How Do You Maintain or Restore an Old Family Grave in the UK?

Detailed Explanation

This page covers the UK rules on who owns an old headstone, who can authorise work on it, and what councils and churches can do when a memorial becomes unsafe. For the practical side, such as safe cleaning methods and choosing a mason, see the general guide to how to maintain or restore an old family grave.

Most of the detail below applies to England and Wales. Scotland has its own burial law, including the Burial and Cremation (Scotland) Act 2016, and its own terms (a grave is often called a lair). Northern Ireland also has separate legislation. The principles are similar, but always check with the council or burial authority that runs the site.

Council cemeteries: the exclusive right of burial

Most old family graves in town and city cemeteries are in council-run cemeteries. Under the Local Authorities' Cemeteries Order 1977, a burial authority can grant an exclusive right of burial in a grave, for a fixed period of up to 100 years. The holder receives a grave deed, and the right generally includes the right to place and maintain a memorial on the grave.

In practice, that means:

• The memorial belongs to the family. Ministry of Justice guidance states plainly that ownership of memorials remains with the family of the deceased. Repairs and upkeep are the family's cost.
• The council maintains the cemetery. Burial authorities have a general duty under the 1977 Order to keep the burial ground in good order, which covers grass, paths and general safety, not individual headstones.
• Work needs a memorial permit. Councils generally require an application, signed by the registered owner of the exclusive right, before a headstone is repaired, re-fixed or altered. Adding a new inscription to an existing memorial needs the consent of whoever owns the right to that memorial.
• Many councils only accept registered masons. It's common for councils to require memorial work to be done by a mason registered with a scheme such as the British Register of Accredited Memorial Masons (BRAMM) or the National Association of Memorial Masons (NAMM), fixing to British Standard 8415.

When the registered owner of the right died long ago, the council will usually ask for the right to be transferred to a living relative before it issues a permit. The process varies by council but typically involves a statutory declaration, the deed if you have it, and a fee. Ask the council's bereavement services team what it needs.

Church of England churchyards

Churchyards work differently:

• There is no ownership of the grave. The churchyard is vested in the incumbent (the vicar or rector), and a burial or a memorial doesn't give the family ownership of any part of the ground.
• The memorial belongs to its "owner". Diocesan guidance defines this as the person who erected the memorial and, after their death, the heirs at law of the person commemorated. Upkeep is primarily their responsibility.
• If no heirs can be traced, the Parochial Church Council (PCC), which is responsible for keeping the churchyard safe, bears responsibility for any dangerous monument. If the churchyard has been formally closed and handed to the local authority, maintenance passes to the council.
• Any alteration needs permission. Putting up, altering or removing a memorial is a privilege, not a right. The Chancellor of the diocese usually lets the incumbent approve simple work that follows the diocesan churchyard regulations. Anything outside them needs a faculty, applied for through the diocesan registry, with a fee.

Other denominations and private burial grounds set their own rules, so ask whoever runs the site.

Listed monuments and war graves

Some older memorials are listed buildings or scheduled monuments in their own right, or sit in listed cemeteries. Work on memorials of special historic interest can need listed building or scheduled monument consent in addition to the cemetery's or diocese's permission. The council's conservation officer can tell you whether this applies.

For war graves, the Commonwealth War Graves Commission maintains its own headstones. Where a service casualty was buried in a family grave under a private headstone, that headstone remains private property. The CWGC monitors these graves to keep the name legible and may ask the family's permission to add its own marker if the private one becomes too degraded.

Unsafe headstones and memorial safety testing

Many families first learn of a problem when they find a headstone laid flat, staked, or carrying a warning notice. Councils and churches have a duty of care to visitors and duties under the Health and Safety at Work etc. Act 1974. After complaints about heavy-handed memorial testing by some councils, the Ministry of Justice issued guidance in 2009.

The Ministry of Justice's guidance, Managing the Safety of Burial Ground Memorials, now sets the expected approach:

• Risk is very low and action should be proportionate. The guidance notes that eight people in the UK were killed by falling memorials over 30 years.
• Routine mechanical testing isn't recommended, and neither is routine staking, which can itself damage memorials.
• Most unstable memorials need only a warning sign or cordon until they're repaired. Laying a memorial flat is for cases of imminent risk of collapse causing serious injury.
• Families should be told. Notices should be placed on or near affected memorials with contact details and a period for families to get in touch, and where the grave owner is known, they should be notified so they can arrange a repair.

A headstone that's been laid down has usually been made safe, not discarded. The fix is normally a mason re-fixing it to BS 8415 under a council or parish permit. If you believe a council acted unreasonably, raise it with the council's complaints process first; the Local Government and Social Care Ombudsman can consider council cases after that.

Costs

There's no standard price for restoration work. It depends on the stone, the damage and the region. Expect to pay the mason's quote plus, in most council cemeteries, a memorial permit fee, and a transfer fee if the exclusive right needs to be moved into your name first. Churchyard faculties carry their own fees. Get written quotes from at least two masons who have worked on older stone, and see how much a headstone costs if replacement looks more realistic.

Things to Consider

• Find the grave deed if you can. It shows who holds the exclusive right and when it expires. If it's lost, the council's burial register usually has the details.
• Check how long the right has left. An exclusive right granted decades ago may be close to its end date. Ask about extending it before spending money on the memorial.
• Churchyards follow diocesan regulations. What's permitted, from materials to lettering styles, differs between dioceses.
• Heritage status adds a step. Listed memorials and conservation areas can need extra consent, so ask early.
• Gentle cleaning is usually welcome. Many councils and parishes are happy for families to tidy and wash a headstone with plain water. Ask first, and avoid anything abrasive or chemical.

Common Mistakes

• Assuming a family connection is enough to authorise work. Councils generally need the registered owner of the exclusive right to sign, or a transfer first.
• Hiring a mason who isn't approved for the site. Many councils only let registered masons work in their cemeteries, and unapproved work can be refused.
• Starting churchyard work without asking the vicar. Even simple alterations need permission, and work outside the regulations needs a faculty.
• Pressure-washing old sandstone or limestone. It's one of the fastest ways to lose an inscription for good.
• Ignoring a warning notice on a family headstone. The notice usually gives a contact period, and responding in time gives the family the chance to arrange the repair itself.