The Churchyard at St Thomas’ Church is a haven of peace and tranquility where generations of villagers have been laid to rest. It is also a conservation area and more details of that can be found on the Churchyard Conservation page.
The Churchyard remains open for new burials or for the internment of ashes for parish residents.
There is a legal right for a person to be buried or have their ashes interred in the churchyard if they fulfill one of the following three criteria.
- They lived in the Parish of Upshire at the time of their death.
- They died in the parish
- At the time of their death they were listed on the electoral role of St Thomas church.
It follows that there is no legal right for anyone who does not fulfill one of the above criteria to be interred in the churchyard. Permission may be given by the Vicar for such an internment but this is only done in exceptional circumstances and where someone has a strong and abiding connection to the parish – for example a lifelong resident who has only moved away to obtain care in their old age.
You can check whether the deceased was resident in the parish by entering their house details into achurchnearyou.com
Gravestones and other monuments installed in the Churchyard are governed by the Churchyard Regulations of the Diocese of Chelmsford which are available here.
Any new gravestone or monument needs permission from the Vicar. Please do contact them before ordering so that we can ensure that it is compliant.
St Thomas' Church, Upshire. 