Lower-cost direct cremations which do not include a ceremony are now being offered at Haycombe Cemetery and Crematorium in Bath.
Haycombe Cemetery and Crematorium | Photo © ColinPeachey / Shutterstock.com
The cremations do not include a ceremony to accommodate the wishes of loved ones and their families and friends, if this is something they expressly want.
The option of an unattended or attended direct cremation can now be arranged with the assistance of the family’s funeral director, as well as a range of traditional services including funeral services, full body burials, memorials and private plots for ashes.
An unattended direct cremation does not include a funeral service and there is no ceremony, celebrant or attendees.
It costs less than a traditional funeral and can be followed at a later date by a memorial service, celebration of life or scattering of ashes if desired.
An attended direct cremation differs in that up to six mourners can attend Haycombe’s Orchard Entrance, a bespoke and respectful space where families can spend a few minutes saying their goodbyes before their loved one is taken into the council’s care.
Haycombe Crematorium, which is owned by Bath & North East Somerset Council, is the only crematorium in the area that offers attended direct cremations.
The options ensure that loved ones are treated with great dignity, care and respect at the same time as being more affordable.
They also ensure that the loved one is cremated at Haycombe and not taken out of the local area, which can happen when arranging direct cremations through national companies.
Councillor Tim Ball, cabinet member for neighbourhood services, said: “There is so much to consider when organising a funeral.
“By raising awareness of the services and support we offer at Haycombe, we hope it will be easier for people to make informed choices at a very upsetting time.
“Our friendly and experienced team is here to guide and assist families through the process of making decisions, whatever your wishes are.
“It can be uncomfortable to talk about, but there is a cost of dying that can put families into poverty or make it impossible for them to arrange the kind of funeral they imagined.
“We hope that our simpler cremation options will enable families to arrange a dignified way to say goodbye without experiencing financial strain, as well as take comfort in the knowledge that their loved one has stayed close to home.”
Haycombe’s services also include scattering areas and communal shrubbery beds for the interment of ashes, memorials of various types, green burials, private plots for ashes in dedicated gardens and pet burials.
Residents can also use a Celebrancy Service for funerals, ashes interments or scatterings and access the Obitus audio visual and web casting system.
Haycombe does not have its own funeral director but works in conjunction with local funeral directors appointed by families to support them with their arrangements for cremations, burials and other memorial services.
