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Arranging and attending a funeral

As members of the Charter for the Bereaved we aim to ensure that each service is meaningful and meets you and your family's needs. A full copy of the Charter for the Bereaved can be viewed at the Bereavement Services office.

Booking a Cremation

In most circumstances a funeral director would be instructed by the family, or executor, to make the funeral arrangements. The funeral director will book the date and time with the crematorium and will have the application forms required for completion. Providing there is some flexibility with date or time (to allow us to honour prior bookings), our service aim is to provide a cremation within five working days of the booking request.

The chapel can be booked at 30 minute intervals, on the hour or half hour, to permit a service time of 20 minutes. If you do require a longer service time, to personalise your service, 1 hour bookings are available (50 minutes service time) subject to an additional fee (see Fees and Charges). Occasionally enquiries are received from families who would like to arrange a funeral without the guidance of a funeral director.

Facilities for disabled visitors include:

  • Dedicated parking spaces adjacent to the main office, sign posted from the main drive.
  • Ample disabled toilet facilities; one in the main reception and one in the Book of Rememberance Room (Radar KEy required).
  • All buildings are wheelchair accessible; the Book of Rememberance Room has an automatic door opener and reception has a bell entry for door assistance if required. Ramps with rails have been instaled where necessary.
  • There is a Hearing Loop in the main chapel and, if requested, there is also a Hearing Loop in the main reception.
  • Braille service books are available on request.
  • All paths within the Gardens of Remembrance are wheelchair friendly, with dropped kerbs or raised ramps where they meet internal roads.
  • Benches have been placed at regular intervals within the Gardens of Rememberance to provide places to rest while visiting.

Type of service

Any recognised form of service, religious or civil, may be held in the non-denominational chapel, which seats approximately 80 people with additional standing room at the rear.

You can choose to have the main service at your local church, with a short committal service at the crematorium, or you can have the whole service at the crematorium.

If you are expecting a large congregation at the crematorium, you are advised to book an extended service time of up to 50 minutes to allow the congregation to enter and leave the chapel. Large congregations can rarely be accommodated within the basic service time of 20 minutes without the service giving the impression of being 'rushed'.

An extended service time is also appropriate for those families who prefer a longer service with personal tributes and readings.

Arriving at the crematorium

Crematorium You can arrange to meet the funeral director at the crematorium or have the option of the funeral cortege leaving from a home address.

Please click Crematorium Directions for directions to the crematorium

If you arrive early, please wait quietly to avoid disturbing mourners whose service is taking place in the Chapel. The Chapel Attendant will open the doors for you to enter the Chapel as soon as the previous service has left. To avoid causing distress to other families, please do not enter the Chapel until invited to do so.

 

Entering the chapel

Chapel Five minutes is allowed for the mourners to enter the chapel. To facilitate this friends, colleagues and relatives (other than immediate family) enter the Chapel immediately, whilst the coffin is being removed from the hearse. The front rows of seats are generally reserved for the immediate family, as advised in advance by the funeral director.

The Officiant leads the procession of the coffin and members of the immediate family of the deceased into the chapel. The family then occupy the reserved row(s) of seating, at the front.

Although our chapel seats approximately 80 people, the service can be relayed through speakers to the covered area outside the chapel.

With the Officiants agreement, suitable symbols of the life and faith of the deceased may be placed near the coffin.

Music

Music may be played while mourners are entering the Chapel. This music is normally 'faded out' allowing the service to continue without interruption.

As part of the service you can have one or two hymns, or music of your choice. Accompaniment to hymns can be recorded music, with a discreet backing choir if required, or 'live organ music.' If you require an organist, please arrange this with the funeral director.

We have a 'state of the art' music system that does not require tapes or CD's and we currently have an extensive music catalogue which is held by the funeral director. If the music you require is not listed, your funeral director can arrange for most commercially available music to be sent to the crematorium via our music supplier. Our music catalogue is available to view online.

Recording the Service

Peterborough Crematorium offers facilities to families where they are able to request that the funeral service is recorded subject to an additional fee (see Fees and Charges). We offer this facility in a variety of formats:-

Audio CD - An audio recording can be requested at the time the arrangements are being made with the Funeral Director. The service will be recorded and after approximately 10-14 days, an audio CD will be produced. Once the CD has arrived, the Funeral Director will arrange collection from the Bereavement Services office.

DVD - A DVD recording can be requested at the time the arrangments are being made with the Funeral Director. The service will be recorded and after approximately 10-14 days, a DVD will be produced. Once the DVD has arrived, the Funeral Director will arrange collection from the Bereavement Services office.

Webcast - The webcast facility can be requested by the applicant for cremation at the time of arranging the funeral. This facility offers families who cannot attend services at the crematorium, the ability to view the service online. If this service is requested, the applicant for cremation will be issued with a unique password, a user name and instructions by the Funeral Director.

The webcast funeral service can only be viewed by those people who have been issued with the user name and password and is not available to the general public.

The service can be viewed live or the recording can be viewed for up to 7 days after the service, but only after 2 hours have passed from when the service has finished. This is to enable our supplier to upload the recording to their website.

It is the responsibility of the Funeral Director, and the Applicant for Cremation, to obtain consent regarding the broadcast and/or recording of the service from the minister/officiant conducting the funeral.

The Committal

During the committal, music of your choice can be played as the curtains close. If you do not wish the curtains to close at the committal, please advise your funeral director . If you wish the music to be played in full at this time, please inform the funeral director.

Close of Service

Floral tribute Music of your choice may be played whilst the mourners leave the Chapel for which an allowance of 5 minutes is made within the scheduled 30 minute service time. You will be guided through the exit at the rear of the Chapel, which will take you to the floral tribute area. If you are to be collected by your funeral director in a limousine, this will be waiting for you adjacent to this area.

Fees and Charges

Please click on document below to view our current fees and charges for the crematorium


The document(s) below appear in Adobe® Acrobat® (PDF) format. In order to view a document you will need to have Acrobat Reader installed. (Those with visual impairments may wish to investigate Access Adobe, which provides tools and information to help make PDF files more accessible). 

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PDF file icon  Fees and charges
  (123KB, 5 pages)