Cemeteries

Cemetery & Burial Services 

The Council is the burial authority for Weymouth and owns four cemeteries: 

• Weymouth Cemetery 
• Melcombe Cemetery 
• Melcombe Extension 
• Wyke Cemetery 

The cemeteries are managed in a subtle way, in that they are not excessively manicured.  Melcombe Cemetery has been designated as a Site of Nature Conservation Interest (SNCI) and Melcombe and Wyke Cemeteries have been recognised as living churchyards.  The mature tree stock and wildflowers within our cemeteries provide a natural setting and offer a place for peaceful reflection.   

Funerals & Burials 

Full burials should be booked through a Funeral Director.  Family members can arrange for the burial of cremated remains directly with the Council or through a Funeral Director. 

Full burial and cremated remains plots are available at Melcombe Extension, Weymouth and Wyke Cemeteries with a choice of consecrated and non-consecrated burial areas to provide for all faiths and beliefs.  Grave spaces may be purchased at any time, enabling a family to plan ahead and decide where they would like their final resting place. The exclusive right of burial will remain with the purchaser for a period of 50 years.   

The grave will be prepared in advance of the service and our groundsmen will be on hand to ensure that everything runs smoothly.  After mourners leave, the grave will be filled.  Graves are checked six months after the burial and will be topped up with additional earth if needed and re-seeded.  The grave will then be maintained as part of general grounds keeping at the cemetery.  

It will take about a year for the ground to settle after a burial before you can erect a memorial.   

Download Burial Fees 

Floral Tributes 

After the service, any floral tributes will be placed on top of the grave mound will be removed and disposed of four weeks after the burial has taken place.

Ownership of Graves 

Public Graves 

A public grave is a grave in which no exclusive right of burial has been granted by the Council and in which unrelated persons may be interred.  No memorial rights exist for a public grave and no headstone or memorial can be placed on it without the Council’s consent. 

Purchased Graves 

For a burial to take place in a purchased grave, the owners of the exclusive right of burial must sign to show consent.  If the registered owner is not available or cannot be contacted then the grave cannot be re-opened. 

Purchasing the Exclusive Right of Burial 

When you purchase a grave space you become the owner of the exclusive right of burial, which gives you the right to say who can be buried in the grave.  Land ownership remains with the Council. 

An exclusive right of burial gives the grave owner the right to: 

• Be buried in the grave if space is available. 
• Authorise further burials or the interment of cremated remains in the grave if space is available. 

• Place a memorial on the grave, subject to the Council’s permission. 
• Have an inscription or additional inscriptions on a memorial, subject to the Council’s permission. 

Upon purchase of a grave space, you will be issued with an exclusive right of burial.  This will detail the name of the cemetery, grave number and duration of the grant.  This should be kept in a safe place, as it will be required in the future when a burial takes place.  It is important that you inform us of a change of address. 

The exclusive right of burial can be purchased by joint owners but no more than 4 owners per grave space will be permitted.   

Transferring a Grave 

The owner of the rights is permitted to be buried within their grave space without a transfer taking place.  However, it will be necessary to transfer the rights if any future burials (if applicable) or the placement of a memorial on the grave are required.  A transfer is also needed if an existing memorial needs to be replaced, renovated or cleaned. 

Ownership of the grave can be transferred to another person where satisfactory evidence of entitlement is provided. This can be achieved by providing copies of the Grant of Probate/Letters of Administration, completion of a Form of Assignment or a Statutory Declaration. 

Additional Information

The gates to our cemeteries are always open to everyone but it is a statutory requirement that dogs must be kept on leads.

All enquiries regarding our cemeteries and bereavement services should be emailed to cemeteries@weymouthtowncouncil.gov.uk or please phone Julie Gordon our Bereavement officer on 01305 239291