Booking a cremation service
Booking a cremation service is done by the appointed funeral director. They can make a provisional booking by phone, but this will not be finalised until the preliminary application for cremation form is received at the crematorium office. Instructions for cremation must be received by the crematorium office by 10am on the working day before the service. Please submit any alterations in writing onto the original form, or we will be unable to accept them.
The death certification, medical forms and application for cremation forms must be inspected and approved by our medical referee. If the applicant would like to see the medical certification, the documents should be submitted by 10am three working days before the date of the service.
Please inform the Bereavement Services Manager and Registrar if the deceased has died from an infectious disease. An up to date list of infectious diseases is available from the British Medical Association.
Contact
Service times
The Crematorium has two chapels, Crallo and Coity Chapel. Crallo Chapel is larger and can seat 140 mourners with additional standing room. Coity Chapel is smaller and non-denominational. It can seat 70.
Cremation services can take place:
- Monday to Thursday: 9am to 3.45pm
- Friday: 9am to 3.15pm
- Saturday: 9.30am to 10.30am
- Sunday and public holidays: closed
Cremation services are thirty minutes long, which includes ten minutes for mourners to enter and leave, and twenty minutes for the service. If you think you’ll need more time, please request this at the time of booking. We can extend this in half hour slots.
Service options
There are no specific requirements for the cremation service. It can be formal, informal, religious, or non-religious but please bear in mind that it can’t be offensive.
Families are welcome to provide their own service leaflets which can be handed out by funeral directors at the entrance to the chapel.
The service officiant is responsible for activating a switch to begin lowering or covering the coffin, and will follow the family’s preference. When the mourners have left, the coffin will be removed and placed into the cremator chamber, exactly as received.
The exit doors to the flower courtyard will be opened at the end of the service. All mourners should leave through these doors to avoid disrupting the following service. The funeral director must make sure mourners leave by the end of the booked time so that the next service can start on time.
If the funeral party is running late enough to disrupt other funerals, the service may be rearranged for later on the same day. This will be discussed with all parties.
Please make any special requests before the day of the funeral, and we will be happy to discuss these with you.
Music for crematorium services
We provide all music required for a funeral service on our digital chapel music and media system, including organ music. The funeral director will need to request recorded music at least two working days in advance and submit the music request form by 10am on the working day before the service.
The music must be commercially available, as the funeral director will order it through our supplier in time for the service. We can’t accept CDs, USB’s, etc, and we may refuse to play music if we believe it to be inappropriate.
If you require an organist, please discuss this with your funeral director as part of your funeral arrangements and they will hire one for you.
We can record and webcast services. We can also provide visual tributes on our chapel screens. If you are interested in this, please discuss it with your funeral director and they can order this through our supplier and confirm their request on the Crematorium’s music request form.
Flower court
The flower court and surrounding area will display any flowers beside the name of the deceased. Wreaths, sprays or flowers can be placed next to the name plaque. Unfortunately, there is not enough space to keep these for long periods and flowers will be removed. There are signs in the flower court to tell you when this will happen. If you would like to visit or remove some of the tributes during that period, please contact the Crematorium.
Please don’t remove tributes from the flower court and place them elsewhere in the grounds, including memorial plots and the rose garden. We will need to remove these.