Useful Information
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St Mary the Blessed Virgin, Great Houghton
St Mary the Virgin, Little Houghton
Further information on baptisms, weddings and funerals from the Church of England can be found here.
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Website built by John Grubb.
Contact me on website@theunitedbenefice.org.uk
Please send me information about church events to be published here. I can accept most formats: plain text, Word, Publisher, Open Office or Libre Office etc. PDF can be more awkward to deal with. Please send photographs as separate files, preferably as jpeg. You can send me your pictures at full resolution: the program I use will compress them if required.
Diocese of Peterborough Churchyard Regulations
Incumbents and Churchwardens hold copies of Bishop’s Regulations, which include regulations covering all Church of England churchyards in the Diocese of Peterborough. Incumbents have delegated authority to permit some types of memorials but a memorial not within these limits requires permission from the Chancellor of the Diocese. The full Churchyard Regulations are here.
Regulation on Memorials
There is no legal right to place a memorial in a churchyard. Churchyards are a valuable heritage, and the Chancellor wishes to ensure that memorials placed in churchyards are appropriate to their settings
These regulations contain the information and instructions given by the Chancellor (who is the Bishop’s Legal Officer) and Archdeacons relating to churchyards and set out the extent of a minister’s authority to allow memorials in churchyards. They also contain notes for guidance on certain other legal matters relating to churchyards.
Please read the guidance on the Peterborough Diocesan Registry website before ordering or erecting a memorial. You will find the regulations and forms. There is also a list of Stonemasons and Funeral Directors who work in the Diocese.
Reservation of Grave Spaces
It may be possible to reserve a grave space, for instance if you wish to be buried next to another family member. This is done by petition to the Chancellor and you can find out more here. If an application is granted the applicant is responsible for arranging a marker. This should be agreed with the Minister and put in place within three months.
