Additional Inscriptions and Renovations

Getting started is simple. Reach us through our contact form or give us a call - we’ll walk you through the next steps and answer any questions along the way.

As much help and advice as you want, with no obligation.

In the event of a funeral where an existing memorial needs to removed, please contact us for advice. We will look at your memorial and assess what work needs to be done. You will then receive a detailed quotation covering the removal and reinstatement costs, any restoration or cleaning, and any other work we think may be appropriate for you.

Our conservationists are qualified to the highest standards and will clean and restore an existing memorial sympathetically.

We are always as competitive as possible, and we will always try to match any quotation you have received from elsewhere. We will happily check that we have quoted on a like-for-like basis and explain any differences. If your funeral director has contacted us on your behalf to remove your memorial, the same process applies.

Visiting you in your home or at the cemetery, we can spend as much time as you need to discuss your memorial, giving you clear information and as much help as you need.  We can help you in person or via the phone, post, WhatsApp or email – whatever is most convenient for you.

Once the funeral arrangements have been confirmed, and our quote is acceptable, please contact us.

We can come to see you, or you can come in if you wish. You are welcome to talk over the work needed, look at options, or just get some help with looking at how the new inscription may be worked out if you are ready to do so.

We will prepare all your necessary paperwork while you wait if you have the time, or we can communicate with you by phone, post or email as you prefer.

We would now ask you to make arrangements for payment of the requested deposit. You can pay by cash or cheque, and we accept all major debit/credit cards except American Express. If you want more security you can pay by direct bank transfer – our bank details are on your order paperwork.

We will then remove the memorial promptly to our workshops, where it will be safely stored.

Please look at our Services page for more information.

Most of the difficult paperwork will already have been dealt with by your Funeral Director, so ours is straightforward.

A little later on in the process, there is a bit of “red tape” to be dealt with, but we deal with all this on your behalf, and all you need to do is check and sign a couple of simple documents.

For example, we need to obtain permission from the local authority (either your council or church) to carry out the work. They charge a fee for this, and a form needs to be completed. We do this for you, and include their fee on our quote. The legal grave owner (often the next of kin) needs to sign this form.

If you are uncertain of any of the terminology or procedures, please ask for clarification.

We don’t do anything without your complete approval. We can produce artwork showing what your completed memorial will look like, and this can be worked on and changed until you are completely happy.

All this takes time, and there is always a delay in replacing the memorial in the cemetery or churchyard. In the case of a burial it is sensible to allow the ground to settle properly, and this depends on a number of factors.

Usually, our work schedules allow for a 6 – 9 month wait after a burial and the cemetery authority may insist on this waiting time.

On the other hand, cremation memorials can usually be reinstated within just a few weeks of removal.

When your memorial has been reinstated we will send you our final invoice, which you can settle by any of the methods detailed in Step 3. We can then discuss future memorial care and maintenance if you wish.

Memorial insurance is also available if you require it, available from Stoneguard. Although we do not sell these policies directly, they are extremely popular and we are happy to recommend them. Please see below or our Insurance page for more details.

Generally it is wise to wait at least 6-9 months to allow the ground to settle. South Gloucestershire Council, for example, now insist on a delay of 9 months on a full burial and our delivery times allow for this.

However this does not prevent you ordering earlier in this period, as some memorials can take a considerable time to produce.

Cremation memorials, on the other hand, can be reinstated almost immediately and the order completion is determined by how long it will take to carry out the work on the memorial and get the required permit.

We have been in this industry for over 40 years, and believe we offer the best memorials you can buy. As members of the National Association of Memorial Masons, we are also guided by a strict Code of Practice. This covers the way we design and construct our memorials, and how we conduct our business. Our memorials are guaranteed for 10 years (subject to reasonable conditions) for any problems with materials and workmanship. Please also read our Terms and Conditions of Sale for full information.

For complete peace of mind in the future we suggest very reasonable, all-risks cover from Stoneguard, the market leader in memorial insurance. Premiums are based on a small percentage of the cost of the memorial, and we are happy to recommend this policy. Please contact us for further information.