still-born child shall be interred without the production to the Caretaker of evidence in writing that such child was still-born, such evidence to be a Certificate of a Registered Medical Practitioner who was in attendance at the birth, or has examined the body of such child, or a Declaration signed by some person who would, if the child had been born alive, have been required by the Births and Deaths Registration Act, 1874, to give information concerning the birth, to the effect that no registered medical practitioner was present at the birth, or that his Certificate cannot be obtained and that the child was not born alive, or a Coroner's Order.

Every Grave Space set apart for a child under twelve years of age shall be 6 feet long by 3 feet wide, and every other Grave Space shall be 9 feet long by 4 feet wide ; but the portion of such space which may be enclosed, or cultivated, or planted, shall not exceed in, the case of a Grave Space for a child 4 feet 3 inches by 2 feet, and in the case of any other Grave Space 6 feet 6 inches by 3 feet, so as to leave room for passage between the Graves.
The depth of every Grave, whether the exclusive right of burial has been purchased in perpetuity or not, shall be subject to regulation by the Board, and no Grave shall be deepened after the first interment therein.
One body only shall be buried at one time in a Grave in respect of which no exclusive right of burial has been granted, unless the bodies be those of members of the same family, but the same fees shall be payable in respect of each body interred at the same time as for a separate interment.
No Grave or Vault shall be dug or constructed except by persons appointed or approved by the Burial Board.

5. No metal or stone coffins shall be used except in Graves purchased in perpetuity.

No coffin shall be buried in any unwalled Grave, so that any part thereof shall be less than 4 feet below the ordinary level of the surface of the ground adjoining such Grave, unless it contains the body of a child under 12 years, when it shall not be less than 3 feet below that level.
When more than one body is interred in any unwalled Grave a layer of earth closely rammed down throughout and not less than one foot in thickness shall be placed between the uppermost coffin and the one immediately underneath. 19. The walls and arch of every Vault or walled Grave shall be constructed of good brick, stone; or other hard and suitable material at least 9 inches thick, properly bonded and solidly put together.
With good mortar compounded of good clean sand or other suitable material, or
With good cement ; or
With good cement mixed with clean sharp sand,

and there shall not be less than 18 inches of earth between the top of the Vault or Grave and the surface of the ground adjoining thereto.20

Within 24 hours after the deposit thereof in a Vault or walled Grave, the coffin shall be wholly and permanently embedded in and covered with a layer or layers of good cement concrete not less in any part than 6 inches in thickness, or shall be wholly and permanently enclosed in a separate cell or receptacle constructed of slate or stone flagging not less than two inches in thickness, properly jointed in cement or of good brick-work in cement, and in such a manner as to prevent as far as may be practicable the escape of any noxious gas from the interior of such cell or receptacle.

No Grave in respect of which no exclusive right of burial has been granted shall be reopened within 14 years after the burial of a person above 12 years of age, or within 8 years after the burial of a child under 12 years of age, unless to bury another member of the same family.
No underground brick, or stone, or iron, or other work shall be allowed in any Grave Space, the exclusive right of burial in which has not been purchased.
No monument, headstone, kerbstone, or other memorial of any inscription shall be erected or placed upon any Grave until after the design or text of the same has .been approved by the Board in writing.
Every monument, headstone, kerbstone, or other memorial upon a Grave, the exclusive right of burial in which has not been purchased, may be removed by direction of the Board—in the case of a person of the age of 12 years or over, at any time not less than 14 years, and in the case of any child under the age of 12 years at a time not less than 8 years, from the date of the interment, or if the memorial be not kept in proper repair and condition, at such earlier time as the Board shall think proper.
All Graves and Vaults in respect of which the exclusive right of burial has been granted, and all monuments and memorials thereon, shall be kept in good order and repair by the owners thereof ; upon any default therein the same shall be forfeited to the Board, who may remove any monument or memorial and level the ground as the nature of the case may require, after giving six months' notice of their intention so to do to the registered owner. All notices under this rule shall be deemed duly served if left at the last known place of abode of the registered owner.
No hewing or dressing of stones will be permitted in the Burial Ground or of the approach thereto, and all materials for monuments or memorials shall be conveyed into the Burial Ground by hand, or in such manner, under the direction of the Caretaker, as will avoid the cutting up of the ground ; mats, planks, boards, or canvas being used, as may be directed, to preserve the grass or paths from injury by such works ; and all stones, earth, rubbish, and refuse remaining after the construction or erection of any Vault or Tomb or walled Grave, or any gravestone or monument, must be removed forthwith by the persons employed in such work, and any damage done to the paths or grass by the execution of such work must be made good at the expense of the person ordering the same.
No child under the age of 12 years shall be admitted to the Burial Ground except under the care of some responsible person ; and no dogs shall be allowed within the Burial Ground.
No person shall play at any game or sport or (except with the permission of the Board or at Military Funerals) discharge Firearms in the Burial Ground, or willfully or unlawfully +disturb any persons assembled therein.

The foregoing fees for Monuments, Grave Stones, and Monumental inscriptions relate to a single Grave Space not exceeding 9 feet by 4 feet ; in the case of a Grave Space exceeding these dimensions an additional fee of one half will be charged, unless more than one monument or Grave Stone is erected upon such Grave Space, in which case a full single fee will be charged for each.

All the foregoing fees and payments will be doubled in the case of persons not parishioners or inhabitants of the Parish of Marston.

Certificate of Burial - o 2 6

Search for entry of Burial each year 0 1 0

Anything not provided for in the above Table of Fees must be made the subject of special application.

Burial Ground