Arranging a cremation

Ceremony Rooms

There are two ceremony rooms available for funeral services at Rainsbrook Crematorium, the Avon Room and the Drayton Room.

In most cases, families will instruct a Funeral Director to make the necessary arrangements on their behalf, as they have the experience and facilities to help you with your arrangements.  They will guide you through the process, including the Statutory documentation and arrange a service tailored to your requirements. 

Alternatively, you may wish to make the arrangements yourself and if this is the case our team will be able to help you with any Statutory documentation that is required.  However, please be aware that we are not a funeral directing service and cannot collect the deceased, provide coffins or refrigeration facilities. 

Coffins

Where possible coffins should be purchased from an accredited coffin supplier.  Where a request is received to cremate a deceased person in an unaccredited coffin, please speak with the Bereavement Services Team, who will give you guidance on the structure and material that cannot be used.  This information can also be found on the following websites:

Service Availability

Rainsbrook Crematorium are normally able to accommodate a funeral service within two weeks of your loved one passing away.  Please contact the office on 01788 533715 if you wish to check our availability.
 

The Avon Room is the larger of the two ceremony rooms with a picture window giving views over Rainsbrook Valley.  This room can seat 143 mourners with additional standing room available.  The waiting area can also be used to relay the service on two additional screens.  For those mourners who are unable to attend, a webcast service may be available if it has been requested by the applicant for the funeral.  The log in details for your service will only be available from the applicant. 

Services are held at 60 minute intervals with a maximum of 45 minutes to allow plenty of time for family and friends to arrive and depart.  The length of the actual funeral service is normally 30 minutes, with the first full service taking place at 9am and the last at 4pm.  Committal services are generally much shorter and usually last for about 15 minutes.

A cross is displayed in the room but can be removed or replaced with other religious symbols if required.  Please advise your Funeral Director accordingly.

When leaving the Avon Room at the end of the service, family and friends will enter the flower court where they can view the floral tributes and admire the wonderful panoramic view over the valley and Diamond Wood.

You are welcome to walk in the Gardens of Remembrance from the flower court.  The gardens are accessed at one end via the steps, or alternatively from the path adjacent to the car park, which is a gentle sloping pathway. 
 

The Avon ceremony room 

The Drayton Room is the smaller of the two ceremony rooms and provides a more intimate space where a smaller congregation is expected.  For those mourners who are unable to attend, a webcast service may be available if it has been requested by the applicant for the funeral.  The log in details for your service will only be available from the applicant. 

There is a large window overlooking a small flower courtyard filled with plants.  This room can seat 53 mourners with minimal space for standing.  We would recommend using the larger room if you expected more than 60 people to attend.

Services are held at 60 minute intervals with a maximum of 45 minutes to allow plenty of time for family and friends to arrive and depart.  The length of the actual funeral service is normally 30 minutes, with the first full service taking place at 9.30am and the last at 3.30pm.  Committal services are generally much shorter and usually last for about 15 minutes.

A cross is displayed in the room but can be removed or replaced with other religious symbols if required.  Please advise your Funeral Director accordingly.
When leaving the Drayton Room at the end of the service, family and friends will enter the flower court where they can view the floral tributes and are welcome to walk in the Gardens of Remembrance accessed from the car park on a gentle sloping pathway.
 

The Drayton ceremony room

Funeral service

All types of services, religious or civil, may be held in the Avon or Drayton multi-denominational ceremony rooms at Rainsbrook Crematorium. 

The whole service can take place at the crematorium if you wish, or a shorter committal service may be held following the main service elsewhere. A funeral service, religious or civil, is not obligatory and a cremation may be arranged without a service if you prefer.

Bereavement Services staff are on hand to assist you if you have any last minute questions at the time of the service and to ensure that the service runs smoothly.

For those families that require a longer service time of 45 minutes, this can be arranged in advance, for an additional fee.  Additional fees will be charged if you run over your allotted time.

Any floral tributes will remain on the flower court for a maximum of 7 days but may be removed earlier if they are not in good condition. 

 

Hymns and Music

Families may choose any commercially available piece of music for playing during their service through our digital music system (Obitus).  This is ordered by your Funeral Director (or Rainsbrook staff if arranging the funeral yourself).  Both the Avon Room and the Drayton Room are equipped with classical organs, your Funeral Director will be able to arrange an organist to play for you, if required.

Obitus has an extensive collection of music, however, for requests not already stored in their database it is advisable to request your music in plenty of time to avoid disappointment. 
 

DVD/CD recordings

Funeral services can be recorded onto a DVD, CD or USB stick.  Please ask your Funeral Director to order these for you.  Once we have received these they will be passed to your Funeral Director for you to collect from them.  Recording facilities are available in both the Avon Room and the Drayton Room.

Visual Tribute

Each ceremony room has a large wall-mounted television screen which can be used to display a visual tribute in memory of your loved one. 
This service is available through our digital music system (Obitus) and your Funeral Director will be able to help you with this.

Webcasts

For those mourners who are unable to attend, a webcast service may be available if it has been requested by the applicant for the funeral.

The log-in details for your service will only be available from the applicant and will be streamed via the Obitus website.

The service can only be viewed by those who have been issued with a user name and password prior to the service.

After the service, and after a period of around 48 hours, the broadcast will be available to view for up to 28 days.

The webcast will allow family and friends to view the service from anywhere in the world with internet access.

Webcasts are only available for services in the Avon Room.

Committal of the coffin

The coffin nameplate is checked by a member of staff on arrival at the crematorium, and again before it is placed into the cremator.  The minimum information required on the coffin plate is the full name, date of death and age of the deceased.  Great care is taken to ensure the correct identity of the deceased person is maintained throughout the entire process until the final disposal of the cremated remains.

Towards the end of the service the curtains or voile can be closed around the coffin or, if you prefer, the curtains can be left open with the coffin remaining in full view throughout the entire service and until the congregation have left the room. 

Following the service the family may wish to witness the coffin being committed into the cremator. We have a viewing window in the Avon ceremony room which overlooks the crematory. This window is normally obscured, but can be uncovered to allow family members to view the final committal. This is only permitted with the consent of the applicant for cremation and it is essential the crematorium is advised in advance so the necessary arrangements can be made.  Please note that to ensure availability of a cremator it may be necessary to book a service for a witness charge as the first service of the day.

Cremation procedure

The cremation is carried out in accordance with the Guiding Principles of Cremation issued by the Institute of Cemetery and Crematorium Management and the Code of Cremation Practice issued by the Federation of Burial and Cremation Authorities.

Floral tributes

Each ceremony room has a separate floral court where floral tributes can be displayed following the funeral service. Families can remove the tributes after the service or leave them on display at the crematorium.

Tributes left at the crematorium will be removed and disposed of after seven days. Please note that unfortunately the crematorium cannot take responsibility for floral tributes left at the crematorium before, during or after the service.

Cremated remains

Following the cremation, the ashes of a loved one can be scattered in our Gardens of Remembrance, interred in one of our cemeteries or collected from the crematorium to be interred or scattered elsewhere.

It is not necessary to make an immediate decision in this respect and the ashes can be held at the crematorium for three months free of charge. After this period a charge will apply.