Rules ??????????

[Geoff of Devon]

Great response Mick, 
My grandfather was a clerk-in-holy-orders/army chaplain. I remember having a conversation with him about the denominational aspects of graves.
Trust me, it can be extremely complex and a VERY moot issue. Say if someone was a Protestant all their lives, married a catholic and wanted to be buried with them. Now comes a time after say 100 years when the grave/headstone MUST be moved for say safety aspect. Not only do you have to inform both denominations  to get them to re-consecrate the grave, BUT also you get into arguments with the current descendants over which denomination gets precedence....maybe even a third denominatin gets involved then! Yes, it really has happened!
Not fun and no way around. So the answer is do nothing as long as possible! This of course does not help the fact that most graveyards are full and space needs to be reallocated for new graves.
Think my aunt had the best answer when she died recently by being cremated and just having a small plaque. However, this of course leads to the debate over whether it is more enviromentally friendly to be cremated or buried! Anyone know? 
Geoff.

[mickgall]

Hi Geoff

dont remined me of the legalities LOL,  (now you know why Im on the railway). Cremation does seem a space saving way but now lots of gardens of rememberance are getting filled up to. Green burials are starting to become popular. One idea is to have a tree planted on your grave and although this will look aesthetically pleasing in future years and good for the enviroment, cems will soon run out of space.

Mick

[mickgall]

I ment to add regarding legalities, in any dispute over a grave the holder of the deeds will have the law on their side

Mick

[Gardener]

However, this of course leads to the debate over whether it is more enviromentally friendly to be cremated or buried! Anyone know? 
Geoff.

I seem to remember a Swede offering freeze-drying as the green alternative....

[Bee]

I have 2 receipts for grave space.  One grave is for exclusive right of burial for 14 years, at a cost of 8s 6d  in 1914,  the second is for exclusive right of burial in perpetuity at a cost of £1  19s  0d in 1923.

As for cremation being environmentally friendly I'm not really sure but I would prefer to be cremated and my ashes scattered in the wind but I'm not sure if that's a healthy thing to do either.