Cremated remains vaults
Memorial name: Cremated remains vaults (no longer available)
Lease terms: one or seven years
Location: Garden of remembrance
Options: Up to two sets of cremated remains can be interred
Availability: No longer available to purchase (lease renewal, second interment and replacement plaques only)
Description: Located around the pathways of the garden of remembrance the memorial vaults can accommodate up to two sets of cremated remains or be used as a memorial only. An inscribed red granite tablet is placed over the vault with an inscription included in the set up fees. This option has been replaced by the Sanctum.
1 years lease: £61*
7 years lease: £427
Second and final interment: £103
Replacement plaque: £390**
Extra lines of inscription (max two): £61 per line
Repainting of vault plaque (5 year guarantee): including carriage: £80
*You may pay for this memorial annually by direct debit. See ‘how to apply’ for more information.
**New plaques are guaranteed for a period of seven years from the date of fitting. See Item 12 of the terms and conditions below. Repainting is available on request. Please contact the office for the fees.
All prices valid until 31st December 2023.
Download the Cremation vault application form
1. Fill in the applicant section at the top of page 1.
2. Please read the terms and conditions and sign the form.
3. Fill in the grid with the desired inscription. Please use one box in the grid for each letter, space, comma and full stop etc. The initial fee provides 4 lines. An additional 2 lines are allowed and a fee is payable for each.
4. The name of the deceased must be placed on its own line and be no longer than 18 letters.
5. Do not worry about centring the text as this will be done for you.
6. A proof will be sent to you and will need to be agreed prior to the plaque being made. Fees are payable before manufacture.
How to pay
1. You need not pay anything yet. Once you have agreed and accepted the proof we will ask for payment which can be made by cheque payable to ‘Enable Leisure and Culture’ or you may pay by credit/debit card.
2. You will need to pay the ‘purchase and setup fee’ as stated in the current pricelist. Then add the fee for the lease you wish to add – either 1 or 7 years.
3. If you wish to pay annually you can do this by direct debit. In which case please fill in a direct debit mandate form. Your first years lease will be taken from your account on the first day of the month following the installation of your plaque/memorial and the first day of that month each year thereafter.
4. Memorial leases are renewable each year or seven year term. We will write to you one month prior to the renewal date.
1. Once approved by the applicant for the memorial please allow 6 to 8 weeks for delivery and placement in the garden of remembrance. The lease term starts from the date the memorial is installed.
2. Inscriptions can be refused if deemed inappropriate or unsuitable.
3. We reserve the right to alter the layout of an inscription to suit continuity. Where possible these changes will be reflected in the proof.
4. The purchase and setup fee is payable before any work is commissioned.
5. It is the applicants responsibility to notify the office of any change of address. This must be done on the official form available from the office or from www.enablelc.org. The council and/or its contractor hold no responsibility for a lease being terminated and plaques removed and disposed of where there has been no notification of a change of address.
6. All memorials including their surrounds and fixings remain the property of Wandsworth council and/or its contractor however should the applicant cancel a memorial he/she may collect the plaque from the office in person upon giving reasonable notice to the office. Plaques and or cremated remains will not be placed in the post.
7. A flower holder is provided for freshly cut flowers only. No other items are permitted in the garden of remembrance. No items may be placed on or attached to the plaque or behind, in front or beside of it or its surround. Unauthorised items will be removed and disposed of without notice. Staff periodically remove flowers deemed past their best without notice.
8. Where it is required up to two sets of cremated remains may be placed inside a vault upon the payment of the prescribed fee at the time of each interment.
9. Where a second set of cremated remains is interred and an additional inscription is required the relevant form must be completed and the current fee payable.
10.Where cremated remains are interred in a vault the responsibility of the cremated remains passes from the applicant for cremation to the applicant for the memorial (if different) with regards future removal and disposal of the remains.
11.Upon cancellation or where a vault is not renewed (please observe point 5 above) the cremated remains and memorial plaque will be removed from the vault. The council or its contractor will write to the applicant for the vault regarding the collection or dispersal of the cremated remains. Should no instruction be received and not before two such letters have been sent the council and/or its contractor is, under crematorium regulations permitted to scatter the cremated remains in the garden of remembrance without further notice. A record of the location will be kept. Unclaimed vault plaques will be disposed of at this point.
12.The inscription is guaranteed for a period of 7 years from the initial date the memorial is placed. After this time the vault may be repainted or replaced at the cost of the applicant for the memorial. Renewal of the memorial after the initial 7 years does not alter the guarantee term.
13.Should the applicant for the memorial vault die the ownership can be claimed by another person (whom is legally entitled to it). Please contact the office in this instance for advice. This does not affect the rights of the applicant with regards to his/her cremated remains being placed in the vault as long as there is sufficient lease remaining.
Where cremated remains are interred into a vault they become governed by UK burial law. This is because they are buried below ground. To remove the cremated remains from a vault without licence is a criminal offence.
Exhumations.
Should the owner of the vault decide that they no longer need it and would like to have the cremated remains exhumed, the owner will need to complete an ‘Application for exhumation’ from the Ministry Of Justice (MOJ). This is fairly straightforward and there is no fee. Once the owner has completed their part of the form the office will complete the rest and send the form to the MOJ. As long as the criteria has been met the MOJ will issue a licence to the office and the exhumation will take place. The process takes between two to four weeks.
What happens if the owner has died.
Where an owner has died and the family wish to remove the cremated remains the family will need to establish a new owner and the office will work with the family to do this in a legal manor. There may be a fee chargeable depending on the type of transfer required. Once the ownership has been changed the above application can be submitted to the MOJ.
What happens if an owner does not reply to a renewal notice.
We have a robust system in place to notify an owner that the lease on a vault is about to expire. We send a letter approximately one month before expiry and if we do not receive a response we send a second letter. Should no response be received at this point the lease is ended as per the terms and conditions and the office will apply for a licence from the MOJ. Once exhumed the cremated remains will be held for 12 months. We believe that this is a reasonable period of time to allow for people who normally visit the vault to make contact with us. Should no contact be made the cremated remains will then be scattered in the garden of remembrance and the location recorded at the office. The granite tablet will then be deposed of at this point.